October Updates and Events

Hello SAIL Pathfinders,

We have gotten off to a busy start this year, and things don’t look to be letting up anytime soon. The service work out in Bastrop was greatly appreciated, and there will be additional opportunities to help out further not only in the fire-damaged areas, but around the nation and the world. Our underwater Pathfinder meeting was an interesting break from the norm - for those who have not completed their Beginner, Advanced Beginner and Intermediate Swimming honors, we may have some opportunities coming up - please let one of the staff know if you are interested, and we can get some small groups together to work on that. For the Senior unit, note that Intermediate Swimming is a prerequisite for the Sailing honor, and I know Jerry is eager to take folks out on the AquaFinns. I am sorry I wasn’t able to join in the Let’s Move day, but it was a long commute from Beijing. Nonetheless, thank-you to all those who turned out, and I hope that you don’t stop with just one day of exercise and healthy living, but make this a habit.

This Wednesday, October 5, is our next Pathfinder meeting. Remember to wear your field uniform, but bring your dress uniform for inspection. We will have some time for IA classwork, and review some of the camping skills ahead of the weekend overnight camping trip, as well as arrange the tent assignments and everyone’s favorite KP schedule. We will also be practicing for the special October 8 youth Sabbath program and Investiture. The church service will be a combined Pathfinder and Adventurer program, the formal beginning of the new Austin Anchors Adventurers (AAA!). After the church service and Adventurer Investiture, we will head out to the Peckham ranch for Sabbath afternoon activities, and an outdoor evening SAIL Pathfinder Investiture program. The Investiture program is the formal welcome of new members into the SAIL Pathfinder Club, and serves as a time for all members to renew their commitment to the club, to the ideals of Pathfinders, and to live by the Pathfinder Pledge and Law. Due to the ongoing drought, we will not be lighting a fire this year for Investiture, but will have different ways to light up the evening.

After the investiture program, we will remain out at the Peckham ranch for an overnight campout to practice camping skills and some of the Central Texas Camporee events. have you been practicing your knots? There are six to learn and practice -Square Knot, Sheet Bend, Double Sheet Bend, Surgeon's Knot, Fisherman's Knot, and the dreaded European Death Knot. Don’t wait for us to show you each. Check out a knot book at the Library, or surf over to Animated Knots by Grog (http://www.animatedknots.com/) to get a head start and some practice time at home. Everyone still has their rope, right? You haven’t let the cat shred it yet, have you? It is also a good idea to review your First Aid, and know the basic identification and treatment of some of the common outdoor injuries. We will be practicing some basic first aid skills, and emergency stretcher construction. For the junior Unit, we will be baking bread on a stick as part of our breakfast Sunday morning. For the Senior unit, break out those backpacking camp stoves and bring ingredients for a hearty breakfast. Be sure to offer some advice and share a stove with the new Ranger class.

Looking down the road, the north area Central Texas Honor Fair is Sunday, October 16, and will be held at the Austin South Church. The focus of this Honor Fair is health and science honors, and community service honors, but others will be offered as well. If you are interested in helping teach an honor (particularly the TLTs), let me know and we can coordinate. And coming up November 4-6 at Inks Lake State Park is the Central Texas Camporee. It is a beautiful park, and the Camporee is a great time to get together with Pathfinders from all over the area, and meet God in the great outdoors. We will need a headcount soon for the Camporee, so look at your calendars, clear off any conflicts, and let me know that you are coming.

See you all Wednesday!

-Rodger

Howdy Pathfinders!

It has been a long, hot summer, but I know you have all toughed it out with no problem. I am sure you drank plenty of water, wore proper shoes and kept your hat on, right? Well, summer is almost over, and you know what that means, don't you? Its nearly time for school! And even more exciting, it is almost time for the 2011-2012 Pathfinder Year to begin. Registration will be August 28, but for the incoming Pathfinders (and the recently-invested Friends), we will be having a special overnight program at the Church August 27 to introduce the various aspects of Pathfindering. You can download all of the registration forms from our SAIL Pathfinder website (www.austinsouthpathfinders.com). Click on the "Forms" button near the upper right, and download and print out the PDFs. Please be sure to fill in all the sections, and turn the completed forms in on August 28 or earlier. For new and returning staff, you can also download you forms there. We have also updated the Calendar page, to give you a rough outline of the meetings and activities for the year.

