NewsNuggets Page 19

Jill Harlow – Loveland, Colorado … Marcela Zuniga, a junior at Campion Academy, served for almost one month on a mission trip to Mansa, Zambia, in June. A group of about 20 attended the trip including Marcela’s sister, Dayanara, an incoming freshman, Haley Beckermeyer, a recent graduate, and Kent Kast, a former staff member.

Organized by Jim Lynch with Give Back to Humanity, the group spent most of their time constructing a wall for a Seventh-day Adventist school in Mansa. The wall would help the school to mark off the property and keep the kids safe during the school day. Marcela shared that they typically worked 10-hour days but were able to spend time in worship with the local children each evening.

Marcela remembered, “The local people were very hospitable, always making us feel like we were at home. I enjoyed that they were happy with what they had, and they showed me that small things in life do matter. The kids showed so much faith and love for God and were grateful for what they had.”

Haley Beckermeyer agreed saying, “My favorite part was getting to know the local students. They were all super kind and friendly, and you’d never feel lonely while you were there. They were all very thankful for us coming, and it felt like they were more of a blessing to us than anything we did.”

Despite the hard work, the students expressed how the experience blessed them. Marcela shared, “It made me grateful to know we praise the same God and helped me realize I am blessed to be able to go to Campion Academy. It was a rewarding and life-changing trip.”

—Jill Harlow is the Campion Academy communication director. Photos supplied.

Addison Gann – Loveland, Colorado … A group of about 50 people from Campion Adventist Church to take a trip of a lifetime to the Holy Land, June 19-26.

The first day was a relaxing day as people arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel, to get ready to travel. On the next, the group was met by the tour guide Samir, and the tour began by driving through Joppa and then exploring Caesarea which is where the Hippodrome and Stadium of Herod are located.

There was a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee and a trip up to the top of Mount of Beatitudes. Erin Johnson, one of Campion Academy’s teachers said, “The biggest impact for me was being on the Sea of Galilee, and being where Jesus has calmed the waters and performed so many miracles. It was great to see it because now I’ll never read the Bible the same.”

The next excursion included a trip to the ruins of Jericho, a look at the cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, and a float in the Dead Sea.

The group also took a cable car up to Masada where a mass of Jews chose to kill themselves instead of being captured by Romans. Travelers also got to visit Lazarus’s first tomb, and then the group went to the Wailing Wall to welcome the Sabbath.

On one day, the travelers went to a garden where there is a tomb which archeologists believe could have been Jesus’ tomb. Then the group had a special communion together in the garden. After the garden, they went to the church where the disciples were taught to pray the Lord’s Prayer and visited the top of the Mount of Olives. 

The group visited the cave where the shepherds were told the good news of Jesus being born, as well as the possible birthplace of Jesus. They also visited the Dome of the Rock, and, at the end of the day, they went to the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath.

One exiting adventure was the day the travelers trekked through Hezakiah’s tunnel. Hezakiah’s tunnel was how they brought water from the spring outside into Jerusalem. Everyone enjoyed tramping through the cool spring water, which at times was up to the knees or higher. After the cooling excursion, they visited the house where the Last Supper took place, and, finally, the last destination was to Josephus’s house where Jesus was first brought after being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.  

The trip was organized by the former lead pastor at Campion, Pastor Michael Goetz. He shared that the best part of the tour was, “Caiphus’s house, where Jesus was lowered into the pit. It had escaped my readings before, and the prophetic Psalms describing the pit came alive, and you could hear the echo of Jesus being beaten. In that pit, His love came alive.”

Jack Jordan, a junior at Campion Academy, said, “The people of Israel had the greatest impact on me. Their religions, life choices, and how passionate they were about their choices. The Jews never missed or skipped their prayer time, even on the airplane. The people of Israel show me that, though they don’t believe as I do, I shouldn’t be afraid to live out what I believe.”

Overall, despite the intense heat and travel stresses, this was a life changing experience for everyone on the trip.  

—Addison Gann is a sophomore at Campion Academy. Photos supplied.

Jasmine Miller – Ward, Colorado … Rocky Mountain Conference President Mic Thurber visited Glacier View Ranch on July 11. He was shown several camp activities and took photos out by the lake. Mic said he had been trying to make it out to camp all summer but had been busy with the six regional camp meetings in the Conference this summer.

This brought about the conversation of how summer camp is important to the Rocky Mountain Conference. He said, “Most people need to get away from their normal busy lives to be able to reconnect with God and themselves. You can see all the beautiful nature and unwind and get a sense of what God has in mind for you.”

Thurber also talked about how the Adventist Church creates partnerships with education and summer camps because “it takes different things to reach different people.”

