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8 Thursday, September 19, 2024 BATTLE CREEK SHOPPER NEWS http://www.thebattlecreekshopper.com

On Aug. 2, the Battle Creek
Pioneers Pathfinder Club, a youth
group of the Battle Creek Seventh-
day Adventist Church, headed to
Gillette, Wyo., for a week-long
International Camporee.
“This event, which is held every
five years, is sponsored by the world-
wide Seventh-day Adventist denomi-
nation for young people in grades
5-12,” said spokesperson Charlotte
Erickson. “The camporee is geared
for youth to celebrate their faith and
friendship with other Pathfinders
from around the world.”
Sixty thousand tickets to the event
were sold out in early January.
The Battle Creek group spent
months raising money and making
preparations for the big trip, with
church members assisting by donat-
ing money, food and other necessi-
ties, and preparing and freezing food.
The camporee, with the theme
“Believe the Promise,” provided a
wide variety of activities, including
a rodeo, dirt bike trick demonstra-
tion, Pathfinder honor classes, sports

Local Adventist youth attend International Camporee

Battle Creek Pathfinders anxiously wait for the evening program to begin at

the camporee.

On the return trip to Battle Creek, the Pathfinders visited several state and

national parks.

complex, talent stage, water sports

and more.

Young people also learned about

other cultures and became friends

with kids from around the world,

noted Erickson.

At the end of each day,

Pathfinders gathered for evening

programs, which included music and

a spiritual drama program depicting

the life of Moses.

“The speaker each night was Pastor

Damian Chandler from Nashville,

Tenn., who delivered moving mes-

sages geared to help our youth know

Jesus as their personal Savior and

Friend,” said Erickson.

She also said thousands of

Pathfinders were baptized, and hun-

dreds more “made commitments to

give their lives to Jesus.”

“The most inspiring thing to me

was seeing so many people who

believe in the same God as you and

seeing people who had struggles like

I did, and they kept holding onto

their faith,” Battle Creek Pathfinder

Nonti said when talking about what

she appreciated most about the camp-

oree.

“We were blessed to have the

opportunity to take the Pathfinders

on this amazing trip and watch them

draw closer to God through this expe-

rience,” explained Brad and Tracey,

the church’s Pathfinder leaders.

The trip also included stops at

Badlands National Park, Mount

Rushmore National Monument,

Palisades State Park and Custer State

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