Brent Learned – Casper, Wyoming … Rocky Mountain Conference’s (RMC) annual Pathfinder Fair was held at Mills Spring Ranch (MSR) in Casper, Wyoming, for the first time ever. The day-long event was also extended to an entire weekend for the first time, May 30-June1.
Over 200 Pathfinders, staff, and supporting family members arrived at MSR to experience spiritual revival, outdoor recreation, and display what they have learned over the past year in their local clubs.
After the clubs arrived and set up camp on Friday, they gathered at the fire bowl for a worship service led by the Cornett family and Eric Mechalke from the Casper Seventh-day Adventist Church’s worship team. This was followed by an interactive worship message delivered by Edrey Santos, lead pastor of the northeast Wyoming church district, that involved Pathfinder volunteers taking turns holding up a rock. Everyone was delighted not to be under any fire restrictions at the time of the event and freely lit campfires in designated fire pits around camp.
Saturday morning started with flag raising by Aurora Las Aguilas Pathfinder Club followed by a parade of clubs from the center of camp up to the chapel where the Sabbath church service was held. After service, everyone headed to the cafeteria to eat a haystack meal together before dividing into four rotation group activities.
The day closed with the flag lowering and a worship service at the campfire bowl where RMC Club Ministries director Brent Learned talked about learning to walk in the freedom we were given at Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection two thousand years ago. The night ended after sundown with an exciting pine car derby race for all the pathfinders who had earned the pine car derby honor this past year and brought their cars.
Jamie Mira, member of the Denver South Hispanic’s Lion of Judah Pathfinder Club, commented, “It might’ve been a bit of a drive, but it was definitely a memorable weekend. I heard a lot of positive feedback!”
Bryan Lopez, Aurora Hispanic’s Las Aguilas Pathfinder Club member, said, “My experience of the fair was really fun! I feel like it brought me closer to God hanging around with everyone. It was fun doing the activities, and I think that everyone should join Pathfinders and experience these events. I definitely would recommend it for everyone.”
After flag raising on Sunday, clubs demonstrated their drilling and marching abilities through a friendly competition with one another to execute coordinated maneuvers. The event closed with the special Pathfinder Hall of Fame plaque being presented to Yolanda Rodriguez, a long-time supporter of the Pathfinder Club Ministries, before clubs packed up their respective campsites and headed home.
Ashlee Gonzalez, who assists in leading the Colorado Springs Hispanic Pleyades Pathfinder Club, remarked, “We had a lot of fun with the club. Even though we only brought three kids along, they enjoyed it a lot and got to really see what being a Pathfinder is all about. Maybe next year we can get more kids and more clubs involved!”
“Honestly, what a great camp and fair this was,” commented Asa Acevedo-Baez, member of the Pecos Hispanic Rocky Mountain Stallions Pathfinder Club. “I hadn’t experienced this in a while, and this weekend I got to relive it. I’m a teen rep, but I’m just another Pathfinder who got to bond, participate, and learn more about God with my friends. All thanks to God who allows us to carry on the mission through Pathfinders.”
Learned remarked, “I am really pleased with our Pathfinder coordinators Jodi Gage and David Hopkins who thought outside the box to extend the normal one-day fair into a weekend-long event and who decided to host it at MSR, which has never been done before. I am proud to be part of such a fantastic team of dedicated people who work together tirelessly to further our mission of ‘making it easy for kids to know God’ by organizing and hosting events like this and, most importantly, by continually mentoring and pouring into their local Pathfinders.”
—Brent Learned is the RMC Youth assistant director and Mills Spring Ranch manager. Photos by Daniel Sem.
