This story was adapted from the July 21, 1990 issue of Adventist Record. Today, there are nearly 2 million Pathfinders worldwide. In 1980, there were 180,000 Pathfinders worldwide. In 1985, 450,000. Today, more than 700,000 Pathfinders meet in over 40,000 clubs. Within three years there’ll be a million.
The motivation, dedication and enthusiasm of Pathfinders and their leaders remain constant. The differences among Pathfinders around the world come in the levels of resources and equipment they have available. In the Spanish areas of Inter and South America, Pathfinders are called Conquistadores. In Brazil, which is Portuguese-speaking, they’re Desbravadores. In the French areas of Africa and Inter-America they’re Explorateur.
The badges and insignia are the same worldwide, but the uniform may differ in colour depending on the economy or political considerations of the country.
When Pastor Neal Wilson visited the city of Kumasi, in Ghana, some 10,000 Pathfinders and Master Guides marched down the street to a large stadium. What a sight! A mass of excited young people in uniform waved flags and sang. They completely blocked the street.
Then there was the Pathfinder rally in Harare, Zimbabwe, with 6000 attending. And 1500 Pathfinders marched at a camporee at Lake Kyle (also Zimbabwe), with no drums or music. One leader produced an old tin trunk and two large sticks. I took the salute on the dais and watched as he attacked the “drum”. He flattened it.
“The soldiers came into our church last month with machine guns and told us to close the Bibles and leave,” an 11-year-old boy from Northern Columbia told me.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Oh, we all left very quickly!”
“Do you still go to church?”
“Oh yes! But we changed the time.”
That’s the spirit of Pathfinders.
In Pennsylvania (United States) last year [1989], 15,000 Pathfinders assembled in front of a full-size Noah’s Ark built for the occasion.
However, some of the highlights of my experience occurred in the South Pacific last year [1989]. My welcome at Batuna (Solomon Islands), a ride in a leaky war canoe and a camporee on Mussau Island, were unforgettable experiences.
One pastor and seven Pathfinders walked seven days over the mountains to be with us at Milne Bay. Fifty-five Pathfinders travelled three days in an enormous dugout canoe from Kikori in the Papuan Gulf to join us for another camporee.
The greatest inspiration of Pathfindering is the people. I’m confident from what I see that this is God’s church and that His people are going forward to victory.
At a recent Euro-Africa Division Pathfinder Camporee in the South of France, I met Manuel. He’s from Spain, a Pathfinder counsellor and the father of teenage boys.
Manuel moved out of the city and attended a small country church where, to his dismay, he found there were only three children. But within three years the church had 30 young people and a strong, active Pathfinder club. Last year nine young people and three parents were baptised. He’s currently studying with 12 more.
At the end of the camporee we had a baptism and many indicated their desire to be baptised. I saw Manuel making his way toward me through the crowd. His face shone with excitement. He had brought seven non-Adventist boys to the camporee. Two had gone forward in response to the appeal. I didn’t have to ask him whether Pathfinders was worthwhile.
Many unsung heroes—parents, leaders and counsellors—make Pathfindering so successful around the world. They help the Pathfinder Club play its part as one of God’s methods for saving youth.
Malcolm Allen was the Pathfinder director at the General Conference from 1986 to 1996.
