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hat kinds of goodies canyou buy for a quarter? Afew pieces of gum, a day-old doughnut, maybe a

candy bar-but only if it's onsale. But with a quarter in the1930's, one couid eat like a

king. Just ask Dee Stroud, 75,a Frontiersmen CampingFellowship commander nearMany, Louisiana, who grewup so poor he and his friendsmade all their own toys outof u,ood. Onlv trn,ice in hislife did he enjo]' a store-bought tor'.

As a teenager. Dee picked200 pounds of cotton frombefore the sun came up untilafter it went dor,t,n-allfor a grand total of $1 perday. When Stroud got togo to town, fot a quarterhe could buy two gianthot dogs with all thechili and beans he couidpour on, a L2-oz. cola, athree-scoop ice creamcone, and a huge cookie.At that time a birthdaycard or postcard cost apenny, a 100-pound bagof sugar, 50 cents, and 25pounds of meal, a quar-ter.

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but there still is one placewhere, Iike Dee, craftsmencontinue producing items theo1d-fashioned way: SilverDo11ar City near Branson,Missouri,

Mingling the sights andsounds of the 1890's nith thefun and excitement of the1990's, Silver Dollar Citv hasbeen Branson's number oneattraction for some 35 years,drawing more than 36 millionvisitors.

Among the rides, themusic, and all the otherattractions are potters, glass-blowers, basketweavets,blacksmiths, and others stillcarefully hand-making theircrafts. More than 100 crafts-men in some 50 shops demon-strate their talents as theywork to preserve their crafts.

odd Neison, 48, a pottersince 1971, is one of four atSilver Dollar City's Hill

Creek Pottery. It all started forNelson when, in search of aneasy college class, he signedup for ceramics and just "fellin love with the clay." TodayNelson is a veteran of numer-ous arts and crafts shows, Hesays it's immensely satisfyingto sit dolvn r,rrith a shapelessmass and shape it, accordingto his desires, into cups,mugs, plates, bowls, pots-anytype of vessel that will last.

During the winter off-sea-son, Nelson and his threecoworkers go through 3oo-5oopounds of clay each day asthey produce items they willsell when the park reopens inthe spring. Producing potterytakes about 2 weeks, he says,and the process takes a longtime to master. It invoivesshaping the cla1, on the pot-ter's u,heel and allowing B-24hours for it to stiffen. Later,after allowing the pottery 3-5days to dry, it is heated to1,850 degrees in a large ovencalled a kiin. This burns outimpurities in the clay. Theitems are then glazed byeither brushing, dipping, orspraying, and heated again,this time lo 2,4O0 degrees.

erry Bloodworth, 47, lnasspent 20 years as a glass-blower, demonstrating his

technique to Siiver DollarCity's visitors. His work can befound in the homes of everyonefrom Hollywood stars to maga-zine editors to fellow artists.

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show for his effortsGlassblowing, he

says, is an ancient craft,but not a dying one.More glassblowers workin America today than ageneration ago.

1; rtroprietor of Silver1rDoilar City's basket.'.. weaving shop for 23years, Donny EllisonIearned his craft from a50-year veteran, LeslieJones. Unable to read orwrite, Jones was a bas-ket weaving master who

had raised eight childrenthrough his artistry.

At first Jones didn't wantto teach the young Ellison,because others had trained fora time and left when they real-ized the difficulty of bas-ketweaving. Ellison, though,asked for a chance, andfor the first 6 monthslones had him doingnothing but splittingwood. Once Ellison hadproved to lones hewould stay, Jones begantraining.

lones took greatpride in showing Ellisonhow to gather the whiteoak, season it, carefullydraw it into strips, andthen weave a basketboth beautiful and func-tional.

Using white oakbecause it's the strongestwood, Ellison has made about50 styles of baskets. The aver-age basket takes 2tlz-3 hoursand will last indefiniteiyunless it is painted or var-nished.

Basket weaving is dyingout, says Ellison, because mostpeople will shop for store-bought baskets. However,handmade baskets "last a lifetime," he said, because they're

done "the old-fashioned way"without shortcuts. Eachweaver puts his name on hisbasket with pride.

TIMES CHANGE;CHRIST DOESN'T!

Things have changed a }otsince Dee Stroud grew up inLouisiana's rugged country.Machinists have replacedblacksmiths; factories mass-produce the work once doneonlv bv hardrvorking individ-uali; eiectric tools, computers,and other modern inventionshave replaced the ways of thepast.

"Nothing is a piece-by-piece craft like it was then,"

said Dee. "I remember whenmy mother would repair ourshoes. They would turn outbetter than the original shoes.But today shoe cobblers arefew and far between. It's alldone by machines that do itall by themselves.

"So much has changed,"concluded Stroud, "but theIife in Christ doesn't change,He's still 'the same yesterday,and today, and forever!' " @

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naces where glass is heateduntil it reaches the consisten-cy of honey or molasses.Hethen reaches in with his S-footblowpipe, which is preheatedat the tip, because glass natu-rally sticks to any hot surface.The process involves a combi-nation of blowing through thepipe, rolling the pipe in hisfingers, and rolling the glasson a special table, and some-times swinging the pipe like abaton to stretch the glass.

After additional steps arefollowed, the piece is placedon a workbench and steeltools are used to reach insideand pull it into the desiredshape. If it's a pitcher, forexample, the top must bepulled wide.

Simple items like aChristmas ornament take justminutes to make. More com-plicated pieces take up to 45minutes. Bloodworth hasalways been fascinated withthe limitless variety of glass.He produces 150 differentitems, both solid and blown,and is huppy that at the end ofa day, he has something to

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In the summer, when mostkids their age are watching televi-sion or playing computer games,brothers Eleazar and DanielMartinez, ages 11 and 8, can befound at their Iooms refiningweaving skills. Weaving is a wayof life going back seven genera-tions for the boys who live withtheir family in Rio Chiquito innorthern New Mexico. The familyis active in the church, and theboys participate in Royal Rangersactivities at Templo Buen PastorChurch in Espanola, New Mexico.

"I began weaving when I was5," says serious 11-year-oldEleazar, as he slides the boat-shaped shuttle between the warpthreads. "Mom taught Daniel andme how to count by keeping trackof the rows of yarn we lacedthrough our looms!"

"Yeah, I was 4 when IIearned," says 8-year-o1d Daniel,smiling. "I like doing whateverEleazar does. And it looked like a

Iot of fun!"

Eleazar and Daniel's standinglooms are side by side in a spareback bedroom in their adobehouse. Their looms, smaller ver-sions of their mother's, were cus-tom built by their grandfather,Nelson Vigil.

Weaving is an art form thattakes long hours of practice andcommitment. Eleazar and Danielbegan their lessons using thesame simple weaving techniquesand patterns their grandmothertaught their mother as a younggirl. They worked on their weav-ing technique and practiced mak-ing lots of small 3- by S-inchcoasters. Today the youngweavers make pieces 10- by 20-inches and larger, featuring com-plex multicolored striped andgeometric designs that character-ize the 40O-year-old traditionalRio Grande weaving style.

Eleazar and Daniel exhibittheir n,eavings at the TraditionalSpanish Market, heldat the historic SantaFe Plaza, in lulr'.Each year the voungweavers create a spe-cial weaving to enterin the youth artistcompetition. The 2-day community eventis sponsored by theSpanish Colonial ArisSociety in Santa Fe.

Two years agoEleazar and Danielmade enough moneyto b.ly mountainbikes! This inspiredtheir cousins, Kellyand Reynaldo Dom-inguez, ages 10 and B,

to take up weaving.Eleazar and Danielbecame their teachersand mentors.

Dreams came truefor Daniel and Rey-naldo at the SpanishMarket. Daniel's weav-ing entry, "Morning

Star," won a first place ribbonand cash award in the YouthCompetition, Ages 5-8. Comp-eting in the same age division,cousin Reynaldo's weavingentry, "The Striking Stripes,"was selected for a YouthPurchase Award. Reynaldo'sweaving becomes a part ol theSociety's permanent collectionof Spanish colonial art housedat the Museum of InternationalFolk Art in Santa Fe. Not toobad for an 8-year-old weaverwho began weaving 2 yearsago !

Keeping family traditionsalive is fun, educational, and agood way to earn some money.But more importantly, theyoung weavers are learningabout the cultural process ofpassing knowledge and skillsfrom generation to generationthat help keep a 400-year-oldfamily weaving tradition alive. @

Winning weavers and cousins, Daniel Martinez, 8, andReynaldo Dominguez, I, holding their winning entriesat the 41th Annual Traditional Spanish Market, luly29, 1995, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Daniel's weaving,"Morning Star," won First Place in the 5-B age division.Reynaldo's weaving, "The Striking Stripes," was select-ed for a Youth Purchase Award. His weaving becotnespart of the collection of Spanish colonial art housed atthe Museutn of International Folk Art in Santa Fe.

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of North Carolina,LaVerne and I stood on

the river bank admiring the beau-tiful river. We decided to take a

Ieisurely rafting ride through themagnificent, scenic countyside.We could not have known thatthe Lord would use such a sim-ple experience to teach us aboutpower and trust.

Since we are only a fewmiles upriver from Bryson City,we decided that would providean easy destination to reach inour rubber raft. I left my wife at aconvenient launching site, whileI followed the river road towardtown. I was looking for anyobstructions or unsafe areas thatmight complicate the rafting trip.

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frequent bends in the road. Afterdriving about 2 miles, I chose a

suitable Ianding spot on thenorth side of the river.

Although I had used thiskind of scouting procedure suc-cessfully when exploring riversin Colorado and Michigan, thisparticular preliminary surveywas faulted. Due to the way theriver road often shifted direction,I could not see a large island par-tially hidden by forest along theriver bank. When I had drivenpast the small forest, I mistookthe island for the shore of theriver. The island, in fact, hadkept me from seeing a vital sec-tion of the Tuckaseigee.

Returning to where LaVerne

two-person craft and were soonout of the inlet and into the mainbody of the river. Although Icould feel that the current wasmuch wider and decidedlystronger than I had anticipated, Ishrugged it off. Perhaps therehad been a large release of waterat the Fontana Dam.

As we were whisked along atan even-faster clip, frequentlycausing us to maneuver the raftdrastically to avoid proirudingrocks, my wife gasped, "Is that a

waterfall?""It can't be," I said, shouting

to be heard above the roar of theturbulent water. But it quicklybecame evident that she wasright. The current was carryingus directly toward a waterfall!

