Camporee Participants in Korea Are Challenged to ‘Focus on the Vision’

From August 1 to 5, the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD) Youth Department hosted the 3rd regional Pathfinder Camporee at Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea.

The NSD Pathfinder Camporee lasted four days and five nights, starting with the opening ceremony at the Sahmyook University Auditorium on August 1.

Under the theme “Focus on the Vision,” more than 2,300 Pathfinder members and leaders from around the world, including Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, and the host country of Korea participated.

The camporee began with a flag-raising ceremony that included all participating countries, as well as the flags of the Pathfinders.

Participants showed their excitement as NSD Youth Department director Ho Young Choi declared the event opened after delivering the tournament flag from Taiwan, the previous host country, to Korea.

NSD president Yo Han Kim delivered his opening remarks via video. “This camporee will focus us on our mission,” Kim said. “I look forward to seeing Jesus with our eyes and having everything in our lives point to Christ.”

During the morning and afternoon sessions of the camporee, about 120 booth activities were offered, including archery, knife skills, leatherwork, knotting, space telescope making, fruit carving, VR experience, 3D printing, climbing, boating, a zipline, a water bounce, and water leisure activities.

The evening rally was preceded by a parade of Pathfinders from different countries. The parade started at Sahmyook University’s sports field and continued to the main auditorium. Participants cheered loudly and enthusiastically as each country’s parade procession passed by.

In the evening service that started after the parade, everyone praised and glorified God in unison, starting with worship and praise, followed by a performance of “Joseph,” a musical prepared by the Sulammi Musical team.

The musical began with the words, “The dream you had today is the dream of all of us, given by God. Don’t forget that you can see better when it’s dark all around you.”

In the sermon following the musical, Choi said, “Joseph had a completely different character than his brothers. God works through those whose character is prepared,” and emphasized that they should keep the dream of being used by God and become people of good character.

On Saturday (Sabbath) morning, the troupe called Skybird delivered a performance on the stage about gaming addiction. Afterward, Ho Jin Lee from the Department of Theology, Sahmyook University, who inspired the performance, moved the participants with his testimony of overcoming game addiction through the Bible and faith.

During the Sabbath sermon service, General Conference Pathfinder director Andres Peralta and Choi ran around the participants and took commemorative photos. They unrolled and passed around Pathfinder scarves to commemorate the encounter.

“We need to have a more certain dream,” Peralta said. “Like Joseph, let’s dream big in God. God wants us to focus on who we are going to be, not what we are going to do,” he exhorted.

Meanwhile, on Sabbath afternoon, 80 people were baptized in the fountain in front of the main auditorium, accepting Christ as their personal Savior. Sixty-one were originally scheduled, but an additional 19 who were graced in various stages during the camporee made their decision for Christ. In addition to South Korea, participants from Japan, Taiwan, Mongolia, and Malaysia joined the baptism.

On the fifth night, the closing ceremony began with a demonstration performance by the Onyang Eagles Club of the Middlewest Korean Conference, which received a first-class rating in the ceremonial presentation that afternoon. The participants who filled the large auditorium cheered and applauded the Onyang Eagles’ ceremony, described as “elegant and powerful.”

Church leaders also honored exemplary leaders. Ten leaders were honored with certificates and medals for their dedication to the development of the Pathfinder movement.

The final nightly episode of the musical “Joseph” also unfolded.

In his sermon based on Genesis 43 and 44, Choi said, “The moment his brothers bowed to him, Joseph’s long-forgotten dreams were revived. He wanted to know if his character had changed enough to receive ‘my dreams’ as ‘our dreams.’ God gives dreams to those whose character is ready,” he emphasized.

After the sermon, the character of Joseph reappeared and asked the audience, “What dreams do you have?” The message, “My dream is to go to heaven with my loved ones,” filled the screen, and guided by Joseph from the musical, Pathfinders filled paper airplanes with their dreams and visions and sent them soaring into the sky.

The next regional Pathfinder Camporee is set to take place in Mongolia.

The original version of this story was posted on the Northern Asia-Pacific Division news site.