Whew! Last week’s International Pathfinder Camporee was as thrilling and dizzying as riding a bucking bull or horse—like those Wyoming cowboys we saw at the Gillette rodeo.

The Storms and the Show

Our first night brought fierce storms that saw the evening program canceled, everyone running for cover, and many campsites and supplies flooded and torn up. Luckily, no one was hurt, and the stage show and broadcast teams had planned ahead of time, so we were able to go on air with prerecorded content. 🎥 👍 And then a stunning double rainbow and the kind generosity and aid of the citizens of Gillette reminded us: God was still watching over us. We would “Believe the Promise”!

On night 2, we saw a live Act I of the play, a marvelous drum corps performance, and a talented praise band brave the elements before the rain got so heavy that the showrunners had to end things early.

Dry weather returned with day and night 3! 🙌 People bundled up against the chill wind and headed out to the sea of Pathfinders gathered at the main stage. They enjoyed more giggle-worthy banter from ventriloquist Ryan Bomgardner and Ollie the Ostrich, more fiery sermonettes from Pastor Damian Chandler about God’s unstoppable love, and all of Acts 2 and 3 (complete with a couple dramatic beard makeovers for Moses.).

Out of concern for everyone’s safety, the Camporee organizers decided to make night 4 (Friday) the final program when bad storms were forecasted for Saturday evening. Thanks to the incredible hustling of the production teams, it ended up working out okay, show- and broadcast-wise. 👏 We watched the last two acts of the drama and left inspired by all the music, messages, stories, and week-in-review footage.

The Booth

It was nonstop action at our large Discovery Mountain booth! SO many people—we’ve never seen so many at one of our events! 😮 The Blue Birdie flight simulator was a huge hit, as were our various shimmering pins that we handed out.

Over 1,200 kids had completed our Pathfinder Bible Study Challenge and received our special sliding-sword-and-Bible award pin. We also loved seeing people get excited about our beautiful new Expedition Bible Guides. And we were even happier to introduce many visitors to Discovery Mountain the show for the first time.

As always, the fans stole our hearts. 💙 On Sabbath, the predicted storms actually ended up skipping town, and it was a great day for pics, autographs, and friendly chats.

The Broadcast

The lashing, flooding rain—and the threat of it—posed some big challenges for our news and media crew. They were as nimble as antelopes in navigating all the sudden program changes and still creating wonderful news segments and presentations.

Everyone was highly motivated to pull this thing off! They hauled equipment and wrapped it in waterproof coverings. They rehearsed. They got out there and captured the stories. They interviewed awesome guests like President Ted Wilson, Pastor Chandler, and Moses’ actor, Leo Aguilera (he’s Rich the Mud Guy’s son!). They guided cameras and operated sound boards and handled a million other things to ensure as smooth a broadcast as possible.

Special shoutout to our team of roving young reporters. 🎤 It’s been very rewarding to work with them and see their skills and curiosity bloom! Their story segments brought fresh energy to the events.

Really, we are so thankful for every single worker and helper! Their faithful efforts and God’s daily grace allowed thousands of those who couldn’t come to Gillette to experience some of the power of an International Pathfinder Camporee.

In the end, Believe the Promise was definitely the unforgettable event of a lifetime. Yes, the unpredictable storms threw a big wrench into the works. But there were a lot of amazing and soul-touching things, too—all the honors, activities, foods, pins, parades, service projects . . . and of course, the more than 1,000 Pathfinders who got baptized and started a new life in Christ.

That’s pretty incredible, no matter what the weather. 😊

—Ms. Jean

After producing an entire season about the Discovery Mountain Pathfinders' trip to Camporee (which you can listen to here), the Discovery Mountain team is making their own journey! We'll be at the 2019 International Pathfinder Camporee in Oshkosh, Wisconsin August 13-17. Come find us at booth #100 in Hangar A for a chance to fly Blue Birdie, meet Director Doug, Ms. Jean, Jake, and Jamey (and more of your favorite characters!), and pick up some awesome merch at Trekkers. We can't wait to see you!

We’ve also created a 6-part never-before-heard series of audio devotionals called "Chosen." The episodes will be released each day during Camporee right here (and wherever you listen to podcasts).

August 13: "The Neighbor"
August 14: "Breakfast Sizzle"
August 15: "Cowboy Jake"
August 16: "Where's Jake?"
August 17: "Unmissable"
August 18: "You Be You"

Pathfinder directors, these short devotionals are perfect for morning worship with your club. To find out how you can gain early access to these recordings and download them before you ever leave for Oshkosh, email us at discoverymountain@vop.com.

For more information on Camporee, visit the website at camporee.org.

If you arrived on this page and were really excited to listen to the special Camporee devotionals mini's, you're going to want to visit the homepage. Every day the homepage and our podcast feeds will be updated with the latest devotional episodes to listen to. Tune in, enjoy and have a great time at Camporee 2019!

In Season 7, called "You Belong," everyone in Discovery Mountain is gathering toys for Ward’s Wishes. The toys will go to children who have a parent in jail or are separated from their parent over the holidays. Ward’s Wishes is a fictitious charity created by Emma and Ethan Ward in Season 5 after their father the governor goes to jail.

As they’re listening, your children, grandchildren and students may feel inspired to help real families in their communities. We want to help you encourage that desire to serve others! Below are charities that you may want to connect with to help other families. We invite you to research these national options and also to inquire about where you can get involved at a local level where you live. Please note that we’re not affiliated with any of the organizations below and have nothing to urge—these are simply ideas to get you started!

Would you like to create your own “Puffy Heart” to match the one hanging in Trekkers? Watch the video above and create this fun craft with your young listeners. Email Ms. Jean at discoverymountain@vop.com for the secret directions for what to stuff your Puffy Heart with! Your listeners can open it over the holidays and be surprised right along with the characters in Discovery Mountain. The secret will be revealed in episode 7, called "The Christmas Surprise," which airs on December 26, 2018.

Toys for Tots
toysfortots.org
toysfortotscanada.com

Operation Christmas Child
samaritanspurse.org
samaritanspurse.ca

My Two Front Teeth
mytwofrontteeth.org

Angel Tree Christmas
prisonfellowship.org
prisonfellowship.ca

Adventist Development and Relief Agency
giftcatalog.adra.org
adra.ca

We're listening!

We love to hear from our loyal listeners and recently several of you shared the same thoughts for us. You shared that you and your family love listening to Discovery Mountain so much that you wished there was something new every week. We listened and we came up with an answer: mini adventures!

Discovery Mountain will continue to create the same high quality episodes that you've come to expect! With four seasons per year you and your family will have 24 all new full-length episodes each year, featuring all of your favorite characters. In addition to these 24 episodes we're adding new mini adventures!

Discovery Mountain mini adventures are just what the name tells us—mini programs! These minis will be fun and engaging audio adventures in a variety of formats. Some weeks we'll interview voice actors, and other weeks we'll hear fun game show style contests that you can participate in too! Mini adventures will provide you and your family with the same level of character-building audio programming that you've come to expect from Discovery Mountain.

Our first two mini adventures will air on March 14 and 21, 2018. On March 28th Season 5 "Family Matters" launches with a brand-new 10 part audio adventure series. In Season 5 we meet Emma and Ethan Ward and we spend some time exercising our faith as we learn the story of Moses right along with them.

Let us know how you're enjoying our new mini adventures. Do you have an idea for a mini adventure that you'd like to hear? Send us a message, we'd love to hear from you!