One School that works closely with GVR is Campion Adventist Academy. Jessica Rios, a recruiter from Campion, said many of the kids that come to camp are students from Campion and many staff are graduates from the school. She said it is always nice visiting GVR and getting to see “leadership skills that they were taught at Campion become practical in life where they can contribute to other ministries in the church. It is cool to see them grow up to mentor other kids.”

Rios feels as though GVR can be an “extension” of Campion in the way that “camp is like boarding school but without homework, and also parallels a lot of the leadership opportunities that come from working at camp.” She comes to promote Campion and “pique the interest of other young people” to choose Adventist education and for kids who may be seeking a more spiritual experience for school.

Reagan Garman, Campion Academy alumni and assistant girls’ director at GVR, said that being class president for four years helped her “learn leadership skills and foster a community where I felt safe to talk about God and rely on him for strength in tough situations.” She also commented that it was helpful in choosing her career pathway, confirming that she wanted to work with kids in education. Currently, she is pursuing an education degree at Union College in Nebraska.

President Thurber said, “[he is] grateful for our youth staff and pastors and the passion that they have for working in this area of ministry. People in years past often looked at young people as the future, but I think they are the present.”

There are many limitations in our normal lives, and it is crucial for lots of different people from different backgrounds and ages to minister to the church and its people, because you never know who or what will impact someone’s life for the better.

—Text and photos by Jasmine Miller, marketing and communications consultant at GVR.

RMCNews and Eli Gonzales – Gillette, Wyoming … The Rocky Mountain Conference was well represented at the Fourth of July celebrations in Gillette, Wyoming, with over 65 Pathfinders from seven different clubs marching in the day’s parade. The Pathfinders presence in the parade is part of community involvement and to gain awareness for 2024’s International Camporee in Gillette.

Tyrone Douglas, director of church ministries and youth director at Mid-America Union, remarked, “It was truly a blessing to participate with the Rocky Mountain Pathfinders as we followed in the footsteps of Jesus and mingled with the residents of Gillette, Wyoming, for their July fourth parade. I am looking forward to the International Camporee in 2024.”

“It was a delight for our Pathfinders to join the Gillette, Wyoming, fourth of July parade. A gentleman asked about our uniforms, and he smiled and saying he’d been reading all about [Pathfinders] and the “Adventists,” commented Alex Rodriguez, associate director of Voice of Prophecy from Loveland, Colorado.

He continued, “At the parade, I was shocked at the attendance—both sides of the street were packed with people cheering and clapping for our Pathfinder clubs. It’s a blessing to run a club and to participate in weekly activities and campouts. But for me, this Gillette experience captured the essence of what Pathfindering can be—not just an internal ministry, but a way to make positive inroads into our communities demonstrating the beauty of what the Seventh-day Adventist Church is and can provide for families worldwide.”

The day did not come without its challenges, as there was rain that day. But Jenny Hansen, a parent and club staff member of the Golden Adventist Church Pathfinders said, “It was a great experience! I am so glad my family went. You wouldn’t believe how many town people came out in the rain to see the parade. Even got to mingle with some of them and let them know who the Pathfinders are. And that we serve the Living God.”

—RMCNews and Eli Gonzales is the RMC club ministries associate executive coordinator. Photos supplied.

Jasmine Miller – Ward, Colorado … The spiritual atmosphere at Glacier View Ranch (GVR) summer camp has been able to have a positive impact on campers and staff alike. Eight campers and one staff member were baptized June 30 at Glacier View Ranch.

Charles Metz, staff member and theology major from Union College, rededicated his life to Jesus and said that he was inspired to reconnect with God at camp because he has had time to “pause and reflect” and be present in a “healthy environment” with people that encourage him in his walk with Jesus.

For many staff members and campers, camp can be a temporary escape from problems at home, and, for Charles, being able to be in an environment that “presented a God that I didn’t grow up knowing and one that loved me for who I am” brought him closer to God.

Pastor Brandon Westgate, Rocky Mountain Conference youth director and pastor of GVR, mentioned that he takes time to have “intentional conversations with staff and give council about things going on in their lives.” Brandon, who walks at least 18,000 steps daily throughout GVR, loves to give “aha moments” and help them come to realizations about their true purpose. Charles mentioned that Pastor Brandon, other staff, and last week’s camp Pastor Leandro Bizama have had a positive impact on his spirituality.

Leandro, an associate pastor at Campion Adventist Church, baptized two of the candidates and was at the camp with his family. “Last week was very special. You combine beautiful, gorgeous nature, mountains, and great weather, with sharing the story of Jesus with 10- to 12-year-olds, what is there not to like about that? We enjoyed a great week. The baptism was a great celebration,” he shared.

