Oshkosh Pathfinder Camp
Zimbabwe West Union Conferencewas represented in the Oshkosh International Pathfinder Camporee that ran from 12 to 18 August 2019 in the USA. Fourteen Pathfinders and leaders from our Union attended this historic quinquennial event.
Of note, our pathfinders did us proud. They participated in the flag raising colour bearers on one of the days during the camp. One may wonder if this anything to write home about. Yes it is, it is a momentous event and a rare privilege to find yourself participating at that level, hence our excitement that our pathfinders made it.
One of our pathfinders was part of the four who offered prayers in the Sabbath Main service before a record crowd of over 60,000 people. She prayed in Ndebele, as each of the pathfinders was requested to pray in their native language. One of our pathfinder leaders took part in the 5km marathon and she got herself a medal for participating.
These highlighted events were over and above the general participation in lessons, honours, games, and other camp activities in which everyone else did. We felt very proud of our group and we thank our great God for His leadership in all this.
Our group also participated in full in the record world’s largest human cross on Sabbath, which is going into the Guinness Book of World Records. It was a joy and an experience to be part of this rare event. We also witnessed the hoisting of the largest Masterguide neckerchief on the same day. This was hoisted on two large cranes and it too is going into the Guinness Book of World Records.
We were hosted by Ceres Lightbearers Pathfinder Club from California who were so hospitable. They brought enough tents, sleeping bags and chairs for themselves and us all, besides other goodies they had prepared for us. We had good fellowship with them and created lasting friendships.
We thank our leadership both in the Conferences and Union, we thank our dear parents and sponsors who continually support the growth of our young people in the faith even in the face of the hardships we are encountering. The sacrifices the parents and sponsors are making toward this growth are not going without notice. We continually appreciate the dedication and these sacrifices. It was a lifechanging experience for our pathfinders and leaders to meet with people from around the globe and interact at close range, exchange ideas, learn from each other, see how big God’s church is, network, create new friendships and connections. This surrely expanded their horizon and worldview and contributed to the growth of their faith. Our aim is to pick a leaf from this event and use whatever knowledge, and skills we got from there, adapting all to our own environment and situation. We are a global family and we learn from each other. There are so many things that we learned and we are determined to use whatever works in our territory to improve the quality of our Youth Ministry in our Union to world standards. We know it is not impossible, with God on our side. (Phil 4:13)