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to challenge you, the outpost lead.er, to pray.You are well aware that prayer tears dovm$atanf s strongholds and, itso tuttd.s up the bod.yof Christ. Yle as Royal Bangers leaders nustpray like never befoie for 5ur fanilies, forour young nen and. boys, for our Boyal Bangersninistry, and for our churches. l{e nust prayand. fas,!-for our,,leadership and for'the tot&IilrylEFH8ltgers ninistry. It we are to see, ourbols and, Surselves noire ln the power of theHoiy Splrlt and. to see others cone to a savtngtcnoivled.ge of Jesus 0hrist, we nust nake time dofervently pray.t'ervently pray.

$atan ls throwing everything he can at ourboys to turn then fion 0hrtst, There ere somairy things that this generation of youth canturn to for tenporal satisfaction in their

Greetines in Christ Jssus fron the flarvestTask Force'Coromittee, This correspondence is

search for acceptence and love,llie raus! pray for the children, that d.oors

1. Make a prayer journal. Writein it goals and prayer needs.Enter the date of a prayer needthen the date that need was met.This way you will be focused onspecific needs you n ill not for-get.

2. Set a time during the day topray. Schedule it in, preferablythe same time every day. Pick a

time when you rruill not be inter-rupted while talking to God. It isusually great to start the day offtalking with God. It will set thetone of the day.

Here are tips on how to praydaily for t hour following theLord's Prayer-Matthew 6:9-1 3 :

' ': ' "Our Father which artin heaven, HalIowed be Thyname" (Matthew 6:9). Jesusbegins this prayer with praise

2 High Adventure Leoder

and worship to the name of HisFather. We should also beginour prayer time with praise andworship. This will assist you inputting your total focus on Godalone. Worship is a primary ele-ment of praver that der,elops inti-macy with God. Spend a mini-mum of 10 minutes worshipingGod.

: "Thy kingdomcome. Thy will be done"(Matthew 6:10). Intercession issimply praying for others.Praying for the kingdom of Godis for souls to come to knol,rrChrist. It is also for praying forthose who already know Christ.This area shouid be spent pray-ing for your family first then forothers, like those in your outpostand church. Intercessory prayershould take up the bulk of 1,e111prayer time-around 30 minutes.

: , r , "Give us this dav ourdaily bread" (Matthew 6:11).

bo opened. so we night reach then fdr Jesus.The first Saturd.av of each nonth has beeny of eaeh nonth has been

set aside for a flay of fasting and. toset aside for a day of fasting and to pr&y atleast t hour for the Boyal Bangers ninistry,for the Eova1 B&npers Harvest Task Forcefor the Eoyal Bangors Elarvest Task f'orceefforts, aid for ihe Decad.e of Harvest. I.,et'sunite together in prayer. &s nover before.

Together lor Ahrl.st,ee AOtanitteeNatLonaI Elarvest task

Petition is praying for yourself.This is where you bring yourneeds before God, Spend a mini-mum of 5 minutes irrthis area.

"And forgive us ourdebts, as we also have forgivenour debtors" [Matthew 6:1.2)."Forgive us." Those words aresome of the most importantwords we will ever say. Theyneed to be inciuded in eachprayer time. Every day we mustask God to search our hearts.Spend at lease 5 minutes in con-fession.

"For Thine is the king-dom, and the power, and theglory, forever. Amen" (Matthew6:13). Jesus begins His prayerworshiping God, and He ends itpraising God. You should spendat least 10 minutes in this step.

: . , is designed todevelop balance in your prayerlife, Ail of the essential areas arecovered in it. The areas aboveare just the basics. For as yourprayer life becomes a lifestyle,you will see the impact of yourprayers, and you u,ill see thechanges in your or,r,n life. Prayerhas the po\,l-er to tear downstrongholds, speculations, pride,and rebelliousness. If we are tobe true men of God, Ied by God'sHoly Spirit, nre must be on ourknees before Him. We must allbind together as Royal RangersIeaders, seeking God in oneaccord if rve are to make a realimpact in the world around us,

As u,e all join in prayer, out-posts across the nation will, inunison. bind the forces of dark-ness and loose God's power to doa great work. Think of theimpact of thousands of men andbo1,s praying for the harvest! Sojoin us in prayer as we see RoyalRangers reach the uttermost partsof the world-reaching, teaching,and keeping boys for our LordJesus Christ. Praise the Lordl

Excerpts on prayer were takenfrom Ron Auch's book, PrayerCan Save Your Marriage.

t.

Royafl Rangen's Deoade o1i Harvest Goals'A 50 percent growth in membership

"To win 200,000 boys to the Lord"Enroll an additional 20,000 leaders

'A 25 percent increase in Assemblies of God churches with RoyalRangers outposts

"A 100 percent increase in training camps for leaders'Develop training programs for our older boys

'Emphasize evangelism in lhe High Adventure/Leader'Encourage districts to set district goals for Royal Rangers

0n_e Person Making A BigIliflerence

.l{eprJ.nf Caurtesy ol SprirLtl lMagazine

Jose Gomez and Family

If Jose Gomez's activities givepeople the impression ihat he isa one-man community relationsleam, it's not a mistaken notion.

The Sprint Cellular senioraccountant, who was recentlypresented the Paul H. HensonAward as Sprint's top employee,has been working for years in avariety of capaciiies #ith inner-city youth in Chicago.

"Community involvement isvery important to me, especiallywithin the inner city," Gomezsaid. "There is so much thatneeds to be done because of thehomeless rate, the increasingdrug activities in the communityand the nonularitv of sanss."anilthe popularity oftne popu-tarrty or gangs.

At qn early age, Gomez-arldhis brother were members of theRoyal Rangers. an inner-cityHispanic bo"ys program. Then. iir1979, Gomez's cousin was killedin a gang-related incident,

''I knew then that I wanted todo something to help olher kidsstav oul oI Lrouble." Comez said.- After his cousin's death,Gomez became a leader in RoyalRang,ers. He is now a comman-der. ''l chose to help in organiza-tions like Royal Rangers be.causeteenagers are at such a vulnera-ble stage. and it's very impor[antto provide them with a positiveenvironment so lhey can stayawav from Lhe nesative influ-ence's they are pres5nted with intheir neighborhoods." Gomezhas even been known to taketroubled vouths into his home,which he shares with his wifeMaria and their chil drenAnthony and Vanessa.

Gomez has involved his chil-dren in as many activities as pos-sible. "I involve my kids because

fl 996 --r

a-: ,7est Task Force @lqeclt VCS

'Encourage each district to appoint a Harvest Task Force coordinator,so that evangelism goals can be established by districts and so that

objectives can clearly be stated and worked toward.'Conduct a yearly Prayer Task Force sponsored by the national office.'Conduct an AIM/Rangers Task Force trip, coordinated between the

AIM office and Royal Rangers office with later consideration of holdingannual trips thereafter.

'Promote Turning Point training in regions, in districts, and in localchurches across America.

''Promote the National Urban Leadership Conference in regions anddistricts-goal of conducting NULC's nationwide.

oPromote section, district, and region training on the UrbanCommande rs Traini ng G u ide.

'Strengthen our approach to sponsoring local urban outposts.'Promote the Urban Leaders Training Course Program-

the joint Royal Rangers and Teen Challenge program for TeenChallenge graduate students.

'Develop relationships with urban pastors and missionaries and to worktoward a common goal with them: establishing and strengthening their

Royal Rangers programs in urban settings.'Promote Outreach Ministry efforts in urban, suburban, and rural areas."Help leaders understand that urban conditions are not limited to geo-

graphical location and that the need for urban evangelism exists in ruralareas, towns, and metropolitan areas alike.

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I don't want them to suffer fromthe lack of love and attention Isee other kids suffering foom"'

'He uses his vacation time totake Rangers on camping tripsand other outings four times avear. He also works with adoles-ient boys and girls individually,counseling them to avoid drugsand gangs and stay in school.

Everv week Gomez and a$oup ofieens from the Rangersparticipate in sports activities andoutings during the summermonths.

Gomez continued, "Volun-teering has kept me verlr busy,but it is very satislying and gratifying when I know I have made apositive influence in,someone'slife. It's so sad,sometirnes,because some of the kids havejust been written off, even bytheir parents. When I work withthe kids, I tell them I, , never wantto hear the words, 'I can't.' sothey know they can do anythingas }ong as they put their minds toit, "

Gomez credits his wife forkeeping him going when he isdiscouraged. "My wife is my driv-ing force," he said. "Maria's mybest friend. She gets me motivatedwhen I get discouraged. I don'tknow what I would do withouther support."

Gomez admits he does getdiscouraged. "Many times I havefelt like giving up, but when Ihear the words 'thank vou' andsee a leenager doing somethinggood with his life, it makes upfor all the disappaintments I'veexperienced. I know I can't reachevery'teen, but knowing that oneperson is benefiting from m1,efforts is enough.r'

Gomez said he is humbledby the entire Henson Awardexperience. He said he prayedand thanked God for the recogni-tion. However. he said he wouldlike the attentlon he's,received totre "focused on the youth whoneed our help."

He said he has seen a bigchange in the attitude of youngpeople. "It has becom'e a lotworse. They don't'care, and ithas become harder to earn theirrespect. They need us more thanever. but their attitude makes it alot harder to help them."

NATIONAL COUNCILSOUNDS "CLEAR CALH'

It was light on "business," butthe 1996 National Royal RangersCouncil in Springfield, Mo., sound-ed a clear call to evangelism. Thetempo of the March 21-23 NationalCouncil meetings was set during theSilver Eagle Banquet, the first coun-cil event.

Guest speaker Rev. ]ames K.Bridges, general treasurer, chal-lenged the councilmen from theScripture passage on which thecouncil theme "Sounding a ClearCall" was based: 1 Corinthians 14:8,NIV. The message and the entirecouncil thrust thereafter was tosound clearly the call to battle overthe souls ofboys.

That evening the largest atten-dance ever gathered at the SilverEagle Banquet. In all sg0 nationaicouncilmen, their wives, and guestsattended. The banquet concludedafter 45 district com-manders were awardedthe Silver Eagle Medalfor their outstandingservice to the RoyalRangers ministry in1995.

During the banquet,district commandersand local outpostswere awarded the 1s95Award of Excellence.The Ohio District wasalvarded first place forthe greatest number ofchurches with RoyalRangers. SouthernIdaho was ar,r,arded second place,and the Tennessee District won thirdplace.

