Solosuchiapa, Chiapas, Mexico…[Raul Lozano/IAD Staff]
With their sleeping bags packed, over 4,100 young Seventh-day Adventists from the South Mexican region gathered to set up tents for fun and learning last month. It was the first such Adventurer Club camporee ever organized in the region for children ages 6-9.
“We wanted to offer a great adventure, create a sense of identity and belonging, evaluate the teaching of the different classes and leave a mark on the children's minds,” said Pastor Benjamin Carballo, youth ministries director of the church in South Mexico and organizer of the event.
According to Carballo, organizing the event was no small task.
“We needed the parents to trust their children to the club leaders and this was not simple considering the age of the children,” Carballo said of the five day camp-out activity. “In addition, it was a challenge to gain the interest of the clubs to travel quite a distance to the campground.”
During the opening of the event, local government officials spoke to the young crowd.
“I always wanted to participate in a camporee like this,” said Enrique Guillermo Ramirez, undertreasurer of religious affairs for the State of Chiapas, Mexico. “Who would have known that at my third age, I would attend one.”
The young Adventists participated in many activities, such as memorizing Bible texts, oral presentations, marches, sports, arts and crafts, among others.
“I would say that this was a phenomenal event,” said Pastor Jeremias Vazquez, youth ministries director for the church in the Central Chiapas region. “There was a display of discipline and honesty among the children and of great commitment on behalf of the club directors.”
The Seventh-day Adventist church in South Mexico consist of 146 Adventurer Clubs organized in hundreds of churches across the region. The Adventurer Club is a Seventh-day Adventist Church-sponsored ministry open to all children in grades 1-4.
For more information on the nearest Adventurer Club in your area, contact your nearest Seventh-day Adventist Church.
