Every February or March, when Carnival lands on the calendar, a good share of Brazil's Pathfinder Clubs do the same thing: they fill the bus with backpacks, tents and supply crates and disappear into the wild for four or five days. For many Clubs this is the biggest camp of the year, the longest field event on the entire calendar.
The choice has a clear root. The long holiday offers the time a good camp calls for, and Adventist families find in it an uplifting program for days when the surrounding culture heads another way. You do not have to be Adventist to take part: the Club welcomes teenagers from every household, and the camp is often the first contact many young people have with a campfire, a scout knot and a truly starry sky.
This guide is for those who organize and for those who go. Directors, Counselors, parents and the Pathfinders themselves, ages 10 to 15, will find the step by step here: spiritual theme, day by day program, transportation, food, staff rotation, a realistic budget and what to do so everyone comes home whole and happy.
Why the Club camps precisely at Carnival
The practical answer comes first. Carnival is one of the few long blocks of time off that the Brazilian calendar delivers early in the year. It usually means four straight days, from Saturday or Sunday until Ash Wednesday, with school and work at a standstill. Setting up a decent camp takes time: a whole day just for arrival and pitching tents, two or three of a full program, one for tearing down and heading home. No other short holiday opens that window.
There is also a deeper reason, and it is what gives the event its soul. Many Adventist families prefer to take their children out of the typical holiday scene and place them in an environment that blends nature, friendship and spiritual life. Romans 12:2 often shows up in the invitations: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will" (NIV). The camp becomes the concrete way to live this out, with mud on the boots and a guitar by the fire.
A word for first time parents: the Club does not organize the camp "against" anyone, nor does it require the child to be Adventist. The door stays open. What the Pathfinder takes home after these days, cooperation, courage, contact with the Bible and with the outdoors, serves any family that values this kind of upbringing.
Choosing the site and the theme that holds it all together
Because Carnival is a movable holiday, the site is the first thing to lock in. Good farmsteads, ranches and campgrounds disappear early from the calendar, fought over by churches, schools and other Clubs. The ideal is to close the reservation months in advance and visit the grounds beforehand, preferably at the same time of year, to check sun, shade, restrooms, a source of drinking water, cell signal and the access road in case of summer rain.
Check a few non negotiable points about the site: plenty of drinking water, flat and well drained ground for the tents, natural shade or a tarp for the February heat, enough restrooms for the size of the group, and an exit path an ambulance can travel. If the place has a lake or river, reread the water safety rules with your team even before approving the reservation.
After the site comes the theme, and it matters more than it seems. A good spiritual theme stitches the four or five days into a single story: every worship service, every game and every campfire decoration pulls toward the same thread. Joshua 24:15 yields strong themes about choice and commitment: "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (NIV). Choose a short phrase, an anchor verse and a color, and have the big banner made that will hang at the camp gate.
The day by day program, with no dead time
The secret to a camp the Pathfinders remember for years is the pace. No long gaps in which forty teenagers have nothing to do in the heat. The program has to alternate body and spirit, action and rest, sun and shade. Put together a printed schedule, post copies on the camp bulletin board and assign a Counselor to "run the clock."
Divide each day into blocks. Early morning with worship and devotional, mid morning with field tests and Honors, lunch and a mandatory break at the peak of the heat, an afternoon of games or a hike, dusk for bathing and tidying up, and the night reserved for the campfire. The fourth or fifth day is lighter, focused on tearing down, cleaning the area and traveling home safely.
Below is a five day skeleton you can adapt to your Club:
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travel and arrival | Pitching tents and gate | Opening worship and theme presentation |
| 2 | Devotional and field tests | Honors and knots | Campfire |
| 3 | Worship and hike | Big games by Unit | Talent night |
| 4 | Devotional and community service | Stargazing and rest | Campfire and appeal |
| 5 | Closing worship | Tear down and travel | Arrival and handover to families |
In the field tests, take the chance to score knots and lashings, building a camp stove and orientation. If the sky over the site is clear, a stargazing night becomes one of the most memorable moments of the camp.