For ihe 1995 Award ofExcellence to churches r,r,ith thelargest chartered outposts, FirstAssembiy (Outpost 21,) in GrandRapids, Mich., was awarded firstplace. First Assembly (Outpost 2+)in Phoenix, Ariz., lt'as awarded sec-ond place, and First Assembll,(Outpost 82) in Shrerreport, La., r,rras

awarded third place.With 242 r;orincilmen and 75

councilmen wives attending, theagenda was packed with councilbusiness, regional and special break-aways, plus special activities for theladies. During the council businessthat followed, reports and challenges

cleariy indicated the Rangers min-istry is pronouncing the GreatCommission.

Several reports r,rrere presented tothe council fLoor on the RoyalRangers Harvest Task Force effortspenetrating both home and foreignmisslon fields.

The new National UrbanLeadership Conference format wasintroduced as district and reglonalcommanders were encouraged toconduct NULC's throughout thenation. The NULC is designed totrain commanders on urban ministryand to heighten their awareness ofurban evangelism.

The report was preceded r,rrith theviewing of the new video HorvesfTask Force: Reaching UrbanAmerica. The video, produced byand available through the nationalRoyal Rangers Office, highlights the

NULC and presents the currenturban minislry lools.

Councilmen were also challengedtou,ard missions through the Fron-tiersmen Camping Fellowship Path-finder reports. FCF Pathfinders con-duct church construction trips toforeign fields where other MAPSteams cannot travel due to harshenvironmental conditions. Threetrips were reported on, illustratingthe great need and to encourage FCFchapters to conduct Pathfinder trips.At the time of writing, three nationalteams and six district teams had par-ticipaied in Pathfinder missionstrips.

The Harvest Task Force reportsalso focused on recent Royal RangersTurning Point Seminars, Teen

Rev. James K. Bridges, General Treasurer

4 High Adventure Leoder

ChallengelRoyal Rangers'ioint train-ing ventures, and a Harvest TaskForce trip to Providence, RhodeIsland.

At the 1995 National Council,Latin' American Missionary DougMarsh had challenged the council'men to contribute to the deveiopmentof a national training center, whichwill be called Camp Summit, in CostaRica. Marsh reported that $72,460was pledged last year and lhat heraised $7,500 at this NationalCouncil. Marsh norv has about$50,000 ofthe needed S75,000 to pur-chase property for a tralning center.

Funds were also raised bY thecouncilmen's lt ives during a ladies'auction. The auction generated $537,which the lrrives contributed to CampEagle Rock, the national camp-gro u nd s.

C)ne of the first orders of businessduring council r,r,as the election ofofficers. Mark Gentry, who servedthe past 2 l'ears as secretary, waselected council president. |amesBarger, r,tho had served the past 2

years as president but was unabie tosucceed himself. rvas nominated vicepresident. Freddie Espinoza, districtcommander for Pacific Latin, wasnominated secretatt',

Between these reports, resolu-tions n'ere brought to the councilfloor on the follorving items, whichpassed:

-An indir.idualmust be age 18 orolder to earn theLeader's Medal ofAchievement. TheLMA is awarded topersons who havesuccessfully complet-ed the LeadershipTraining Course.

-The National Roy-

al Rangers CouncilConstitution & By-laws was amendedto allow the councilpresident, vice pres-ident, and secretaryto hold office twoconsecutive terms.

-A Gold Medal ofAchievement As-sociation r,r,i1l beformed.

-The councilbody voted unanimously to raisechartering fees by $1 per person.Before the vote was taken, council-men learned that the national officeis endeavoring to become self-sup-

porting by the fiscal budget year of1998. Doing so will strengthen theoverall ministry.

In his closing remarks duringcrruncil business, National Com-mander Ken Hunt challenged themembers stating, "There's a need tosound a clear call. When we are lnone mind with one obiective, theenemv will be defeated. And as weaccomplish what God has called usio do, He will crumble the strong-holds of the enemy. Young boys willbe redeemed by the blood of Christl"

The final event of NationalCouncil activities was held March zaat the Assemblies of Godiludqrurt"tt. There 250 council-men and their wives gathered for theLight-for-the-Lost Junior CouncilmenBanquet. The banquet was colorfullydecorated r,r,ith a "hillbilly" theme.

A team of LFTL members fromthe Southern Missouri Districtcooked the mouthwatering ribs, andRoyal Rangers boys and leaders from]ames River Assembly, Outpost 285,served the meal. (Rangers can attendor serve at a LFTL banquet to meet a

portion of the requirements tobecome LFTL Junior Councilmen.Leaders can now earn a special LFTLcouncilmen pin with one sapphirestone for enrolling five or moreRangers a year in the JuniorCouncilmen program.)

That evening speaker David

Lati n American Camporama

Wharton, national field representa-tirre, brought a missions challenge toevangelize the world through LFTLgospel literature. During goal settingthe councilmen pledged to raise

$10S,660 this year to help purchaseEdward Elephant Soys ... evange-Iism comic books-the overseas|unior Councilmen project. Anoiher$7,300 was pledged by individuals.

During the 19s5 NationalCouncil, pledges totaling $s0,000were committed to lhe Edward theElephant Scrys ... proiect. As of]anuary 31, $35,sBs has been con-tributed-at $0,10 each this will pur-chase 360,000 copies! Our ultimategoal is to raise sufficient funds topurchase 2,000,000 copies of thisevangelistic tool.

"This project is led of the HolySpirit," siys National CommanderKen Hunt. "God has called us to seethe world as it really is .., to make adifference. The Lord told us point-edly we must be moved with com-passion, and we should act accord-ingly. It is a huge challenge. Godbids us over and over: Give to mis-sionsl This is the Great Commissionbeing fulfilled!"

Latin America InternationalCamporama

The first ever Latin AmericaInternational Camporama gathered231 campers from 5 Latin Americannations in |anuary. The countriesrepresented were Guatemala, CostaRica, Panama, Dominican Republic,and Ecuador. A Royal Rangers Prayer

Task Force team of 10men represented theUnited States. The PTFteam's mission was tofast and pray during theCamporama.

One by one a repre-sentative from each ofthe Latin Americannations gathered with thePTF team to pray for thespiritual needs of thatnation. During theCamporama and a pre-ceding service, Godmoved in a mighty way.Here are the results:

-17 received salvation

-87 rededicated theirlives

-22 were fil)ed with the

Holy Spirit

-14 received healing

-36 were called to fnLL-time ministry.

Foll 1996 5

y lohn Eller,

SlraichlArrowslBu"ckur<tos

Overall Approach: The themethis quarter is, "The way it used tobe." Boys sometimes ask how it wasin the old doys. This is your oppor-tunity to reach into the past and por-tray life 50 to 100 years ago andmore. Research and knowledge ofAmerican and world history couldbe helpful. "Check your )ocallibrary" is not a cliche; it is a realadventLtre and resource to you as aleader. While no one can knoweverything and have all the answers,part of the excitement of preparationis to anticipate what your boys willfind interesting.

$eptenrber1st Week-Looking Back: Have

you ever wondered what life musthave been like for your grandpar-ents? Have you ever asked themabout it? Some grandparents todaycan remember WWII, the first atomicbomb, and the Korean War. Otherscan remember the Salk vaccine forpolio, Roger Bannister breaking the4-minute mile, or when thePittsburgh Pirates won the 1960World Series. There are other thingsthey can remember. Lead in a dis-cussion of what your boys havelearned from grandparents and otherrelatives about the past. Ask a leaderto relate an interesting encounterreiating to some historic event suchas the assassination of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy or the landing ofman on the moon. Why is lookingback important? What do we learnfrom days gone by? Would you liketo have been there yourself for someimportant event?

2nd Week-Words We Use: Tellyour boys English is a growing lan-guage. Many new words and phras-es have been added to our languagesince 1900. Others are coming intoexistence at this very moment.

Write the following words on achalk- or dry-erase board with theyear each came into usage:1.) basic training ('43),2.)BLT (',52),

3.) blue-collar ['46),4.) coffee break ('51),

5.) environmentalist ('16),6.) good ole boy ('67),z.) groovy ('37),B.) open-heart ('60).

Discuss how some of theseexpressions might have come intousage at the time. Tell your boysthat when we need a new word, wejust "invent" it. What words do youthink need to be invented? Do wehave foreign words in our language?Why do you suppose we need somany words? Review the terms list-ed and ask if they know what eachone means.

3rd Week-More Words: Use thefollowing list for discussion:1.) particleboard ('sz),z.) payload ('zz),3.) smog ('66),4.) teammate ('15),s.) teenybopper ('oo),6.) white-collar ('20),z.) yucky ('70),B.) zipper ('26).

Select a few words at randomfrom a dictionary and ask the boystheir meaning. Do words sometimeshave more than one meaning? Aresome words spelled the same butpronounced differently? Why do weneed words at all? How could wecommunicate without words? Dopictures tell stories? What aboutsign language? Do the deaf usewords? Discuss favorite words fromthe Bible.

4th Week-History: Discuss whyhistory is important. "We mustknow where we have been to knowwhere we are going." The U. S.Constitution was approved by theContinental Congress on September1"7, 1.787. George Washington wasunanimously chosen our first presi-dent and began serving in 1789.Point out that 41 different men haveserved from Washington to Clinton.Also mention that 45 different menhave served as rrice-president.William Henry Harrisonserved as presidentfor 1 month in 1841.Franklin D. Roose-velt served 12years from 1933-45. Two vice-presidentsserved undertwo differentpresidents:lGeorge Clinton(lefferson & Madi-son), and John C.Calhoun (John Quin-cy Adams and Andrew]ackson). Is the vice-presidentimportant? What do you think Vice-President AI Gore, lr., would like tosay to boys your age? One president

is counted for the 22nd arrd 241h.Grover Cleveland served nonconsec-utive terms.

0ctober1st Week-History: History con-

tains the good and the bad. Why doyou suppose this is true? The U. S.has fought in many wars: theRevolutionary War, the War of 1,81,2,

the Mexican War, the Civil War, theSpanish-American War, WWI, WW[,the Korean War, the Vietnam War,and Desert Storm. Why do men fightwars, and why is this important toour history? Has America alwayswon its wars? What is a memorial?Why do we honor soldiers killed inthe line of duty? Mention some ofthe medals soldiers receive: thePurple Heart, the DistinguishedFlying Cross, the CongressionalMedal of Honor, etc. Are theseawards important? How do you fitinto American history? Who is yourfavorite hero? Does the Bible have alist of heroes? Which are yourfavorites? List a few on the chalkboard; discuss Noah, Moses,Samson, David, Jesus, Paul, etc.Were all the heroes of the Bibie goodmen? Discuss outstanding women inthe Bible. Were there childrenheroes in the Bible?

