11 May 2021 | Nicosia, Cyprus [Marica Mirilov]
Ripples of Adventurer and Pathfinder BIBLE EXPERIENCE 2021 reached the shores of Cyprus and helped a Pathfinder cope with the worst of the Covid situation.
The Award Ceremony on Saturday, 1 May 2021 acknowledged and celebrated the impressive biblical knowledge of European Adventurers and Pathfinders, who were joined by two guest teams from America. However, for each participant, the process of preparation is the most valuable experience.
The final event was organised by the Trans-European Division (TED) Youth Director Zlatko Musija, and his enthusiastic team of Pathfinder directors, which proved to have had a particular impact for Pathfinders in countries where the church is small and isolated and especially the youth who are going through difficulties.
Katerina Goufioti is a team member of the PBE Salt of Limassol, who were awarded first place in the finals. For her, the daily PBE Bible study session had the added bonus of helping her through the most agonising time of her life.
In March 2021 her grandmother, uncle and father all contracted Covid-19. All three were rushed to the local hospital and as the situation worsened her uncle and father were moved to the intensive care unit (ICU) in Nicosia General Hospital. Sadly, after a week her uncle passed away, and the fight for the life of her father, Jimmy, was hanging by a thread. That fight continued for five weeks.
With great appreciation, Katerina shared about her PBE friends, “Every day before our PBE Bible study one of my friends would fervently pray for my father and I could focus on the Word of God. That gave me the courage to face each new day.” It is a miracle that Katerina’s father pulled through, and he is making gradual progress in ICU at Limassol General hospital.
Making friends
ABE & PBE, although done virtually, is a real experience of connecting in a time of COVID isolation and the Friday evening zoom vespers before the final testing, gave a chance for participants to separate into smaller groups by entering zoom chat rooms. Here they made new friends from different countries across Europe. Many participants got hands-on experience of being team captains and scribes. Some even got a chance to be main speakers at the Awards Ceremony. A clear message was shared of God’s presence in time of suffering and confusion. An appeal was made to the Gen Z’s to be the generation for Christ.
Going forward
Both Adventurer and Pathfinder Bible Experience can be a positive experience for many more children as they study in depth two books of the Old Testament, 1 Kings and Ruth, in preparation for the ABE & PBE 2022 final. (Please note that Adventurers will only be tested on 1 Kings Ch 1- 6 & Ruth)
Dr Mirilov concludes, “The exposure to the Word of God will impact the participants’ whole life and ripple to eternity.”
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Deana Stojković, associate editor
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tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. Readers are free to republish or share this article with appropriate credit including an active hyperlink to the original article.
