Pathfinders were on the move in August as 33,000 people journeyed in cars, buses, motor homes and airplanes to attend the Faith on Fire Pathfinder Camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
With all the miles to travel there were bound to be some incidents. Jennifer Shearer, Kennewick (Washington) Night Hawks Pathfinder director, was driving their van and pulling a camper-trailer when, somewhere between Rapid City and Wall Drug, North Dakota, a gust of wind caused the camper to start swaying. A second gust caused the trailer to roll, taking the van with it. The trailer broke into splinters, and the van was totaled.
Fortunately, the occupants of the van escaped serious injury and after some medical attention continued on to Oshkosh, arriving a little later than they had planned. On arrival, Ben, Jennifer’s husband, quipped, “Everyone said, ‘We went bust.’ Well we might be broken, but we’re still going.”
To pass the travel time, the Hillsboro, Oregon, Pathfinders were swapping stories about how God had saved their lives or the lives of other people they knew. Suddenly, they gasped in horror at the scene in front of them.
Bob Gaede, club director, was laying on the over-the-cab bed of the pickup-mounted camper and felt the wind lift the camper to 45-degree angle to the left. He quickly climbed to the high side of the bed, and the camper settled back onto the truck.
Then another gust of wind hit, and the camper nearly left the truck. “It tilted to way more than 45 degrees that time,” says Dave Apple, camp cook and Hillsboro church elder, who was driving a car behind the pickup. “There is no way that camper should have stayed on the truck, but it did. The kids were all praying, and they believe they saw God work a miracle.” The camper rotated back up, over and settled back onto the truck.
As soon as they could, the Hillsboro group stopped and everyone gathered for a prayer of thanksgiving. “The wind had bent the mounting brackets all the way up straight on the right side of the truck and completely disconnected [them],” says Bob. “On the left side, the brackets were badly bent but had held.” Club leaders straightened the brackets as best they could, reconnected the camper and drove slowly until the wind subsided.
Other clubs had tires blow out, transmissions fail and other mechanical problems, but through ingenuity, perseverance and the Lord’s protection, everyone arrived.
To get there Pathfinder clubs worked hard to raise the needed funds. They sponsored spaghetti dinners, washed cars, held bake sales and garage sales and found many other creative ways to raise funds. Church members also donated money to help defray expenses.
Getting there was only part of the adventure for clubs from around the world. Clubs from North America hosted international clubs by providing tents, sleeping bags and food. While Alaska is a part of North America, they were unable to bring all their camping gear on the airplanes and so were hosted by mainland clubs as well. The Azure Hills, California, club hosted the Anchorage Pathfinders, and the other Alaskan clubs were hosted by clubs from Michigan and Ohio.
Once at the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) campground in Oshkosh, the campers quickly settled into a daily routine. Activities included working for Pathfinder honors, exploring exhibits, visting commercial and ministry booths, and participating in off-site community service, crafts, sports, parades, air shows, evening programs and pin trading.
Pin trading may have been the biggest single activity at the camporee. Ron Whitehead, camporee director, estimates that if every pathfinder had at least 15 pins to trade, then about 400,000 pins changed hands. The pins were creative and beautiful. Some had tiny batteries which powered blinking lights, others had moving parts, and still others came as sets. Six pins were created for the Pathfinders from the Northwest, each representing one of the six conferences which, when put together, became a complete puzzle. The pins from Alaska and Oregon were in short supply which made them more valuable to collectors. Pin trading allowed campers to make friends from North America and the rest of the world.
One of the strongest supporters of the Pathfinders was Don Schneider, North American Division (NAD) president. During the opening ceremony of the camporee, Schneider had 60 seconds to welcome the more than 30,000 people and tell them about his prayer pin project. He told the Pathfinders that if they saw him with his blue backpack and they had prayed with someone they did not know, he would give them a pin.
After the meeting one Pathfinder came up to him and said, “Are you the prayer guy?” This boy couldn’t remember Don’s name, and his position as president of the church meant nothing to him, but Don said he was happy to be known as the “prayer guy.”
Another camper came up to Don and wanted a pin. Don reminded him that he had to pray with someone he didn’t know. The kid ran away, bumping into friends in his haste to find a stranger. In a few minutes he was back, having prayed with a stranger and was asking for his pin. A little while later he was back again. “I already got my pin,” he said, “I just wanted you to know that I’ve been praying with people, and it’s really fun.”
It takes a lot of prayer, dedication, energy and courage to be a Pathfinder club director. Typical of many Pathfinder volunteers is Cathy Ford. She leads the Boise Ponderosa Pathfinders with co-director Walker Roles. A busy person, she is the roadside programs administrator for the Idaho Department of Transportation and oversees the maintenance of the vegetation on Idaho’s roads. She travels a lot in her job and in spite of her schedule makes time for the Pathfinders.