We are attending two camporees this year, one full weekend SAIL club camp-out, two overnight outdoor camping trips, and an overnight trip to Houston. This should give us plenty of opportunities to develop our camping and outdoor skills, and if the drought ever ends, we may even get to see if we can light a fire without matches. There is also a new Bible Bowl-type program debuting this year called Pathfinder Bible Experience. This is designed to be a single program for use by Pathfinders across North America. This year the focus is on the books of Mark and 1 Samuel. But unlike previous years, where memorization was the order of the day, this year it is all about knowing the books. Questions will be mostly short answer. Start reading now, and you will have no problems. We can even field more than one team, and if we make it to the Division level, we get a trip to Washington DC.

As you may know, there are several changes coming this year. First, we are now meeting every other Wednesday, rather than the first and third Wednesdays. This should make things easier to remember, and it gives us a little more time together. Second, this year we will be working with the new Investiture Achievement program, which replaces the Progressive Classwork. There are several changes in the requirements to achieve your next rank, but the names remain the same (Friend, Companion, etc). Finally, we will be coming to you for ideas this year for mission and service projects, and other activities. This year, we are closely focusing on the final words of the pathfinder Pledge: I will be a servant of God and a friend to man. This is, in a sense, a restatement of the two great commandments: Love God, Love your neighbor.

Pathfindering is more than just camping and tying knots and going on trips, it is a service organization. We will kick off this year once again with the Lake Travis Underwater Clean-Up, and we are hoping for many more clubs to join in this year. We are also looking at volunteer opportunities with the Special Olympics in the spring. Look around - what mission do you see? Lets dedicate ourselves to finding and acting on the missions all around us. "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

Looking forward to another great year!

-Rodger Baker
Director
SAIL Pathfinder Club
South Austin inner Lights

Enchanted Rock Camp Out

We had a wonderful time at the Enchanted Rock Camp Out. Our theme for the weekend was Elijah, and the settings in and around the rock, by the small creeks and springs, and even in the cave, evoked the places the prophet of old must have tread. Sabbath service was spent in a natural cathedral, the granite boulders standing as pillars, the spreading blue sky and white clouds the dome. The view was inspiring, and reminded us of the hand of God in creation.

Our weekend activities included hiking, caving, hiking, climbing (for the TLTs), hiking, bouldering, hiking, studying nature (primarily the cacti at ERSNA), and hiking, among others. (Yes, we put on quite a few miles all told, not only for the backpackers, but for all the club members.) We set up two campsites, the base camp, where the Friends, Companions and Explorers stayed, and the outpost camp, a little over two miles away, where the Rangers, Voyagers and Guides practiced backpack camping. At night, under a spectacular canopy of stars, we were serenaded by the coyotes.

The Pathfinders displayed excellent trail behavior, watching out for one another, providing assistance when needed, and making sure that all our activities were completed by the whole units, not just a few individuals leaving their cohorts behind. The Pathfinders and staff helped each other overcome uncertainties (can we really hike in with all our gear? can we cook over a small tin alcohol stove? can we sleep in a tent away from home?), overcome nervousness and fears (the cave, the cliff, the dark), and emerge from the weekend more confident, more united, and spiritually refreshed (even if our muscles were tired).

The weekend ended with a special Happy Birthday song for staff members Cathy and Connie, who spent their birthday out in the wild.

So what is next for the SAIL Pathfinders?

In March, we will be focusing on First Aid skills, and the TLTs will be helping review and train skills. We will also have the opportunity to take part in another evangelism program at the Church. Also, don't forget to bring your papers on endangered animals and marsupials to the next club meeting, so we can finish work on those honors. April brings the church camp out, and the SAIL club has been asked to plan some activities for Sabbath and Sunday morning. In May, we have the Central Texas Pathfinder Olympics, and the Texas Teen Pathfinder Backpacking trip. And keep watching for announcements, as we are looking to plan another club camp out before we finish up the year at the beginning of June.

Enchanted Rock Camp Out - Feb 25-27

Our Enchanted Rock campout is coming up soon. You can find out a little more about Enchanted Rock State Natural Area from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock/), from the Friends of Enchanted Rock (http://www.friendsofenchantedrock.com), and from the website devoted to Lance Allred's book on Enchanted Rock (http://www.enchantedrocksna.com).