2nd Week-Early AmericanCrafts: Make a list oi some thingspeople used to make for themselves:soap, candles, baskets, pottery, glass-ware, rugs, clothing, shoes, etc. Whydo you suppose people made theseitems themselves? Did they not havestores in those days? Discuss obtain-ing raw materials. Where did theyobtain supplies for soap or candles?Did these crafts take iots of time? Ifyou are located near a craft villagesuch as Silver Dollar City,Williamsburg, or Lincoln's NewSalem, plan a trip for your group toobserve these crafts in action.

3rd Week-Blacksmith: Manypeople in the early days of Americawere farmers and therefore

depended greatly upon the localblacksmith for their tools. Theblacksmith used a forge to heatmetal and make plows andother farm equipment. He alsofashioned and put shoes onhorses. His craft also includedrims for buggy wheels and otheritems needed for the horse-drawn carriages. He repaired

wagons and other necessaryimplements. What do the few exist-ing blacksmiths make today? Whathas taken the place of the black-smith?

4th Week-U. S. Mail: BeforeGeorge Washington became presi-

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dent, there was no centralized mailservice. The early days were diffi-cu1t, but things got moving. In 1860the Pony Express route was estab-Iished to deliver mail betrveenSt. Joseph, Missouri, andSacramento. California. Thiswas halted in 1861 r,r,hen thetranscontinental telegraph wascompJ.eted. Todar, mail ismoved by automobile, truck,train, and air. Electronic or E-mail is becoming more PoPu-Iar, succeeding the or,ernightexpress mailers and faxmachines. Using the PonYExpress as an example, showhow it took 10 dar-s for a letterto travel fiom St. foseph, Missouri, toSacramento, California. Suppose theweather was bad? \Vhat happened ifhostile Indians attacked the riders?Did the Ponv Erpress ever lose a mailbag? (Yes, onlr- once.) How is maildelivery different today? Would youhave wanted to be a rider in thosedays? Can vou ride a horse? Howmuch would vou expect to be paid?Why did thev have relay stationsalong the trail?

Sth Week-Travel: Walking isman's earliest form of transportation.We read in the Bible about horses,mules, donkevs, and camels. Howwere these used? There were wag-ons being used during the days ofJacob or Israel. Chariots were in useat the time of the Exodus. Thismeans the r,vheel was among the ear-Iiest inventions of man. The earlYexplorers of this country walked thetrails, rode horses. used oxen to pullwagons, and utilized canoes, rafts,and boats on the \vaterways. The2Oth centur-v brought the introduc-tj.on of the automobile and airplane.Rockets and space capsules wouldfollow. There har,e been moreadvancements ln the field of scienceduring the past 50 r'ears than duringthe entire hisiorl' of man prior tothat. Why do you suppose so manynew inventions have emerged in ourtime? (The Bible savs knowledgeshall be increased in the last days.)If you could speak to someone whonever saw a car or plane, how wouldyou explain it to him? What ques-tions might he ask?

ffiweemm*kmr1st Week-Sports: When did we

begin to call a person loyal to sportsa 'Tan"? Fan is short for fanatic, andfirst appeared in Print in 1896. Itwas used in reference to boxingenthusiasts. Make a list of popularsports on a chalk- or dry-erase board:basketball, baseball, football, hockey,tennis, golf, soccer, volleyball, etc.

Ask if they are fans of any of these.Discuss what a fan does. Do youattend the games? Do you watchthem on TV? Do vou watch the

news or read the newspapers aboutvour favorite team? Do vou collectLards? Do you like the'play-offs?What about the Super Bowl or theWorld Series? Why is winning soimportant? Does your team ever lose?If they lose, do you sti1l supportthem? How do you tell when afavorite player is traded to anotherteam? Do you think players are paldenough? Why do most players wantmore money? Bring a few sports mag-azines for display and discussion.

2nd Week-Golf: Bring a golfbag with a few clubs. Explain thedifference between woods and irons.Demonstrate the use of wedge andputter. Discuss the construction of agolf ball and why it can travel so far.Give each boy a tee as a keepsake.What is par? What is a bogey? Whydoes a birdie mean "one under par"and an eagle mean "two under par"?Birdie is an American slang-word.The Atlantic City Country CIubcoined this use of birdie in 1,921.. Itis presumed that an eagle is so-calledbecause it is a "big bird." Why is theswing important to golf? ExPlainslice and hook. Explain that the tiltof the ciubhead and the length of theshaft influence distance. Why dogolfers yell "Fore!"? How manYholes are on a regular goLf course?Discuss sand traps and water haz-ards. Golf is one of the few gameswhere you keep your own score'Should you be honest in countingyour strokes? What is a chip shot?

3rd Week-Tennis: Bring a fewtennis balls and a racket to the meet-ing. Have someone demonstratesome of the strokes in tennis. WhYis tennis such a good game for physi-cal exercise? Discuss tournaments.Why do we say that someone's rank-ing is his "seed"? Answer: In mosttournaments, top players are placedin early rounds so they don't faceeach other. Seeding refers to themetaphor that the top piayers, Iikethe seeds of a crop about to be plant-

ed, are scattered throughout the dif-ferent playing brackets of a tourna-ment. If possible take your boys to atennis court and let them see a game.

If not. take them outside andI aliow them to hit the bail with,t the racket. When you return: ask a few questions.- Why does, a tennis ball bounce so high?

Why do you use a racket,' instead of a bat? Why is the, net important to the game?, What does it mean when a

player jumps over the nel at the. end o[ a game? What are

"sets"? Do you think tennis isa good game for boys?

4th Week-"Hillbillies":Why are people from the backwoodscalled "hillbillies"? This term wasfirst used in 1904 to describe rustichill dwellers in the South. "Billy"had long meant "fellow" or "guy" inAmerica, so hillbilly really justmeans "hill fellor,r,." Discuss someof the culture and folklore of hillbil-Lies. Are their customs differentfrom ours? Did they really havemonetary "funds" years ago? Howmany of them lived in 1og cabins andsat around potbeliied stoves? Whatabout their music? Mountain orbluegrass music is very popular insome parts of our country. How iscountry-and-western music influ-enced by this? Does some gospelmusic draw some of its down-to-earth qualities from this source? Dovou think music should have a mes-sage? What do you think about gui-tars, fiddles, banjos, and bass fiddlesor guitars? Can we worship the Lordwith instruments such as these?Why is the guitar so popular inmusic today? Is a song bad becauseit is fast or sacred because it is slow?

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Overall Approach: YourRangers are well aware thatAmerican life today is different fromyesterday. The planning this quartershould help them to understand justhow far we have come in such ashort time. Use your imagination toexpand and eilarge upon the ideasgiven here.

emfrsmfumr-1st Week-Labor Dav: The mancredited with the idea to honorworking people is Peter J, McGuire.He organized a celebration Ied by theKnights of Labor and sponsored bythe Central Labor Union in NewYork City on September 5, 1882.The idea began to spread, and in1894 President Grover Cleveland

':if;

Foll 1996 7

signed Labor Day into law. It is cele-brated each year on the first Mondayin September. Why did it seemimportant to recognize the workingmen and women of this country?One reason is because America is anindustrial nation. AlexanderHamilton, the first secretary of theTreasury, foresaw this and organizedthe economy to be led by industryrather than by farming. Blue-collarworkers have multipiied, andit is the work of their handsthat has made America theindustrial leader of theworld. Working withour hands is blessed ofthe Lord, and it is bothfitting and proper thatwe recognize those whoIabor.

2nd Week-MotionPictures: The first "talk-ing" film was released inL927. Today we take filmsand videos for grantedWhat would it have been likebefore movies? Why are some films"good" and others "bad"? Discussthe effect movies have on societywith regard to murder, violence, andother crimes. Can movies be used asa positive influence? Discuss somecurrent Christian fiims and what youwould anticipate audience reactionto be. Mention how movies requireyour senses of both hearing and see-ing, and thereby capture your atten-tion more than radio or audio record-ings. How can motion pictures beused to evangelize America? Canmovies be used to enhance mission-ary work overseas? Discuss thevalue of motion pictures in Bibleschools, co11eges, and seminaries.Do you think training by video ismore or less effective than in-personinstnrction?

3rd Week-Alaska: Our largeststate has not always belonged to us.Alaska was purchased from Russiaand officially became a part of theU.S. in October 1867. List some ofthe natural resources for whichAlaska is most famous: oil, gold,timber, fish, wild game, etc. Alaskabecame our 50th state in 1959, whenDwight D. Eisenhower was presi-dent. Was the purchase of Alaska awise investment by America? Whydid many people oppose it? If youcould tour Alaska, what would youlike most to see? Why is AIaskastrategic in the defense of our coun-try? Obtain a map of our 50th stateand discuss the geography. Where isthe Arctic Circle in relation toAlaska? What is the best way totravel in Alaska, dogsled or air?Some well-known fiction has been

written about this Iand by JackLondon. Check out Call of the Wildar;rd White Fangfor review.

4th Week-Conservation: Whenthis country was first discovered,natural resources abounded every-where, so much so that man oftenbecame wastefui. Great buffaloherds were killed for sport and greattrees were cut with no thought of

replacement. Just after the start ofthe 2Oth century, President

Theodore Roosevelt playedan importanl role inexpanding U. S. forestlands, setting asidewaterpower sites, en-couraging conservationon the state level, andencouraging the expan-sion of the nationalpark system. Lead adiscussion about the

national parks in yourstate or region. What

famorrs features are found inthose parks? What national

parks have your leaders and boysvisited? Use a chalk- or dry-eraseboard to list some of the advantagesof conservation. Ask promptingquestions about soil quality, erosion,water sheds, flood control, and forestrestoration. Encourage discussionabout pollution, recycling, protec-tion. Do you think it is good for thefederal government to control lands?Why do some states resent govern-ment interference? What is yourstate doing to conserve its naturalresources? Why is the environmentimportant? What do you think abouthazardous waste dumps? Discussthe pros and cons of landfills. Isthere a better way to dispose ofgarbage? Does your area allow burn-ing of waste materials? Whichstreams and rivers in your area havebeen affected by industrial pollu-tion? What is being done to cleanup and maintain the area?

