Bern, Switzerland. August 18, 2019. [CD-EUDNews]. You can read it in their eyes, sitting in the seats of those buses full of teenagers, which pierce the horizon, bringing them to once again encounter those unforgettable experiences that they have lived for a whole week. They are the Pathfinders of Camporee, youth who meet every four years for the international scout meeting of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Inter-European Region (EUD).
You can see them looking out from the windows of the buses, from within the walls of the workshops where they measured their sporting, manual and creative abilities. The Camporee offered more than 40 workshops, including scouting techniques, Pathfinder skills, sports and games, pioneering, arts and crafts, Bible and outreach, among others. It was in those places that they gained the "talents" to be spent while enjoying the game of City Life, the uniquely designed program in which each delegation “sold” them activities and games from their (the delegation’s) countries and traditional food. Pathfinders also had the option to donate the “talents” in solidarity with their African peers on the island of Sao Tomé, where at least 30 children can, thanks to them, go to school and be fed for a whole year (see article Giving a very special kind of blessing).
You can see them scrutinizing the place where they measured their fears with the challenges of the zipline scout, the wall scout, the kayak path on the lake of the park—the adventure park with a whole series of games built with scout techniques, created specifically for them. A challenge with only themselves and the pleasant feeling of having succeeded. These are conquests that help them to form a character of readiness to face even the most difficult challenges. And that's one of the purposes of scouting.
You can see them queuing up in front of their kitchens, carelessly hungry, as impatient as when they are queuing up in front of the City Life booths, where they have eaten French crêpes, Romanian candy floss, Spanish muffins, or the famous sweet “chimney cakes”, made especially by the Czechs. All these were among a multitude of other specialties prepared with typical instruments, local to the specific regions. Food is one of the important prerogatives, which is why each delegation carefully structured their entire food system. And then, the famous international evening where each Pathfinder had the opportunity to taste traditional dishes of other delegations.
It is a tradition linked to one of the objectives of our European camps, which have precisely the premise of educating our children on the intercultural approach, to promote tolerance, inclusion and a feeling of unity in diversity.
You can see them once more scrutinizing the camp where they slept in tents with their friends, old and new, and where they shared their feelings of the adventures lived during the day. An intense program focused above all on educating them on the sense of solidarity, of contribution, of challenge against the objective, rather than against themselves. Almost all the activities have been studied with this intent: to let them discover the power of camaraderie, of teamwork, where “Together we win”—all without knocking down anyone.
You can see them watching the big circus tent, the meeting place in the morning and in the evening, where they have lived an intense spiritual program prepared especially for them. Songs, mimes, videos, but above all the messages offered by their scout leader and friend, Stephan Sigg (see article Challenging, sure, but very rewarding), that led them to live an unforgettable spiritual experience. It is precisely regarding the spiritual aspect that their comments focus on what the Camporee has given them, highlighting the most expected moment—that of the baptismal ceremony.
We hear their direct comments:
“My name is Jemima, I live in Germany and I come from Berlin. I take [sic] a lot from this Camporee. It is great to sing with the people and to hear the spiritual messages. I can’t describe it, but I feel touched by God and I love to be here.”
“I am here to live truly strong emotions, because I went to the camporee in Switzerland in 2015,” Manatahi explained. “I was baptized there, and it impacted me so much. So I have come again to relive those emotions and meet new people.”
“I had a very beautiful time here. I met lots of new people. I am happy that people are friendly and that we have good food,” Hannah shared.
“We have so much fun and do lots of fun activities like the workshops and City Life,” Giordana asserted.
“From the spiritual part, I really enjoy when we worship together because it’s a way in which we can all praise God together, singing and worshipping,” Laura shared.
Clara affirmed that she liked the City Life game and the expeditions (workshops, ndr.) that were nice. “And the overall atmosphere.”
Katka said that she “liked the mime scenes the most (introducing the spiritual message). They often touched me and were beautiful.”
With his messages, Stephan Sigg repeatedly invited our Pathfinders to take account of God's promises. God keeps His promises and, from the reactions of the kids to Stephan's appeals, they, too, are determined to keep those promises that will make them the Joshua of the twenty-first century, making the motto of the camporee resound in their lives: God's promise always with you!
Camporee in data
The EUD Camporee is an organisation of the Youth Department. This was the 13th Camporee. The first EUD Camporee was in Aresquiers, Hérault, Montpellier, France, in 1961, under the direction of EUD Youth Director Paul Steiner. From time to time, the number of Pathfinders has been consistently increasing, up to the record number of attendees, almost 3000, for this year, in Sesimbra, Portugal. We had the support of approximately 120 organizers and 110 volunteers. The work of the volunteers was extraordinary. Led by Julio Carlo Santos, all the volunteers made themselves available to make the whole structure pleasant and responsive to the expectations of the entire program.
People that followed the Camporee on Social Networks:
Facebook Camporee: EUD Pathfinders – 2353 followers, EUD Youth Min – 1467 followers (for Camporee)
Instagram: EUD Youth – 1479
Youtube: EUD Youth Livestream: 1000 (multi)contacts. Countries : Portugal, Germany, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Spain, Brazil, Switzerland, UK, Australia, Belgium, Romania, US, Slovakia.
