Adventurers Explore the Beauty of Sabbath at Camporee

This year’s Oregon Conference Adventurer Camporee at Gladstone Park took the opportunity to show youth how Sabbath can be fun, inspiring and something to look forward to. 

“We never want kids to feel like Sabbath is a drag,” Jackee Duvall, Oregon Conference club ministries executive coordinator, shared. “We focused on all the fun things they could do on Sabbath and how to find delight in it. It was a great theme and a great opportunity to show kids that Sabbath really is this incredible gift we’re given each week.”

Some 650 people spent the early June weekend at Adventurer Camporee — about 50 more people than last year's camporee. Two hundred Adventurers were joined by 450 family members, directors and staff.

While some groups cooked meals on their own, the Tualatin Valley Pathfinder Club cooked for many Adventurers and their families, offering weekend meal plans as a fundraising opportunity. Throughout the weekend, Billy Hungate, Hood View Church pastor, shared Sabbath messages. Adventurers received a “Sabbath Box” and visited stations featuring ideas for Sabbath activities, receiving or creating an item at each station to put in their box. 

On Sunday, Adventurers spent more time having fun together with the Oregon Conference Cave Trailer, bouncy houses, bubbles, scooters and sidewalk chalk art. John McVay, Oregon Conference president, even stopped by to say hello! 

“We also had 10 TLT’s — Pathfinder Teen Leadership Trainees — who volunteered all weekend to run stations and help. That was huge!” said Duvall, extending a special thanks to the Fort Vancouver Pathfinder Club and their mentor, Laura Graham. “They were incredible. They worked so hard and had smiles on their faces — they were just pros!”

To top it all off, Adventurers headed home from the weekend with a meaningful memento to remember the weekend by: their brand-new Delightful Sabbath Award.