RMCNews – Gillette, Wyoming … A severe thunderstorm tore through the Gillette area in Wyoming last night, August 6, putting activities at the 2024 International Pathfinder Camporee to a halt. Around 6:00 p.m. (MT), a severe storm watch was put into effect, and Camporee leadership took all precautions to keep people safe by moving them from the camp sites into CAM-PLEX facilities buildings as the storm passed through the area.
All activities have been suspended until noon, August 7, for clubs to rebuild their campsites and obtain new supplies and gear. No injuries from the storm have been reported as of now.
“The storm has passed, praise the Lord. Thank you for all your prayers! And we even have a rainbow here reminding us that God will take care of us,” commented Hugh Davis, Mid-America Union Conference associate director of communication.
Many Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Pathfinder club camp sites sustained damage from strong wind gusts and flooding. Brent Learned, RMC Youth assistant director and RMC Camporee operations manager, reported the camp site for the Cheyenne Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinders Club from Cheyenne, Wyoming, was completely flooded out with 4 inches of standing water. The Casper Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinders Club from Casper, Wyoming, had most of their tents collapse from tent poles snapping and had to return to Casper for the evening to regroup.
The Cody Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinders Club from Cody, Wyoming, and the Brixton Jays Pathfinder Club, an international club from the U.K. sponsored by the Denver South Seventh-day Adventist Church Pathfinders Club from Denver, Colorado, were also flooded and were moved to the Gillette Seventh-day Adventist Church, the local church in Gillette, Wyoming, while their gear dries out and equipment replacements acquired.
“Cody, Denver South, and Cheyenne got it the worst,” remarked Learned. “It’s dried up a lot. They dug a trench to drain it, but it was, at one point, almost halfway up to the knee.” He wanted those affected by the storm to remember that the same God that saw us through the storm is going to help us rebuild what we lost.
Other local churches in Gillette opened their doors to house Pathfinder clubs displaced by the storms. Extra attention has been given to the international clubs as they do not have the option to head home early. In an article released by the NAD, “Storms Interrupts International Pathfinders Camporee, Displaces Some Campers,” it was also reported that a Gillette resident drove to the CAM-PLEX with a car full of sleeping bags, blankets, and camping supplies.
“Well, it is a mess,” reported Daniele Fantoni, lead pastor at the Alamosa Seventh-day Adventist Church in Alamosa, Colorado. “We will manage, [and] we will rearrange everything because we still have the canopy and the trailers. We also brought enough extra things, so we were pretty good. Other clubs are in a worse situation than us for sure. Someone came here asking for 20 sleeping bags, and some others drove two hours from here to get everything that was needed. Praise the Lord that we had big buildings that we could use.”
While this information has not been confirmed, several participant sources at Camporee did comment that the local Walmart in Gillette was cleaned out of supplies necessary to replace what was lost in the storm. It was reported that people were driving a few hours to other towns for supplies.
“Overall, for the spirit at Camporee is a plus,” remarked Eli Gonzales, co-executive coordinator of the RMC Club Ministries. “We’ve been blessed with the leadership that we have here at the Rocky Mountain Conference. Pastor Mic [Thurber] and his team provided us with transportation and buying some supplies from Walmart to take to the local church where some clubs were moved to.”
“It’s been rough after that storm. It damaged a lot of our tents and our belongings. But the spirit is really positive. We have never seen so many people come together to help each other,” Gonzales continued.
Mic Thurber, RMC president, has been at Camporee since before the event welcomed the first Pathfinder club. He commented, “I saw lots of smiling, happy faces as RMC’s ‘tent city’ was set up on Monday. After a night of a powerful storm in our path on Tuesday night, I wondered what I would see today on their faces. Guess what?! The same smiles and sense of joy!”
“Our Pathfinders and their leaders are the best, and our youth leadership are beyond incredible,” Thurber continued. “Their leadership in the aftermath of the storm was wonderful! And it was great to see the Gillette community rally to help our kids in so many ways! God is surely working here in Gillette. Please pray that every soul here will be touched for eternity.”
—RMCNews. Photos by Rajmund Dabrowski and Ryan McCoy.