Cathy has been in Pathfinders for 18 years beginning as a counselor and in several other roles. She believes that Pathfinders gives the kids role models to follow, instills Christian values, gives them the desire to share God’s love and lets them know that it is fun to be a Christian. Cathy also believes that “as the Pathfinders grow up and are given training, they become willing to help out in the churches and lead out in other youth activities.” Cathy said that she will continue to serve Pathfinders as long as the Lord wants her to do it.
“This huge camporee in Oshkosh is one way of telling our young people that the Adventist Church cares about them,” states Alphonso McCarthy, North Pacific Union Conference youth director. “It is an opportunity for them to expand their vision of the church, to see other young Adventist Christians, talk with them, realize that there are thousands of people just like them facing the same issues, and gain in the understanding that they are not alone.”
The Faith on Fire Pathfinder Camporee provided memories that will last a lifetime. •
Nina Sarcona, camporee costume designer from Berrien Springs, Michigan, makes last minute adjustments to the costume of Simone Da Silva from Orlando, Florida, who played the part of Potiphar’s wife in the main stage evening drama, The Fire Within. Working for months ahead of time, Nina and her team created 185 different costumes.
Each evening the cast members of the drama, The Fire Within, paused for prayer and a last encouraging touch. The cast rehearsed six days a week for three weeks.
Pathfinders from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the Northeastern Conference carried the flags during the dramatic and colorful opening ceremonies of the Faith on Fire Pathfinder Camporee.
Mark Bond, his wife Conna and their children from Condon, Montana, along with members of the Bruske family from Athena, Oregon, wrote the camporee theme song and performed during the opening ceremonies.
Don Schneider, NAD president, gave Annika Guy from Sherman Oaks, California, a pin for praying with someone she did not know. All told, Don gave out 2,000 pins.
Alaska Pathfinders along with others from the Northwest, marched in the Thursday afternoon parade. Ikey Ogden, one of the Anchorage Pathfinders, said he enjoyed the experience.
Alphonso McCarthy, NPUC youth director, holds a complete set of North Pacific Union pins. These pins, when assembled, complete a puzzle.
Pilot Bill Wambach of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, took these Pathfinders from Centerville, Ohio, on their first small airplane ride as a part of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Young Eagles program.
Every morning and evening at seven o’clock, a shot from this cannon, owned by Oregonian Delbert Griffin, signaled the clubs to raise or lower their flags. The charge consisted of 1.5 pounds of black powder and two pairs of blue jeans for the wadding.
Boise Ponderosa Pathfinder co-director Cathy Ford and Susan Manika and her son, Taku, mix a tasty filling for the club’s vegeburger supper.
Campers from Canada and
the Atlantic unions already formed a long line for showers by 6 a.m. By the end of the camporee, more than a million gallons of waste water had been removed.
The Ontario Drum Corps participated in the drill team competition during the camporee. This corps was started in 1999 and performed for the first time at the 2000 General Conference Session in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Mark West of Loma Linda, California, a professional archer and instructor, gives archery training tips to Kyle Raymond,
10, of Union Springs, New York. West set a new record for Guinness World Records by popping 11 balloons at once with one arrow during the camporee.
Hoping to be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, 1,064 Pathfinders attempted to set the world record for leap frog.
A climbing wall at the camporee offered three sides for climbing and two different levels of difficulty to challenge the campers.
These students from the Ekamai International School in Thailand were part of the 1,829 international Pathfinders who attended the Faith on Fire camporee. They enjoyed trading their Thai pins with young people from North America.
Jennifer Shearer, Kennewick, Washington, Night Hawks Pathfinder director, and her husband, Ben, rolled their van in rural South Dakota on the way to the camporee.
Ashley Tardif from the Woodstock, Maine, Pathfinder club, donate a Bible to help meet the goal of collecting 100,000 Bibles during the camporee. The Bibles will be shipped to countries around the world.
The main stage area enclosed about seven acres and was able to seat more than 30,000 people for the evening and Sabbath morning services.
Aaron Payne, Meadow Glade youth pastor, baptized Hannah Etter at the camporee. The only Adventist in her family, Hannah attends the Meadow Glade Adventist School in Battle Ground, Washington. She became acquainted with
Pathfinders at school and took baptismal classes.
Tyler Hillman (pictured in blue cap) was voted into membership in the Orchards Church (Vancouver, Washington), subject to his baptism. John Wesslen, Orchards pastor, set up a Web cam so that Tyler in Wisconsin and the church members at home could see each other for the vote.
Author
