Ten-seater Plane Flies 72 Delegates to the IAD Pathfinder Camporee

April 17, 2023 | Trelawny, Jamaica | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

It took seven round trips to get a delegation of 72 Pathfinders and youth leaders to attend the 5th Inter-American Division’s Pathfinder Camporee in Trelawny, Jamaica, Apr. 4-9, 2023.  It was nothing short of a miracle, said Pastor Gelder Gamboa, youth ministries director of the Belize Union.

The original plan was to fly with two other delegations from Guatemala and then Honduras but when that fell through, Gamboa felt impressed to contact his long-time Adventist friend Jeff Sutton, who runs a missionary training center, in Orange Walk, a 50-minute drive from Belize City, the capital.

“We had a group of prayer warriors and I remember crying to the Lord: ‘This is about you, please get these young people to camp, these are your future leaders, open the door,’” said Gamboa.

The delegation was made up of 50 Pathfinders and 22 youth leaders, said Gamboa. “Our young people had worked so hard raising funds, with churches supporting them, the government supporting them and some parents even taking out loans to send their kids,” he explained.

Sutton, who was in the middle of a session at the US non-profit organization called MOVE or Missionary Outreach Volunteer Evangelism which he operates, felt inclined to see what could be done. He researched permits ahead of time, figured out the limit pounds per flight and other logistics, and soon, the plan began to take some shape.

As Sutton crunched numbers for the flights, he would have to make on his 10-seater Cessna C441 Conquest II, which was parked at a hangar warehouse in the United States, a “mission of love plan” as he called it, was presented to union leaders and soon after to parents of pathfinders.

“When Sutton presented photos of the plane they would be traveling overseas during an online meeting, 40 of our delegates felt like maybe they didn’t want to fly in a small plane,” said Gamboa. “With our prayer warriors continually elevating prayers, I proceeded to call each one of the parents, explaining every precaution, insurance and logistic in place for the trips.”

Sutton was really moved to help any way he could to make this camporee event a reality for so many Pathfinders.

“My passion is to see young people in mission because we are called to have a purpose and I was so thrilled about the theme of the camporee ‘Pathfinders in Mission’ and I thought an airplane is only good as the people you are hauling,” said Sutton. Sutton said all the expenses like landing fees, handling fees, and passenger fees were all at cost. He donated his time.

After picking up the plane, Sutton flew the first delegation to the camporee on Mar. 31. Then Apr. 2 saw Sutton flying one group in the morning to Jamaica, and then returning to get the second group, and so on, until he got all 72 for the camporee event.

“I remember thinking, I’m parked on a ramp, at a high-end facility in Montego Bay, and I’m pulling off with village kids with nap sacks, they’re my people, my kids, it was so fun,” said Sutton. “I prayed this experience will lead them to gain even more of a passion for mission,” said Sutton, who camped out with the group sleeping on his hammock every night.

LeAn Seguro, 16, from the Biscayne Village in Belize, was still processing the fact that she was at the camporee.  “I’ve met so many people from different countries and I’ve learned so much every day,” she said. It’s surreal, she said. All the hard work her Biscayne Nature Club, made up of 10 Pathfinders, raised funds selling food at cricket matches every Sunday for months, and organized family fun days and concerts.

Taking part in the many sports activities with other peers and the spiritual messages has brought her to realize that she has to make some changes to live a more purposeful life.  “I need to spend less time on my phone and more time studying the Bible,” she said. “It’s not so much the church’s mission but it’s God’s mission.” LeAn is determined to continue doing more in her community and witnessing more and share with others what her experience was all about during the Camporee.

Garik Gilharry, 15, felt as excited to be at the camporee to experience many first experiences with his delegation. Flying for the first time in a small plane was scary but he said he was excited at the same time to see the water below and the adventure of camping with so many other Pathfinders for a week. He’s thankful for the help he received from his Aunt in the United States that helped to support his trip and the fundraising his club did back home.

Garik and the rest of the delegation were happy to see their bus driver in Jamaica get baptized after they were able to witness to him while they travelled to camp from the airport and took a day to sightsee.

“This has been quite an adventure and a spiritual awakening for them and for us youth leaders too,” said Pastor Gamboa. “God has a divine purpose for their lives and this camporee has allowed for them to see a transformation in their lives today and for the future,” he said. There are many miracles that happened along the way, said Gamboa.  Having a small plane make 28 landings and take offs to get the Belize delegation to the camporee was not something that leaders thought it would be but “God is real,” said Gamboa.  “We need to pray more and have more faith.”