0ctober1st Week-Ocean Travel: Robert

Fulton was born November 1"4, 1"765,and is credited with building thefirst successful steamboat. Discussthe fuel that powered steamboats atthat time. Water made the steam.and burning wood heated the water.Ships powered by steam were onceused to transport travelers across theocean. Why are passenger ships nowused mainly for pleasure travel?(Because air travel is quicker andcheaper.) Ask your boys to imaginewhat a difference the steamboatmade. It replaced oars and sails.The work onboard ship would notbe as demanding. Travel was gener-

ally faster. Ask a leader or older boyto "sell" the steamboat concept to ashipping magnate who was accus-tomed to oars and sails. AIIow theothers to assist and evaluate. Nowhave someone sell a modern ship tosomeone who only knows aboutsteamboats. Using a globe, discussthe various oceans and seas aroundthe worid, their accessibility, and thedegree of navigational difficulty.Suppose Columbus couLd have seena giobe like this. What would MarcoPolo have thought about the modern-day map of the worid? ImagineMagellan equipped with radar andsonar. How different would Col-umbus' voyage have been with theknowledge we have today?

2nd Week-Bicycles: Cycling isa very popular sport in America,third behind 1.) basketball, and z.)swimming for people the age of yourboys. The first bicycles reached theU. S. from England in 1819. "Bi"means two. Cycle refers to a circie,or in this case, a wheel. Whichcould most 16-year-old boys havehoped to obtain 1oo years ago-a caror a bicycle? If you had 2 miles to goto get somewhere, how many rea-sons can you think of which wouldmake it better to ride a bike ratherthan drive a car? Check an encyclo-pedia for biking rules for informationand discussion. Why are helmetsimportant? Secure a couple ofcycling magazines for display.Discuss construction, durability, andinitial cost. What about bicyclemaintenance? PIan a bike hike foryour boys, complete with trail 1og,route, and interesting stops along theway. Talk to your senior comman-der about a bike-a-thon to raise fundsfor the Light-for-the-Lost JuniorCouncilmen program. What aresome other ways a bicycle can beused to spread the gospel? Discusstheir use among missionaries andnational workers in foreign missionfields. Would ),ou ride a bicycleover rough terrain to tell someoneabout Christ? Could a bike be usedto witness to your ftiends?

3rd Week-Ol' Time Revivals:Check your resources for a lively dis-cussion about the great revivals ofthe 20th century. Possible sourcesare Pentecostal Evange) magazine,Heritage magazine, older ministersin your congregation, your pastor,senior saints, newspaper accounts,or testimonials from those who werepresent. Begin by telling your boysthat the present-day outpouring ofthe Holy Spirit began on fanuary 1,1901, at a Bible school in Topeka,Kansas. From there the fire spreadto Azusa Street in Los Angeles, as

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High Adventure Leoder

well as other areas. One of the fel-lowships formed from this earlyrevival was The General Council ofthe Assemblies of God. The first del-egates met at Hot Springs, Arkansas,in 1914. Other Pentecostal groupsalso were formed, and today thePentecostal message has gone aroundthe world. Pentecostal churches area major part of Protestantism.Discuss some of the people God hasused to bring the message forth.Mention Smith Wigglesworth, Dr.Charles Price. and P. C. Nelson.Broaden your discussion to includeBilly Sundal', Bill1, Graham, andOral Roberts. Share testimoniesfrom the ministry of KathrynKuhlman, Marilr,n Hickey, and Rev.C. M. Ward. ti cod sii1l movingtoday? What about revival reportsfrom your o\\'n area during the past25 years? Are miracles and healingstaking piace todar'? What about theeffect of teler.ision on the spreadingof the gospel? Discuss some of thegreat ieaders of our Fellowship fromthe past: Ernest S. \Villiams, RalphRiggs, Thomas F. Zimmerman, andG. Raymond Carlson. Show howGod is blessing our rvork across thenation and around the u'orld.

4th Week-Your Church: Invitethe pastor or an older member tospeak to the group about the historyof your iocai church. How manypastors harre serr-ed \-our congrega-tion? Has the church ruorshiped atmore than one location? How wasthe church first organlzed? Are anycharter members living? Discussimportant events that have occurredin your church. The iist shouldinclude outstanding revivals and ser-vices, important decisions u'hich ledto growth and outreach. and signifi-cant events regarding propertr, andbuildings.

Discuss the various departmentsof your church and lthat thev aredoing to disciple vour people. \Vhatis the influence of the Sundavschool, WM's, Men s

Ministries, and Youlhdepartments? \,Vhatrole does music plal inyour church? Can rouimagine a church n'ith-out singing? What aresome ol lhe oulstandingleatures of your- wor-ship services? Whalabout lhe olher church-es in your community?How many denomina-tions/ fellowships arerepresented? Aremost of the churchesin your area larger orsmaller than yours?

Why do you suppose some churchesare more popular in certain regions?

Discuss area-wide revival effortsand community worship services atEaster, Thanksgiving, etc. What aresome things most churches have incommon? What are some basicbeliefs we share with Baptists,Methodists, or Presbyterians?

sth Week-Architecture: Use areference book from the Iibrary togather information about FrankLloyd Wright. He was one ofAmerica's most famous architects.Why do architects often place fewerwindows on the north side of U. S.houses? (Because the north sidereceives no direct sun, so northernwindows provide little light.) Whyshould solar collectors in the U. S.

face south? (Because the sun passesto our south daiiy.) How else mightthe sun have affected the way houseshave been built? Do a survey of thehomes in your town or area.

Many places in America havehomes that are 100 years old ormore. What kind of constructionand maintenance have helped thesestructures to survive? Are there anyVictorian homes in your vicinitywhere tours are conduited? Many oithe old mansions offer interestingfield trips for your outpost. One ofAmerica's most famous mansions isthe Biltmore House in Asheville,North Carolina. Other great homesare Jefferson's Monticello andWashington's Mount Vernon.

Ilovember1st Week-The Mighty May-

flower: This ship set sail fromEngland on September 6, 1620. TheMayflower was mighty sma1l. Itmeasured about 106 feet long and 26feet at its widest part. On boardwere 102 passengers, 32 of whichwere children, a captain, and a crewof about 26 men. Two people diedon the way, and a baby boy wasborn. He was named Oceanus. Two

flags were used torepresent Englandat that time: St.George's Cross andthe Union lack. Itwas a mighty longvoyage. A trip thatshould have taken3o days Iasted 66days.

Because the May-flower carried thePilgrims, it becameone of our coun-try's most famousships. There wereconsiderable risksinvolved. In case

something happened, ships at thattime usually sailed in pairs orgroups. (Columbus sailed with threeto the New World in 1492: the SanfoMaria, L/r.fro, and Pinta.) But theMayflower sailed alone, a tiny shipon a big ocean, Of the 102 passen-gers, about 40 were "Separatists"who wanted to separate from theChurch of England. The others werecolonists in search of a new life. Butwe call them all Pilgrims.

Lead in a discussion of thesefacts and how the Pilgrims were toinfluence the early days of America.Call attention to their sacrifices. Forabout half the 66 days at sea, theweather was so bad passengers hadto stay below deck. Many were veryseasick. They probably did not getto bathe or change clothes. Thesmell in the crowded conditionsbelow would have been awful. Thefood was poor at best. They ate hardbiscuits; salted beef, pork, fish, andmutton; smoked fish; dried peas; andbeans. Bugs were a problem. Eventhe water became unfit to drink.Would you have been willing to sac-rifice in this way?

2nd Week-The Mayflower: Noone had planned for so many peopleonboard. Some had wanted to sailon a different ship, the Speedwell.But that ship leaked. A lot of its pas-sengers were added to those on theMayflower. Onboard were also atleast two dogs and probably one cat.There wasn't much room to bringthings onboard. The Pllgrims mighthave brought books, a few clothes,cooking pots, tools, weapons, furni-ture, and goods to trade with nativepeople. The common seamen's quar-ters were located in the bow of theship, with the Pilgrims Iivingbetween the decks. Supplies andcargo were stored in the ship's holdor bottom. There were no passengerships at that time. For 12 years, theMayflower had carried cargos ofwine. Passengers had to build theirown "cabins," or piaces to sleep.Many slept on the floor. There wasvery little privacy. Everyone feareda fire aboard the wooden ship. If thesea was calm, passengers cookedfood in metal boxes filled with sand.But when there was wind, they didnot dare to light a fire. They oftenate cold food. One of the sailors'duties was to swab or wash downthe deck with a mop. This kept theboards wet so they would not shrinkin dry weather. Discuss what lifemust have been like on the ship.

3rd Week-Pilgrims: ThePilgrims were mighty glad to reachIand. On November 11, 1620, theMayflower anchored off Cape Cod,

Foll 1996 I

Massachusetts. After exploring thecoast, they decided to Iand atPlymouth Rock on December 16.The waters were shallow, so theywent ashore in a small boat calleda shallop. Many died that firstyear. But those who survived untilspring received help lrom friendlyIndians to plant their corn (maize).Massasoit and Squanto are famousin American history for their he1p,as is Pocahontas.

Discuss the saga of MilesStandish, John Alden, and PriscillaMuliens. What would an averageday be like at the colony? Do youthink the Pilgrims were happywith their new home? Make a liston a chalk- or dry-erase board ofthe items they had to work with:fishhook, axe, anvil, two-man saw,rope, grinding whee1, shovel,shoes, coif (woman's capJ, bodyarmor, armor helmet, tongs, spit,water barrel, kettle, knife, bellows,grain, mortar and pestle, woodenspoons, frying pan. Discuss thevalue of each.

4th Week-Thanksgiving:The Pilgrims had their firstThanksgiving in 1,62L. They arethe first people to celebrate ourblessings of plenty. They weremighty thankfuL to have survived.During the previous winter about

half had died. Their harvestfeast included 90 nativepeople. Our present-dayThanksgiving can be tracedback to this event. A replicaof the ship, called Moy-flower 11, is a living muse-um, People on board recre-ate life on the famous cross-irrg. It is tied up at P1y-mouth Harbor in Mas-sachusetts, (While we don'tknow a lot about theMayflower, we do knowabout ships of that time.)Mayflower 11 is a part ofPlymouth Plantation. Theplantation recreates the lifeand setting of the Pilgrims'settlement. The plantationis located 2rlz miles fromthe first site near Plymouth,Massachusetts, and is openApril through November.This year let's remember thePilgrims and be thankful fortheir endurance and sacri-fice. (A copy of the May-flower Compact would makean interesting sidebar forreading and discussion byyour boys.)

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Please note the correction for page 25 of the Pioneers

Advancement Trail. The Light-for-the-Lost Merit is a require-

ment for the Bowie Knife Rating as shown below. We apolo-gize tor the inconvenience. lf you have any questions, call the

national office (417) 862-2781 .

