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 said he’d been reading all about [Pathfinders] and the Adventists,” commented Alex Rodriguez, associate director of Voice of Prophecy from Loveland, Colorado.
Rodriguez 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 rainy weather. 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.”