We will be splitting into two groups - the Friends, Companions and Explorers will be at the base camp, the Rangers, Voyagers and Guides will be backpacking in to the primitive camping area.  We will have supply checklists handed out at the club meeting, and available on the FORMS page on our website (http://austinsouthpathfinders.com). There is also a page of links to different resources about backpacking, gear, camp stoves and cooking, and the flora and fauna of Texas (http://austinsouthpathfinders.com/#/camping-and-backpacking-links/4548314783). For those new to backpack camping, or looking to brush up skills and get new ideas, we will be sharing with you at the club meetings additional information and tips. Also, for even more additional information and advice, the local REI stores happen to be offering free classes in backpacking in the weeks ahead of our trip. If you are interested, sign up soon, the spots fill fast. [Feb. 17, 7:00-8:30PM - REI Downtown - Backpacking Basics. Feb. 22, 7:00-8:30PM at REI - 9901 N Capitol of Texas Hwy - Light and Fast Backpacking Basics.)

There are some rather interesting features of Enchanted Rock that we will be able to observe during our outing, including the vernal pools that form on the weathered dome of granite. These support plant and animal life, including the Fairy Sword Fern (Cheilanthus lindheimeri) and small Fairy Shrimp (sort of like Sea Monkeys). It may be a little too early for the best showing of wildflowers, but you would be surprised at the number that this apparently barren rocky area can support.

We should also have the opportunity to look into (and crawl through) one of the caves on the back side of the dome, and the TLTs may be continuing with their rock climbing. Because it is still February, the weather can be rather changeable, so be prepared with appropriate clothing, and for those who get cold at night, you may want to bring a knit cap to sleep in.

This is a great opportunity to explore one of the most popular parks in Texas, and also a wonderful setting for a study of how God can support life in some of the most unlikely places. 

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)

November Already?!

The SAIL Pathfinders have recently finished assisting  hosting a 12 day evangelism series at the Austin South SDA Church. In addition to helping provide child care, working sound and video, recording and still photography, and set up and ushering, presenting special music and reading the daily health nuggets, several of the Pathfinders also presented the evangelical message. It was an impressive thing to watch these youth prepare and present the message, to stand up and share what they believe, to overcome fear and step forward to share the gospel.

With the conclusion of the program, we are shifting back to our regular Pathfinder schedule, and have many activities and plans before the end of the year. This past weekend, we broke into our units for different events - the Friends and Companions worked on the candle-making honor (making several types, including candles made in egg shells), the Explorers and Rangers went over to the new property to work on camping skills (proper ax and hatchet handling, water purification, camp stove and lantern operations, and fire-building), and the TLTs headed over to the rock gym to work on Rock Climbing, part of the training for next year's Enchanted Rock campout.

Upcoming in December we have the North CTX Honor fair, will take part in a Resist Drugs and Gangs march in downtown Austin,  have our annual Holiday party, and take part in the Church's living nativity and Christmas Cantata. We may also take a trip again to the living Bethlehem, or a few other local activities, so keep an eye on the calendar and email for updates.

October is almost upon us, and the weather is finally changing (even if it waited until the day AFTER the CTX Camporee). We have had a busy start to this 60th anniversary Pathfinder year. There was the bee-autiful hike along Bull Creek (only a few stings), learning WAWWAWI, the Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, drill practice and the Central Texas Camporee at Inks Lake.

The Pathfinders did exceptional at the Camporee, despite the heat and humidity, and the food was top-notch (these Pathfinders are becoming excellent camp cooks). The speaker for the weekend delivered some very thought-provoking messages on leadership and personal choices. The SAIL Pathfinders were called upon to lead opening exercises Sabbath Morning and several song services.

From Bible knowledge to knot tying to compass work and nature study, the SAIL Pathfinders performed extremely well, earning the second highest number of points of the 18 clubs in attendance. An admirable position for a club just now entering its second year in existence.

And there is a lot more to come. We will kick off October with another hike, and then prepare for the Pathfinder Sabbath program and our Induction ceremony. Through end of October and heading into November the Pathfinders will take part in an evangelistic series at the Austin South Seventh-day Adventist Church, with several of the youth presenting the message.

It is shaping up to be another great Pathfinder Year!

SAIL Pathfinder Registration

The SAIL Pathfinder Club is about to launch into a new year. On August 14, we have been asked to head up to Round Rock to share a bit about Pathfinders and help recruit for a new Central Texas Pathfinder Club. August 25 is registration night. The registration materials are now available on the SAIL Pathfinder website (http://austinsouthpathfinders.com/ - click the 'registration" button). Additional materials and information will be available shortly. Activities start quickly this year - September 4 is our first Sabbath afternoon meeting and hike, September 12 is the Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup, and September 24-26 is the 2010 Central Texas Camporee. Our regular Pathfinder meetings will be September 8 and 22.

We are looking forward to another great Pathfinder year!

See you soon,

-Rodger