BOWIE KNIFE RAT'[F*G

Mental Growth (no changes)

Physical Growth (no changes)

Spiritual Growth

a. Read the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus

in Matthew, chapters 27 and28.b. Explain why Jesus had to die.

c. Explain how we can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

d. Memorize and quote Romans 6:23.

Revision:

e. Earn the Light-for-the-Lost Merit.

p sociar Growth (no changes)

r>rxD

Please note the correction for pages 24,25 ol the Trailblazers

Advancement Trail. The Light-for-the-Lost Merit is a require-

ment for the First Class Rating as shown below. We apologize

for the inconvenience. ll you have any questions, call the

national office (417) 862-2781 .

FII1ST CLASS FATihIG

Mental Growth (no changes)

Physical Growth (no changes)

Spiritual Growth

a. Read the story of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

b. Explain the meaning of this story.

c. Explain what happens when a person receives the baptism

in the Holy Spirit.

d. Memorize and quote Acts 1:8.

Revision:

f . lf you have not done so, earn the Light-for-the-Losi Merit.

D Social Growth (no changes)

Revision Forms from the National Roya! Rangers OfficeThe following revision forms appear in the Pioneers and Trailblazers handbooks

r;r>>

r!>

l0 High Adventure Leoder

Gralts ol llays Gone Byby David und Ammie Craun

Long gone are the days whenmost men and ladies used theirabilities to make particular itemsor crafts as the basic means tomake a living for their families.So many of the things they didjust to get by each day are nowconsidered crafts: soap making,syrup making, candle making,spinning yarn, and weaving thatyarn into "homespun" material.

Even building houses fromIogs, a necessary part of life backin early pioneer days, is nowconsidered an old-fashionedcraft. Many of the crafts thatwere done as an everyday part oflife were done by the adults whotaught those skills to their chil-dren as trades. In this manner aman passed on his craft or skillto the children of the next gener-ation.

In the Bible we read thatJoseph taught |esus the carpentrytrade, so ]esus of Nazareth wasconsidered a carpenter and theson of a carpenter. lesus saidthat His true Father was fromabove. The things He heard fromthe Father He would speak to us,and the things He was doing hereon earth were the same thingsHis Heavenly Father was doing.He came to earth to do the will(carry on the craft or tradeJ of HisFather.

Nowadays children may-ormay not-carry on the trade orskills of their parents. As RoyalRangers Ieaders we can fill inthat gap by ieaching some ofthose old-time skills and crafts toour Rangers.

When I was a child growingup after World War II, I did nothave very many store-bought

toys. There were six of us kidsin the family, so we ended upplaying with lots of things thatwe could find out in the woodsor from the junk p i Ie.Consequently, we had to be cre-ative with building things tokeep us occupied after schooland on weekends. Living out inthe country provided plenty oflishing and hiking opportunities;however, we did not have lots ofkids in the area with whom wecould spend time.

Some of the things kids didin the early 1950s make real goodcraft ideas even today. Wewould gather moss that grew inabundance out in the woods bytaking a table knife and slicingunder the moss to loosen it fromthe ground. My mom used to dothe same thing when she was achild. She taught us kids how tocut the moss into differentshapes and make miniaturehouses, furniture, and sets. Byadding small sticks, leaves, etc.,we created an entire living vil-Iage out of the moss. By usingtiny Indians, cowboys, soldiers,etc., we would act out entire dra-mas in miniature. These mossvillages were kept outside andcontinued to grow in shady areasto provide a play retreat wecould go to time and time again.

My brother and I would finda forked stick and make a slingshot out of an old bicycle innertube and piece of thick leather.We would find the smoothest,roundest rocks available and useold cardboard for a target. Manyhours were spent hurling thoserocks from our homemade sling-shots.

Some crafts of days gone bycan be done by Royal Rangers inoutpost meetings as a way tochallenge the creative abilities of

K

the Rangers, and also as a meansof passing on skills that wereused by previous generations.

One craft that has been donefor many generations is the stickpuppet. Children would takewhatever material they couldfind-leather, cloth, paper, Ieaves,etc.-and make the head or fullbody of an animal or doll. Theywould attach these puppets tosticks that could be held up bythe child kneeling behind a pup-pet stage and act out storiesusing the puppets they hadmade. They are easier to makethan our modern puppets thatrequire placing the hand and arminside the puppet. However,these simple stick puppets canhave the same effect as high-priced puppets used today. Bymaking the puppets themselves,the children identified with thepuppets even more than withthose bought from a store.

Another simple craft thatwas popular in days gone by wasmaking key chains and otheritems out of plaited Ieather orplastic thongs or strips. Wewould use either three or fourstrands of material about 1 or 2

feet Iong. By crossing thestrands over one another in arepeated pattern, we would plaitthe strands together into onethick, strong craft item. Honey-suckle vines were also a goodmaterial to use to plait togetherto make all kinds of decorationsand nature items. By Iacingtogether several sections of plait-ed honeysuckle vines, one canmake all kinds of baskets, plat-ters, mats, etc.

One maj or way of passingtime during those slow summerdays in years gone by was whii-tling. Some folks took soft barsof soap and carved all kinds ofshapes, animals, and objects.Others would use soft white pinewood or soap stone to carveshapes that would last longer.

When teaching children to

Foll 1996 I I

fficalve. tre sure to uso taols smallenough for them to handle, andclose supervision is a rnust, M,ostkids rieed t develop coordinationskills before tryins to carve, Someplace a leather thumb guard overthe thumb of the hand holding theknife.

Though most carving can bedone by cutting away from thebody. some detail work can onlybe achieved by pulling the bladelowards the thumb. Care must betaken to make sure the wood, soap,etc., sliced and not tl-re thumb.

In the country of Switzerlandone of the crafts thai was done atthe first Europear Camparama in1.990 was wood carving. Pioneersloined in with older Rangers lo usewooden mallets, wood chisels ofall shapes. hand axes. and other[ools to shape blocks ol wood intoIong handled spoons and otherusefuI items.

As I participated in this craft, Iwas amazed how the Europeanchildren could handle these ioolsvery we l'at their age. \n/hen Iinquired of the instructor whythey could do this craft so well, heresponded that,they did wc,odcarving al1 the time in their homecountry, , Praperly instructed, andproperly equipped. Rangers fromPioneers-grade/age up can enjoythe excitement of ereating theirvery own carving ftotn wood,soap, clay or other material.

Many of the things we did aschildren to keep us occupi.ed canbe done todav.,as crafts that kidswill enjoy. "By teaching thosecrafts to the Rangers', in a srnallway we are passing on to anothergeneration the crafts of days goneby.

Every day millions of chil-dren across America attend pub-lic schools, Royal Rangers lead-ers have always sought opportu-nities to reach these children forChrist. Unfortunately, the cur-rent laws of the United Statescall for a severe separation of"church" and "state," hence lim-iting the Royal Rangers access tothe public schools. The opera-tive word here is Iimiting.Although it can often be difficult,it is not impossible to go onto aschool campus to promote RoyalRangers.

Every year school adminis-trations Iook for creative, educa-tional school assemblies. Duringthe 1970s and 1980s, the publicschool assembly was a lucrativebusiness. In recent years, how-ever, the public school systemshave fallen on financially leantimes, and this very fact has cre-ated an opportunity like neverbefore for Royal Rangers.

Preparation forSchool Assemblies

First, the ground rules mustbe understood:1. The gospel cannot bepreached in a public schoolassembly.2. As a general rule you cannotmerely present a religious pro-gram such as Royal Rangers.3. Your assembly must be educa-tional and entertaining.

These simple ground rulesmight seem restrictive. But it ispossible to use them to youradvantage in gaining access topublic schools.

Let's examine what theschool administrations will beIooking for in your assembly. Asstated, it must be educationaland entertaining. This is reallybroad. In planning a schoolassembiy, first target the agegroup you wish to reach.Typically this will be elemen-

tary-age children. Pick subjectmatter you are already somewhatan expert on, or a subject thatyou can research and prepare for.

Here is an example: A sub-ject many commanders are some-what acquainted with is frontierAmerica. The FrontiersmanCamping Fellowship memberoften already has acquired mostof the items necessarv for aschool assembly. Here is a for-mat that some commanders haveused in numerous school assem-blies.

Stage Setup: Setup prior tothe school assembly a number ofitems on the stage-such astrunks, animal skins, traps, evena small tepee or a tent.

Introduction to Assembly

Note: The following assemblyshould last between 30 to 45minutes.

Have the person introducingyou read a brief introduction.This should include that you area Ieader in a local camping orga-nization caIIed Royal Rangers.(Remember, you are not there torecruit, but rather to get the name"Royal Rangers" into the school.The boys in your outpost whoattend the school will do the pro-moting and recruiting.)

After being introduced to thechildren, enter from the back ofthe room fully clad in your buck-skins, with all the necessaryattire. (Please note: Prior per-mission fuom the school adminis-tration is necessary to bring anyform of firearms onto the schoolgrounds. Obtain advanced writ-ten permission stating that youhave permission to bring"unloaded" antique reproduc-tions of black powder frontierguns onto campus.) Upon reach-irrg the stage, immediatelyIaunch into a brief (z-S minutesmaximum) mountain man tale.

l2 High Adventure Leoder

What To DiscussThe subject matter for school

assemblies is vast. Becausemany schools are plagued withdrugs and gangs, school adminis-trators are looking for good pre-sentations on drug and gangawareness. You cannot discussbiblical principles, but you caninstill God's moral principles indramatic form without beingpreachy. Kids today need to hearthe truth! Many Christians havedone school assemblies on suchtopics, which gave them theopportunit5r to per-sonally witness tosome of the chil-dren after the as-sembly or Iaterwhen doing streetwitnessing.

You could doan entire assemblyon backpacking.Show all the latestequipment. Act-ually set up a smalltent on stage. Cooka fast meal, using"trail food," and leteveryone have ataste.

Many of themerits could be pre-sented as assem-blies. Rememberthese simple con-cepts in puttingtogether vour as-sembly. Keep itinteresting, visual,and exciting. Briefreal-life stories,especially if theyare humorous, canbe interjected. Keepthe presentationvaried. Talk aboutthe historical back-ground, then talkabout an object theycan touch.

Demonstratehow easy or howdifficult somethingis. Don't get boggeddown in details thatare complicated.And do not demon-strate something,using small itemsthat cannot be seenby the entire group.

ConclusionFinally, practice, practice,

practice. Practice your assemblyin front of the boys in your out-post group or even in children'schurch. Work the bugs outbefore you go into a school.Word will spread about yourassembly to the other schools inthe district. If it was great, youwill have opportunity to gowherever you like. If it was adud, you will be hard-pressed toget another chance elsewhere.

