August 21, 2008 St. Johns, Antigua…James F. Daniel/ANN Staff
A Caribbean island nation's leader is now a second-year honorary member of the Pathfinder club, a Seventh-day Adventist youth service organization.
Antigua Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer received the ranking last Saturday during a gathering of more than 3,000 Pathfinders from around the Caribbean. Adventist young people met for a five-day camporee at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St. Johns August 14 through 18.
Spencer donned his Pathfinder uniform and saluted an August 16 parade of more than 8,000 Adventists marching through the city with a message of Christianity and healthful living.
“It was one of the highest privileges ever accorded me,” he said. Spencer was declared an honorary Pathfinder last year.
Wearing their green and brown uniforms with yellow scarves, Pathfinders paraded with marching bands, drill teams and public address systems blaring from pickups. Adventist leaders urged young people to continue making a positive difference in their homes, schools, churches and in their community.
“By your actions you are reaching out,” Spencer told the crowd before the march. “You are extolling the virtues of the Almighty. You are an example. Continue to live your lives in the image of the Almighty God.”
Hiskia Missah, associate youth director for the Adventist world church, said Spencer didn't just speak at the ceremony and leave but attended the entire Saturday's church service, as well as ceremonies throughout the five-day event.
“The prime minister was in his Pathfinder uniform the whole time,” Missah said. “He loved it.”
More than 3,000 Pathfinders were invested during the Camporee. Giselle, a Pathfinder from Trinidad, said was an opportunity for her to be part of something big.
“I also had the opportunity to meet other Pathfinders and Master Guides from other countries and saw how they did things differently,” she said.
“Young people need to be well-trained and they need guidance,” Caribbean Pathfinder Director Clive Dottin told the Antigua Sun. “They need to understand that they are loved and wanted and they will realize their purpose and take up their mission in life and be good citizens here and in the life to come.”
The nation's Governor General, Louise Lake-Tact, and retired Governor General, Sir James Carlyle, also attended the event.
