September October 2024 Feature: Resilient Pathfinders 'Believe the Promise'
Story by by V. Michelle Bernard and Ricardo Bacchus / Images by Kylie Kajiura, Richard Castillo, Stephen Lee, Alvin Gouldbourne
In August, some 60,000 Pathfinders and staff from around the world, including 6,689 registered campers from the Columbia Union Conference, descended on the CAM-PLEX campus in Gillette, Wyo., for the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee.
“It’s definitely bigger here,” says Emilie Rodrigues, a camper from Potomac Conference’s Washington Brazilian Ocean Pathfinder Club in College Park, Md.—noting the last camporee, in 2019, held in OshKosh, Wis., had about 55,000 attendees.
Glassboro Braves club director, Christy Taylor, from Allegheny East Conference’s (AEC) First Church of Glassboro in New Jersey, says planning for this camporee was harder due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation the last couple of years and the increased distance—some 1,800 miles by bus.
Community and camporee organizers also spent a great amount of time preparing for the huge event. A Wyoming Business Report article noted that CAM-PLEX leaders spent years preparing to host an event of this magnitude—the largest ever to take place at the facility, and in the town of some 33,000 residents. Local businesses, particularly Walmart, also ramped up their supplies to meet the extra demand.
Likewise, camporee volunteers rallied to help. “Without the help and support of the hundreds of volunteers who sacrificed and gave of their time, energy and resources, the camporee would have never happened,” says Frank Bondurant, Columbia Union vice president for Ministries Development and one of the event planners. He notes that clubs needed volunteers to cook meals, serve at the shower tents, teach classes and honors—all behind the scenes. “You never saw them on a stage, but they represent the backbone of the camporee.”
That extra distance also brought new sights to explore. Prior to and after the camporee, many clubs took the opportunity to see popular spots like Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Devils Tower National Monument (AEC's Oxen Hill Pathfinder club is pictured there above) and the Badlands National Park, among other spots.
Stormy Weather Displaces Some, Changes Plans
Due to a thunderstorm that canceled Tuesday’s evening meeting and Wednesday’s morning activities, Columbia Union clubs used the better part of Wednesday morning to clean their sites and surrounding areas.
Reports say that the “International Village” was hit hardest, with at least 40 percent of the international club campsites flooded. Local community members and businesses quickly helped clubs in need, offering temporary places to stay and replacing supplies that were lost in the storm.
Nina Reynolds, a Pathfinder in the Teen Leadership Training (TLT) program from New Jersey Conference’s Williamstown Warriors club, says that her tent partially collapsed, and her clothes got wet. She was thankful that her fellow Pathfinders helped her clean up. “We’re [also] thankful because we didn’t get it too, too bad,” she says.
Despite the chaos, leaders praised God for pro- tection and safety. Beth Ackman, Mountain View Conference Pathfinder director, shares, “We are all safe. We had a few tents [where] things got wet inside, but God is good, and everything can be dried!”
Activities and Honors Abound
Camporee attendees had the opportunity to participate and earn honors in many on- and off-site activities.
On Thursday, Ava Carr and friends from Chesapeake Conference’s Ellicott City (Md.) Stallions club scaled a rock climbing wall before tackling the Ax Throwing Honor and obstacle course, among other activities.
Susan Thomas, an adult Maranatha International volunteer and member of AEC’s Hillside church in Harrisburg, Pa., participated in one of the many volunteer opportunities, such as stuffing backpacks for local schools. “I think it’s awesome [to help] and to know that our young people, Pathfinders, are here to help other young people and to bring the gospel to them.”
Some Pathfinders also built raised garden beds for local seniors as part of the Carpentry Honor and volunteered by packing hygiene bags that were distributed locally.
Columbia Union members also organized and led some of the 230 honors, such as Pickleball, Photography, Coal, Water Science and Origami. They also led activities like the Wigs-For-Kids “Cut-A-Thon” that provided wigs for children suffering from hair loss.
Pin trading, arguably the most anticipated activity at the camporee, remained popular, with many clubs creating their own pins. But, pins can be an expensive hobby, so volunteer Marilyn Boismier introduced an alternative: trading postcards.
This idea resulted in Pathfinders collecting more than 50,000 postcards, unofficially breaking the world record for most postcards collected.
Boismier also challenged Pathfinders to bring individual LEGO® modules to assemble one large, continuous great ball contraption. Six creators received Adventist education scholarships for their innovative modules.
Evening Meetings Deepen Faith
During the week, a total of 92 Columbia Union Pathfinders were baptized—part of the 1,000-plus Pathfinders who publicly declared their love for God at the event.
Moriah Jean Martin (pictured below), a member of Potomac Conference’s Living Hope Messengers club in Haymarket, Va., says, “I wanted to be [re]baptized here so more and more people could learn about Jesus and they could choose to be baptized and rebaptized too. It was an amazing experience. I just felt joy in my heart.”
The evening meetings made a big impact on the Pathfinders who repeatedly mentioned the onstage production of Moses as a highlight.
Fiona Robinson, Adventurer director for AEC’s Miracle City club in Baltimore, says her group was excited to attend. “The corporate worship was just uplifting to the spirit.” Worshipping with people who speak different languages, come from different areas and hold different flags but “worship the same God in the same place for the same purpose ... I think that’s what makes it extra special,” she says.
Storms Threaten to Strike Again
With another potential strong storm forecasted for Sabbath afternoon, International Camporee leaders made the hard decision to cancel the scheduled Sabbath morning and evening programs— allowing individual clubs the opportunity to leave whenever they felt best.
Many Columbia Union clubs left earlier than they had originally planned. “When making this decision, safety of the kids is always a top priority,” says Sammy Theodore, director of Pennsylvania Conference’s Boulevard Heaven Bound club in Philadelphia. Their club started the 26-hour road trip home on Friday afternoon. “It hurts me really bad to leave today because we had a Pathfinder who wanted to be baptized tonight and three others who wanted to commit as well,” he says. “But we will make sure [to give them the same opportunity] once we’re home.”
Bondurant adds, “We experienced severe weather, which could have dampened the spirits of the Pathfinders, but our kids have grit and they dug in their heels and maintained a positive attitude. The double rainbow which followed one of the storms seemed to not only reinforce the nightly messages about ‘Believing the Promise,’ but it also signified the incredible resilience of our Pathfinders.”
Lashawn Maxime, a member of AEC’s Miracle City Knights in Baltimore, says despite the storms, his overall experience was really fun, especially the nightly plays and drum corps competition. He’s looking forward to the Elijah play at the 2029 International Camporee in Gillette, themed “Stand Strong.
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