Remember, your purpose in

having a public school assemblyis not to preach or try to get thechildren all saved; it just wiII nothappen. Rather use the opportu-nity to establish contacts and topromote Royal Rangers. If youdo a good job, you will be invitedback year after year. And it is inthe long term that you will havegreat results. If the boys in youroutpost who attend the schoolcan say with pride to theirfriends that you are their com-mander, then you will findyour outpost gr-owing. @

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ecA.

Foll 1996 l3

by R9v. David Boydproductions coordinator,Michigan District

Scripture verses cited from theN ew Internati o nal Vers io n

Avoiding Pitfalls

Items I'treeded: A map (copy apage for each child), highlightersor light-colore d markers.

Boys, today I have a map foreach of you. I have marked twocities on the map. I would likeyou to find the best route youcan to get from the first ciiymarked to the second city. Usethe marker to show the path youwould choose. Go ahead andstart.

As the boys look for the bestroute to follow, talk about theway people used to travel acrossthe country. Talk about coveredwagons. Back then they didn'thave maps showing them everypitfall. They had to follow trailsor rely on a guide. Sometimesthey came to rivers, cliffs, ormountains and had to go aroundthem.

Look at the routes the boyschose to follow on their maps.Talk about how easy it is toknow the right way when youcan see the entire picture andwhat is ahead,

Explain ihat God is able tosee what is ahead in our lives.Explain that God has given usHis Word as a map io help usavoid the many pitfalls in ourpaths.

The Bible says in Psalm 119:105,"Your word is a lamp to my feetand a light for my path."- OurChristian lives can go astray ifwe fall into one of the many pit-falls of sin that lie before us.The Bible says in Psalm L'19:L'1.,"I have hidden your word in myheart that I might not sin againstyou." God gave us His Word tohelp us stay awa,v from the pit-falls of sin.

When people didn't havemaps years ago, they ran into aIot of pitfalls. Without God'sWord in our hearts, we are sureto be heading straight into thepitfalls that Satan has laid out infront of us! Use your map; it'scalled God's Word.

The Right Tool.for the lob

Items Needed: Hammer, screw-driver, wrench, crowbar (oritems similar to these), a canopener, 0 can of food, a plpersack.

Back the way things used tobe: A frontiersman needed justthe righi kind of tool to get foodfor his family. He might need agun to shoot deer, or snares tocatch rabbits, or traps to trap

fish. Withoutthe right tool, itwas very diffi-cult to get food.Things aren't sodifferent today.Let's iry an ex-periment.

Reach intothe paper sackand pull out acan of food.Hand it to achild andhand him ahammer and ask

him to open it. The child willusually say the hammer won'twork. Reach into the sack andpull out a different tool (not thecan opener). Each time youbring out a tool, talk about whatthe tool is good for. Each tool isgood for many things even if itsnot good for opening cans offood.

FinaIIy, pull out a can open-er. Ask the class if this is the

right tool for the job. Explainthat every tool is important, buteach tool has its own particularjob or jobs to do, lt was lhat wayyears ago and it's still that waytoday.

Romans 12:6 says, "We havedifferent gifts according to thegrace given us." God has a jobfor each of us to do. Our job isimportant. He made us all dif-ferent. Some of us are tall, someare strong, some are talented, ...agile, smart, creative, and the listgoes on. Just as a frontiersmanneeded just the right tool to getfood, and we need just the righttool to get inside of this can, Godneeds each of us to do jusi theright job for Him. He wants usto be His tool to help open upthe lives of people who need tohear about |esus.

Be a willing tooi in God'shands. Allow God to use you toreach others.

(Open up the can. It wouldbe a good idea if you broughtsomething that the kids mightIike for a snack.) Explain thatthe kids are the tools God wantsto use to reach their neighbors,friends, teachers, and relativesfor lesus. Be the right tool forGod's job!

It Looks So Good!

Items I'Jeeded: A mousetrap,some cheese, a $5 biLL, a ciga-rette advertisement, an alcoholadvertisement.

HoId up the mousetrap. Askthe class what you have in yourhand. Explain that a mousetraphas one purpose-that is to foola mouse into thinking that hisIife will be better if he can justget the cheese. Then its purposeis to kill the mouse.

Set the trap and place it infront of the kids. Add a little

l4 High Adventure Leoder

cheese to it as you are doing it.Role-play with the kids. Pretendyou are the mouse. Pretend yousmell the cheese, but you are sus-picious of this object. Youdecide you shouldn't touch it,but then you smell the cheeseagain, You are tempted. Itsmeiis like great cheese. Oh howgood it r,r,ould taste ... maybe justone little bite, BANG!

Talk u.ith the kids aboutwhat happened to the mouse.Talk about rrhat temptation is.Usual11' tvhen rve are temPied todo wrong things. r,rre kno-w theyare wrong. The mouse knew itshouldn't touch this strangeobject, but it did anvway.

People har-e been tempted bySatan for all of history. Talkabout Adam and Eve. Satan isthe tempter. He knor.trs he isgoing to hel} and he hates Godfor it. Satan hates us because heknows God 1oi'es us. To get evenwith God. Satan rvants to take asmany of us to hell rvith him as hecan.

Todav Satan rnakes sin lookso good.

-Brlng out the adrrertise-

ments for drinking. Talk abouthorn, much fr-Lr"r it looks like thesepeople are har-ing. But this is atrap set br-Satan jr-rst like ourmousetrap. Set the mousetraponce again, Talk about whathappens u-hen people give in toSatan and drinkine. Soon Satangets them into his trap. Theymay become alcoholics, or theymay kill themseh'es or someoneelse while drinking and drir,ing.Bring out the adtertisementabout smoking. Talk about theeffects of smoking on vour bodv.Remind the kids. The goal u'henusing a mousetrap is to kill ihemouse. Satan's goal is to kill uswith his traps.

Put a $5 bill in the mousetrap. Set the trap. Does Satanever tempt us to steal? \,Vhat ishis goal for us?

Talk about people rvho learnto steal and eventually end up injail for stealing.

Let the kids talk about otherareas they are tempted in. Usethis mousetrap for several weeksas you continue to talk abouttraps that Satan sets for us.

Growing in the Son

Items Needed: Ear of corn (orsome other vegetable seeds),water, Styrofoam cups with somedirt. (Also, if you can, purchaseor grow a small plant and bring itto class.)

Hold up the vegetable. Askthe kids who can describe tothem how we get food like this.Allow the class to discuss mod-ern farming techniques-includ-ing big tractors, disc machines,planters, harrresters, fertiiizers,etc.

Talk about how people usedto plant crops before all of this

modern technologv. Talk aboutitems like horses, oxen, plows,bags of seed, etc.

Explain that even thoughthere are a lot of differencesbetween then and now, there area lot of similarities as u,ell. Takeout the cups. (Note: It can be

modern technoiogy, we still needearth, water, and the sun just asit rrsed to be.

Christians need to grow aswell. Hold up the young plantthat you have. What would hap-pen to this plant if we stoppedgiving it water? It would shrivelup and die. Christians can shriv-eI up and spiritually die just likea plant that doesn't have water.Compare this to 1 Peler 2'.2where it says, "As newbornbabes, desire the pure milk of theword, that you may grow there-by" (NKlv).

Explain that Christians needto grow. Too manlz Christiansshrivel up and die in their rela-tionship with Jesus because theydon't read God's Word, pray, orgo to church. Remember that theBible says Jesus is the living"m,ater." Remember that weneed to bask in the "Son" Iight of]esus in order to continue to livefor Him.

Give each child a cup of dirtwith a seed in it if you can. Lethim care for it and watch it grow.Continue to ask the boys abouttheir plants as well as their ownspiritual growth.

fun to plant aseed for eachchild and allor,vhim to take ithome. A radishis a fun item toplant that growsquickly and isfun for them.Also a cornstalk or tomatoplant is a goodoption.) Putdirt into thecups, plant theseeds, and addttratet.

Talk abouturhat a plantneeds to surviveand grow. Itneeds earth,water, and thesunshine. Eventhough we haveall this new

EE

" €; o, ro?. 1'A E MogT "APTWHA.T M ?OUTIIINKTHE

THATLL FE MTLECTU<E.PEACI1ONTO I TW\LL EE Z II

Foll 1996 l5

We hatse a new line of items called "HaruestTime Helps" now auail-

able that can easily be ordered b9 calling 7-800-647-4310. We

hope this ad will benefit you as a leader and keep you in touch with

current helps.

-National Royal Rangers Office

(1) Old & New Testament Visua/s-An excellent method for teaching Rangersabout the Books of the Bible and their central themes. Colorful cartoons associatethe theme with the name of each book in a bright and unforgettable way. (4) OldTestament Coloring Book, Item No. 729N2116, cost: $6; (5) Old Testament FlashCards, Item No. 729N2118, cost: $6; (6) New Testament Flash Cards, Item No.729N2119, cost: $6; (7) New Testament Coloring Book, Item No. 729N2115,cost: $6.(21 The Solid Rock, uideo and curriculum series:Kids'n'Gangs (72gNZlOOl; Streets of Pain (729NZIO1\; Who is God?(729NZ|O2\; Finding God's Will for Your Life (729N27O4); Lookins for Life inall the Wrong Places |729NZ1O5); cost each: $28.95. Each packet contains avideo on the youth issue and a leader's workbook that can be duplicated.(3) Wctor's Victories*For Straight Arrows and Buckaroos commanders: Contains13 stories with Bible studies and discussion topics that address issues today's youngboysface. ItemNo. 729N2O57, cost: $18.

l i#-t&

':i.:

;'.

(Cost of shipping not included)

:

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]]

As my wife glanced back, Icould see the terror in her eyes, Ifought desperately to keep myemotions under control and con-centrate on what I must do beforewe reached the falls.

Then, as though the Lordhimself was guiding our tiny raft,a calmness came over me. Iyelled directions to LaVerne,"Get down in the bottom of theraft and hold on to your paddle."i did the same, hoping to keepthe center of gravity in the raft as

low as possible to avoid capsiz-irrg.

Within seconds we reachedthe brink of the falls and wereplunged into a confusion of cur-rents, sprav, and churning turbu-lence! When I looked up, wewere both drenched by the B- to10-foot drop over the edge. But,glory to God, neither of us hadbeen thror,r.n overboard.

