From July 7 to 14, the National Pathfinder Camp 2024, organized by the Pathfinder Club and the Youth Department of SDA Bulgaria, took place at Varhovrah hut in the Rhodope Mountain. Over 100 Pathfinders aged 11 to 15 participated in numerous scouting games and gained new knowledge and skills. In addition to the games, the young people had lectures on Biblical and spiritual topics entitled "Citizens of Heaven". Guest speakers for the spiritual part of the camp were Alexandra Mora and Isaac Chia from the Youth Department of the Inter-European Division.
Morning exercises followed by an inspiring devotional is how each day began during the 2024 Pathfinder Camp Meeting in Bulgaria. Motivated, a bit sleepy, but with big smiles and readiness, the youngsters eagerly await to find out what lies ahead during the day. Most of the time it is a lot of physical training, orienteering, logic games, laughter, new skills, worship time, and reading God's Word.
"Pathfinder Club is a scouting organization where we develop skills such as orienteering and survival in the wild. It is also important for us to develop ourselves spiritually - God, man, nature - these are the main values of the club," says Svetlin Tomanov, organizer.
Every day the Pathfinders have two games that develop their physical and intellectual skills. In the afternoon, they participate in workshops for practical skills such as sewing, planting, orienteering, lighting a fire, making knots, and providing first aid. This year, at the end of the camp, a competition exam was held for what was learned during this and previous camps.
“I'm better at physical than logical games, but I've also gained skills like agility and endurance here. I also made many new friendships," says fourteen-year-old Bozhidara, a Pathfinder.
For many, the evening topics are one of the most interesting parts of the camp. The topics this year follow the scriptures about the so-called "Fruit of the Spirit" from Galatians ch. 5. Two Biblical values are studied each evening.
"We want to convey to the youth that when we allow God to work in our hearts, it means that we allow him to change us and produce what is called the "Fruit of the Spirit" in the Bible. When connected to God, we allow Him to produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We want our Pathfinders to apply those things in their lives," comments Alexandra Mora.
In addition to the theoretical part, each day the Pathfinders have a challenge focused on the spiritual theme of the previous day. They have 24 hours to complete the challenge and thus experience what was said in the lectures. They are also asked questions to think about and often share interesting experiences after completing the challenge.
"The three things I would like the Pathfinders to take from the camp are - to learn something new about themselves, for example, that they love nature or that they can do more than they think; in the second place - to improve their relationship with God, so that it continues throughout the year and it is not just the flame that we spark here; and thirdly - to keep the many friendships they make at the camp," says the organizer of the games, Nino Marinov.
Fifteen-year-old Elisaveta sums up her experience in the Pathfinder Camp like this: "I will go home with good memories, new knowledge, many friends from all over the country, inspiration from the camp, and a pillow that I sewed myself."
* Fani Bachvarova, Communications Department, Bulgarian SDA Union, Producer at Hope Channel Bulgaria