More than 800 Pathfinders from 32 Southeastern Conference Pathfinder clubs joined more than 46,000 Pathfinders at the 2014 Forever Faithful International Pathfinder Camporee (FFIC) in Oshkosh, Wisc., on August 11-16, 2014.
Hosted by the Center for Youth Evangelism (CYE), in Berrien Springs, Mich., the International Camporee is held every five years, and the past four Camporees have been held at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s Airfield in Oshkosh.
With more than 46,000 Pathfinders attending the Camporee — 44,000 from North America and 2,000 from 100 countries — this was the largest Camporee to date, said event organizers.
FFIC Baptism
Three Southeastern Pathfinders, Calandra Lee and Christian Staten from Progress Village Church in Tampa, Fla., and Zakirah Green from Thonotosassa, Fla., Church, were among the more than 600 Pathfinders who were baptized during the Camporee.
“My baptism means everything to me,” said Green, who made her decision to get baptized before attending the camporee. “I love the Lord. This is a big step for my life,” she added.
Antwon Mells, pastor of Progress Village and Westside churches in Tampa, Fla., baptized the three Pathfinders from Southeastern. He made the trip to Oshkosh because he personally wanted to baptize the youth from his church. “It’s always exciting to witness young people make a decision to follow Christ,” said Mells.
Maureen Peterkin, Progress Village Pathfinder director and mother of Calandra Lee, was extremely pleased by her daughter’s decision to be baptized. “It strengthens my heart to see my daughter make her stand,” stated Peterkin.
Perrine Hosts International Pathfinder Club
For many international clubs, attending the Oshkosh Camporee can be a logistical nightmare. To make traveling to Oshkosh easier, the CYE encouraged clubs from North America to host an international club. Hosting a club required the local club to provide tents, sleeping bags, food, and any other items that a club would need to camp.
One club that made the decision to be hosted by a North American club was a group of Pathfinders from Tanzania, Africa, under the leadership of Emmanuel Sumua, director of youth and music ministries for the Eastern Tanzania Conference, South Tanzania Union. More than 40 Pathfinders from the Tanzanian Conference decided to come. However, due to issues with obtaining a visa, only 18 received visas to travel to the United States.
The Pathfinder club from the Perrine, Fla., Church took on the challenge to host the Tanzanian club. Velma Wilson, club director, was made aware of the hosting need while registering her club for the Oshkosh Camporee more than a year ago. She thought that it would provide a great opportunity for her club to participate in missionary work. “The experience of hosting the club from Tanzania was a tremendous blessing for the children,” said Wilson.
FFIC Activities
Event organizers planned a variety of activities for the campers, which included sports activities, community outreach projects, a talent showcase, drill and drum corps competitions, honor courses, and the most popular activity — pin-trading.
Five Pathfinders from Southeastern taught Pathfinder honor classes. Patrick and Hakeem Brown from the Town and Country Church in Tampa, Fla., taught a mammal honor. Gordon Wilson, from Patmos Chapel in Winter Park, Fla., taught the knot-tying honor. Ray Daniels, also from Patmos Chapel, taught the camping skills 1-4 honor. Catherine Collins from the Ridge Area Church in Avon Park, Fla., taught one of the most sought after honors — the Travel Honor. By Thursday, she had taught more than 500 students in her class.
Two drum corps from Southeastern garnered first place in the Drum Corps Competition, the Maranatha Pathfinders Club in Tallahassee, Fla., and the Shiloh Pathfinders Club from Ocala, Fla.
FFIC Master Guide Investiture Service
A Master Guide Investiture Service was held on the final day of FFIC. Randall Richards from the Shiloh Church Pathfinder Club in Ocala, Fla., was the only Pathfinder from Southeastern to be invested as a Master Guide.
“To see more than 46,000 young people gather for this spiritual event was exhilarating,” said Hubert Morel, president of Southeastern Conference. “I want to encourage our Pathfinder directors to continue to be faithful in teaching our children, so that they will make the decision to make Heaven their home,” he added. A Master Guide himself, Morel served as an honorary chaplain for the Camporee.
SketchCast, Southeastern Conference Sketches Video News Magazine, was at Oshkosh. To view SketchCast stories that were filed from Oshkosh, visit www.youtube.com/secsda. To view photos from the Camporee, visit www.flkr.com/secsda.
Southeastern | April 2019
Comments are closed.