Read alsoHow to organize and host a CamporeeLogistics: transportation, food and staff rotation
Transportation is where plans most often fail. Book the bus or van early, require up to date documentation and vehicle insurance from the provider, and check the condition of the tires and the driver before boarding. Take attendance on departure and arrival at every stop, always counting heads by Unit. Carry each Pathfinder's emergency contacts printed out and in a digital group with the Counselors.
Feeding a long camp calls for restaurant level planning. Build a menu for every day before buying anything, calculating portions per meal and a margin to spare. The Adventist kitchen tends to be lacto ovo vegetarian, which simplifies keeping food safe in the February heat. Assign a fixed kitchen crew, a dishwashing rotation by Unit, and mind the cold chain: cooler with reusable ice, no poorly refrigerated perishable food, hands always washed before serving.
Rotation is what keeps everything standing without wearing anyone out. No one can stay "switched on" for five days straight. Distribute roles by shift: kitchen crew, security and gate crew, night watch in pairs, someone in charge of first aid and a general coordinator for each day. Every adult needs to know who handles what. If your Club is still developing leaders for this, it is worth investing in the Leadership Class over the course of the year.
A realistic budget, with no shock at the end
A well run Carnival camp costs money, and hiding this from the board only causes headaches later. Draw up the spreadsheet before announcing the registration fee, add everything up and divide by the expected number of participants, leaving slack for the unexpected, like a flat tire or an extra ice run.
The big cost blocks tend to be transportation, food, site rental and program materials. Add in smaller expenses that pile up together: cooking gas, trash bags, batteries, game prizes, gate paint, basic first aid kit items. A contingency reserve of about ten percent over the total keeps the books from ending in the red.
Think too about those who cannot pay. Many Clubs create partial scholarships funded by a bazaar, food sales or church sponsors, so no child is left out of the biggest event of the year over money. Make the registration and payment deadline very clear on the poster, because buying food and booking the bus depend on a number confirmed in advance.
Safety and first aid in the field
Safety is the part that allows no improvising. Before traveling, collect each Pathfinder's health form from the family, with allergies, ongoing medications and a signed authorization. Assemble a complete first aid kit and name at least one adult responsible for it throughout the camp. Work out with the team the route to the nearest hospital or urgent care and save the address on every leader's phone.
In the February heat, the most common risks are dehydration, heatstroke and small cuts and sprains. Encourage the Pathfinders to drink water constantly, use a cap and sunscreen, and respect the break during the strongest sun. This guide is for awareness and does not replace a first aid course or professional care. In any real emergency, call your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU at 192) before trying to handle it alone.
Two rules seal the package. The first is the head count: count the Pathfinders by Unit at every change of activity, on the way out and back from each hike, and always before sleep. The second is the night watch in pairs of adults, keeping an eye on the doused fire, the tents and the perimeter. If there is water nearby, no one enters without supervision and without the water safety rules agreed on beforehand.
The campfire and the spiritual heart
If the camp has a heart, it beats at night, around the fire. The campfire is the Club's most beloved tradition: low light, everyone's face lit by the flame, songs, skits, testimonies and a message that sinks deep precisely because the day was tiring and the heart is open. Prepare this moment with the same care as the logistics, because it is from here that the decisions that change lives come.
Vary the tone across the days. One livelier night, with talent shows and fun; another more solemn, with an appeal and prayer. It is common for Pathfinders to make important spiritual decisions at a Carnival campfire, some asking for Bible study, others thinking about baptism. Treat every decision with respect and follow up, without pressure and without spectacle.
The spiritual thread of the whole camp fits in one sentence from Paul. Eating, sleeping in the wild, competing in the games, washing dishes, all of it takes on meaning when done for God: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV). This is the memory the Pathfinder carries home on Ash Wednesday, stronger than any trophy.