Thank you for your reply, I appreciate the insight and resources.
To clarify a bit, the fact that all camping is mandatory is strange to me and I needed to know if it in itself was standard practice. It seems very odd to me and makes me question why the group would do that. I understand that they want maximum group evolvement but requiring that a new member participate in an over night with adult and child strangers within three weeks of meeting them is coming off creepy. I think I will reach out to other groups in the area. Thanks again.