Cayman Islands Mission attend Bahamas Camporee
The Hon.
Fred Mitchell, Bahamian Minister of Foreign Affairs inspecting
Master Guides from the Cayman Islands. Photo by Pastor Jeffrey
Thompson
A delegation of 60 Master Guides from the Cayman Islands Mission of Seventhday Adventists under the leadership of Pastor Reinaldo Dracket attended Camporee 2003 April 16th - April 23rd, at the Bahamas Youth Camp Grounds on Gladstone Road, Nassau Bahamas.
More than 400 Master Guides from Cayman,
Jamaica, United States, and the Bahamas attended the youth camp.
Pastor Israel Leito, President, Inter-American Division (IAD),
headed the list of church officials in attendance. He was accompanied
by Pastor Bernardo Rodriguez, Youth Director, IAD; Elder Herman
Ming, Treasurer, West Indies Union; Pastor Balvin Braham, Camp
Director and President, West Jamaica Conference; Pastor Derek
Bignal, Youth Director WIU; Pastor Jeffrey Thompson, President,
Cayman Islands Mission; Pastor Leonard Johnson, President, Bahamas
Conference. Youth directors from all of the West Indies Union
were also in attendance.
The opening ceremony on Wednesday, April 16th, was spectacular. Everyone wore his region's colors: yellow for West, red for Central, white for North, lime for Cayman, blue for East and aqua for the Bahamas. Pastor Derek Bignal, Youth Director, WIU admonished the Master Guides that there would be "no feelings", an expression connoting "it's all right - no problem when you were misunderstood - no feelings when you were confused - no feelings. When you felt abused - no feelings."
On April 17, the Hon. Fred Mitchell, Minster of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service inspected the Master Guides. The Hon. Leslie Miller, Minster of Trade and Industry; and Ms. Arlene Turnquest of the Ministry of Youth accompanied him. They toured the tent city briefly, and inspected a parade.
Creativity was displayed in the creation of names for the groups (Extraordinary East, Noble North, Willing West, The eagle has landed, the USA, Courageous Cayman, Essentially Central and Beautiful, Blessed Bahamas); decorating the camp grounds - the signs just seemed to grow more beautiful every day; the drills and flag raising ceremonies; and in those beautiful camp songs. Every conference had to make up an "original" song about the Camporee and some of the songs were "excellent - and improving!" another Camporee slogan.
The competitions were fierce. There was a daily the Bible challenge quiz, morning watch drill, and blind man's drill. There were water relays, tower building, beach ball relays, and pioneer passage. Yamma St. Fleur, of the Bahamas dramatically related the story of James White (a pioneer of the Adventist church), a presentation that left her hoarse for the rest of the Camporee!