Overall, Brandon and the returning staff said that staff morale and relationships are more positive than last summer. Brandon said, “we are all following Matthew 18,” which talks about dealing with conflict in a healthy and uplifting way towards others. He also said “creating a safe place to let staff know their opinion matters and that they are valued” is very important to a healthy environment.

Staff pastor Ashley Halvorson talks about ways she can encourage staff who may be struggling or in need of some extra encouragement by utilizing the “warm fuzzy board” that is posted in the camp’s office where staff can leave notes of encouragement either anonymous or by name. She also has created a survey for staff to fill out weekly which “gives people who are less likely to speak up about their feelings to share how they are doing and get support,” Ashley said. She is reminded that “God is the one taking care of people, not me. Because I couldn’t do it alone.”

Having a spiritual high among the staff enables them to be able to better pour into campers who might be questioning spirituality or wanting to deepen their relationship with God. Hannah Boyd, a first-year girls’ counselor, explained how special it feels to see her campers last week “make a life-altering decision” by getting baptized and know that she had an impact on their walk with God. She said she can feel the “spiritual high” within the atmosphere at camp and how it makes it easy to show God to the campers “when he is all around.”

It appears showing God’s love at camp has become a chain reaction. Feeling something of this nature seems “unavoidable”, says Charles, “even though I’ve been running a lot”, an environment with God’s love at the center is “all I’ve ever wanted.”

—Jasmine Miller is marketing and communications consultant at GVR’s 2023 Camp. Photos by Jasmine Miller and Rajmund Dabrowski.

Sarah Hernandez – Aurora, Colorado … This year’s Literature Ministry Youth Rush in the Rocky Mountain Conference has started off strong with 19 students deciding to dedicate their lives this summer working in the Lord’s Literature Evangelism program.

Youth Rush not only consists of a summer based on faith and powerful door-to-door experiences, but of powerful life changing testimonies as well. This week’s testimonies have helped not only our students but also our leaders to realize that God is working. Testimonies from two of our students share their experience—not only about selling books, but about strengthening their own spiritual experiences.

Vanessa, 15, from Quemado, New Mexico, recently had a first door experience. After fervently praying for a first door experience, Vanessa’s prayer was answered in a very interesting manner.

Vanessa shared that one afternoon after lunch, “My leader had dropped me off at our new territory. My prayer throughout that day had been to have a first door experience. I had started to approach my very first door that evening and started to pray as I rang the doorbell. I started canvassing a man who opened the door by telling him about the books. I had thought to myself that he wouldn’t be interested and that he would just reject the books.”

“But he proceeded to tell me that he would be interested but he didn’t know if his wife was going to be interested, too. ‘Honey, are you interested in cookbooks or books to help you go to school?’ His wife responded, ‘Tell her we are not interested, and we have no time for her.’ ”

“Then he tells me, ‘Well you heard my wife,’ but then asked me where I was from? ‘I am from Quemado, New Mexico,’ I answered. He was surprised and said that he was also from there and had family still living there. After hearing this, his wife came dashing too the door with a check book in her hand and said that she couldn’t believe that I was from Quemado, New Mexico. When she heard where I was from, she immediately felt the need to donate. After looking at various books, the couple decided to donate not only for The Great Controversy, but also donated more.”

Vanessa’s experience told us that, when we really believe with our hearts, God will hear us and answer our prayers.

Mallory, 17, comes from California. She shared an experience with a lady that helped her realize that God puts us at peoples’ doors for a reason.

“I was being dropped off at a new location, and I started making my way to the second house on the street. A lady opened the door, and I gladly started to share with her what I was doing. I showed her Simply Fresh and flipped through the pages. She looked at me and was like, ‘Oh now I’ve got to get it because you showed me my favorite foods.’ I also showed her our devotional set which includes Peace Above the Storm and Lessons of Love. She was really interested in the set and asked me if I was a Christian. I told her I’m a Seventh-day Adventist.”

“We talked for a little longer and I mentioned how I had just finished high school and was going to start college in the fall to become a nurse. She smiled and was like ‘That is amazing! Now when you become a nurse, who will you be healing for?’ I looked at her and confused and smiled, puzzled by the question. I then responded by saying ‘I’m sorry what?’ She then said, ‘Will you be healing for the Lord?’ I smiled and said, ‘Yes I’d be healing for the Lord.’ She jumped in excitement and went into the house for $100 for my school. She was super excited and happy I came to her door. She gave me a hug and told me to keep working for the Lord and to not give up on becoming a nurse because I’ll be able to serve the Lord through it.”

From a leaders’ perspective, literature ministry is just as important to a leader as it is to a student. Nicholas Lesch, a Leader from Redlands, California, is on his eighth Youth Rush summer. Working in this ministry has helped him not only share the gospel and change his life but change many other people’s lives as well.

—Sarah Hernandez is the communication assistant for RMC literature ministries. Photos supplied.