Our raft, stiil upright, wasspinning u'ildlv through the cas-

weecadingtides. Ithought Iwouldchoke aswater

filled my throat and nostrils. Thesound on e\rerY side was like afreight train rushing past at fulltilt.

FranticaIlv, I grasped thepaddle and tried to halt the fren-zied gyrations. I saw an eddynear some boulders about 15 feetdownstream. But trv as I might, Icould not overcome the violentcurrents that swirled around us.

I shouted to LaVerne and, inone last desperate effort to freeourselves from the dizzying spin,we stroked in unison against theflood. Almost immediately -ypaddle was ripped from myhands and sent sailing into thefoam.

I signalled my wife to pull inher paddle and stow it on thefloor of the raft. Out of the cornerof my eye I could see that we

were being swept back towardthe base of the falls.

Once again we sat on thefloor of our raft and waited, shiv-ering, while we were spun intothe midst of the waterfall andjust as quickly thrown back intothe maelstrom. Our little craftwas now half-filled with water,and we were completely soaked.As the raft moved away from thefalls, it became obvious that wefaced a new threat. We werebeing swept along the outer edgeof a large whirlpool!

Our rubber boat began topick up speed, proceeding alongthe perimeter of the whirlpoolback toward the falls. We beganshivering as much from fright as

from the effects of the coldmountain water that once morepoured down upon us.

We raised our eves towardheaven. "DearGod, what canwe do?"

During whatmay have onlybeen the next 5

minutes, butseemed like 30,the raft contin-ued to make a

wide circuitaround the edgeof the whirlpool,returning timeand again to thebase of thewaterfall and thedeluge fromabove. LaVerneand I were thor-oughly exhaust-ed and withouthope. We lookedat each other andshook our heads,knowing we were going todrown.

"I love you, Roy," my wifesaid loud enough to be heardabove the sound of the river.

"I love you, too, LaVetne."Then, once again, we turned

our eyes heavenward. I spoke a

prayer, "Lord, if it's Your willthat this is the end for us, pleaseaccept our souls into Your king-dom." Quietly, we waited for theLord to take over and carry us upto be with Him.

Then, in a manner that, tothis day, we cannot understandor explain, our raft suddenlymoved directly away from thechurning water into the quieteddy. We were saved!

Once out of the turbulentwater, I eased myself over theside of our little rubber raft andtugged the water-swamped craftto shore along with its preciouscar8o.

LaVerne and I will never for-get the tremendous, heart-wrenching experience of thatafternoon, nor the lesson it sodramatically taught us. In a way

o

that only He could, the Lorddemonstrated that humanstrength counts for nothing whenpitted against the raw power ofnature. But when we let go andlet God-there is no greaterpower. 1

FALL I 996

LFTL Junior Gouncilmen's ram: t

relations coordinator, Wis-consin-Northern MichiganDistrict

he Light-for-the-LostJunior Councilmen pro-gram is an exciting wayfor boys and young men

in the Royal Rangers programto get invoived in missions.Royal Rangers boys fromOutpost 4, Calvary Assemblyof God, attended a Light-for-the-Lost banquet in Milwau-kee. This banquet was theirIast step to becoming LFTL]unior Councilmen.

The boys picked a posterfrom the wall and worked onraising funds for The Book ofHope* Bib1e. Besides raisingthe funds, they were excitedto be able to participate in aproject that would give themhands-on experience withmissions and one-on-one wit-nessing using The Book ofHope. The Bibles for this out-reach were printed usingLFTL Junior Councilmenfunds . The Book of Hopeincludes 14 pages of God'sanswers to today's urbanyouth problems.

The project they were ableto participate in was an inner-city outreach, held around alagoon at Washington Park,Milwaukee. On luly 29, 1995,this outreach was hosted bySection 10 in the Wisconsin-Northern Michigan District.We began by holding a kick-off meeting at CaivaryAssembly of God in Milwau-kee. Leaders and boys came

from around the area to makeplans for the event. In themiddle of the room was astack of The Book of Hope.We formed a circle around theBibles and ali agreed inearnest prayer for the out-reach the next day,

The outreach theme wasset around the FrontiersmenCamping Fellowship. TheEarly American frontiersmanwas abie to camp with verysimple and inexpensive items.We wanted to show theseinner-city boys how they canbe involved in a camping pro-gram with inexpensive andeasy-to-find items aroundtheir homes.

Children came from thesurrounding neighborhoods toview tepees, tents, campingdisplays, and displays ofitems from the Early Ameri-can frontiersman. The boysalso looked over a RoyalRangers display that includedpatches and district Pow Wowpictures. A portable forge wasset up to show the childrenhow to work with metal. A

popular part of the day waswhen Brad Williams, a locaiIeader, dressed in Indian garbshowed the children how toapply face paint. He alsoapplied the paint to theirfaces.

Popcorn and Kool-aidwere served to entice theappetite. Inner-city Assem-blies of God churches weresupportive and assisted uswherever possibie. Boys andIeaders in Royal Rangers T-shirts, uniforms, and FCF out-fits were available to sharetheir Christian experiencesand to assist in every area ofthis important happening.

The Book of Hope coupledwith the Royal Rangers TfteUltimate* brochure werehanded out to the childrenthat came to the event. Manyof the boys and girls reallyappreciated receiving theBook. They all promised theywould take it home and readit. it really warmed our heartswhen many children stayed tohelp with cleanup and wereinquisitive about return visits.

l0 High Adventure

If your outpost hasn'tdone so, get involved in theLFTL lunior Councilmen pro-gram. Attend a banquet inyour area. You will see thebenefits and the excitement asyou work to reach the chil-dren of the world (statesidethrough project 858L, TheBook of Hope; overseasthrough project 1800, EdwardElephant Says... evangelismcomic book) for the kingdomof Jesus Christ! ..

* The Book of Hope arrdThe tlltimofe brochure areavailable for a nominal feethrough the national Royal

Rangers Office by calling r-800-641-4310. The Book ofHope, iterrr 729HC1,2O; The

Ultimate (Engli7 29-OO7 , The(Spanish version)

sh version)Ultimate

729-010.

ChildrenReceiveolySpirit

by Rev. Ed Corbin, missio nary to South Africa

Many Afuican church leadersfind it difficult to believe that a

child can be genuinely saved.Those same weII-meaningChristians find it much morechallenging to comprehend that achild can be baptized in the HolySpirit. But it is happening!

Outside Rustenburg, in thetownship of Thlabane, we havean Assemblies of God churchpastored by Rev. Amos Mokopi.For the past year he has beenconducting a discipleship classfor approximateiy 35 children,ages 10-14. Pastor Mokopi askedus to come and teach the chil-dren concerning the Holy Spirit.For about 6 weeks we taughtthem who the Holy Spirit is,what He wanted to do in theirlives, and how they couldreceive the infilling of the HoIySpirit.

We then invited the childrento lackson's Ridge for a day offun-filled activities. They wentswimming, played volley ball,croquet, snooker, ping pong, tookrides on the ATV, and competedin relay races. After a traditionalmeal of Pap and Wors (impalasausages and corn meal), weinvited the children into the con-ference room for one last teach-ing on the Holy Spirit.

Following the preaching ofthe Word, I gave an aitar call forthose who wanted to receive theHoly Spirit. AII of the childrenresponded! Slowly, after sometime spent in prayer, a girlreceived and began to speak withother tongues as the Spirit gaveher the utterance. I announcedthis fact and a few othersreceived. I then instructed thosewho had received to lay hands

on their friends and pray forihem. That was all it took. Whenthose newly filled vessels beganto pray for others, the glory felllIt was like old-time Pentecostright there in that small crowdedconference room at ]ackson'sRidge. Some laughed, somecried, some shouted, some werequiet, but all encountered theawesome presence of the HolySpirit.

When it was time to load thechildren back onto our bright redkids bus and return to Thlabane,30 of the 37 children hadreceived the baptism in the HolySpirit. Their lives will be foreverchanged by the po!\rer of the HoIyGhost.

I am reminded that this testi-mony would not have been possi-ble if it were not for your faithfulprayers and financial support. @

ilFALL I 996

by Rev. Robb Hawks

s the van slowly woundits way up the mountain,Jonathan's excitementgrew. This was his first

FCF deer hunt. Pathfinder andSleeper had put together a veryspecial deer hunt on GoliathMountain and had assured every-one that there would be plenty ofdeer. The only requirementPathfinder had placed on thoseinterested was that they wouldhave to dress in their FCF clothesand they had to use their blackpowder rifles. Sleeper had told atall tale about the big buck thatgot away and everyone was in

the mood to hunt deer the waythe mountain men used to do it.

As lonathan's mind wan-dered back to the days of thegreat mountain, flakes of snowslowly began to fall.

"Alright!" Shelton exclaim-ed. "It's snowing."

Jonathan looked up as thewhite snow flakes drifted down.The van came to an abrupt haltand Sleeper turned around in thedriver's seat to give the instruc-tions.

"Alright, Frontiersmen, we'rehere!" Sleeper said. "Now thetemperature has dropped and asyou have noticed, it's snowing.So let's break out our capotes

and remember to keep yourpowder dry."

With that everyonejumped out of the van andquickly began to get their stufftogether. Jonathan had beengiven a .45 Kentucky flintlockfor his birthday. He had beenpracticing and was confidentthat, should the opportunitypresent itself, he could bring

u down a deer with one cleanshot. Jonathan was so excitedhe barely felt the cold chill inthe air as he wrapped hiscapote around himself andgathered up his shooterspouch and rifle.

The old-timers had teamedup with a young buck so thehunt would be safe. Jonathanhad been teamed with Sleeper.Sleeper was hunting with aflintlock also. Thev each

dryed out their guns with a patchor two and Sleeper showedJonathan how to put a little 4Fpowder in the pan and a smidgedown the barrel. They thencocked their rifles and, pointingthem at the ground, squeezed thetrigger.

The flint, held by the ham-mer, swiftly struck the ftizzencausing sparks to fall into thepan and with a flash and a poof,the gun was totally dried out.They each swabbed the barrelout one more time then loadedtheir guns. After priming the panand loweringthe frizzen. each ofthem slid a leather booty over thefrizzen as an extra measure ofsafety.

Each of the teams wishedeach other luck, and soon theyall disappeared down differenttrails that would take them todifferent parts of the mountain.The snow was starting to buildup as Jonathan and Sleeper setout. Jonathan was really excited.His first FCF hunting trip! Hecould barely wait to bring homea trophy 10- or 12-point buck!The trail was a long one andsoon lonathan began to noticethat his feet were freezing cold.The mountain men moccasinsmight be comfortable to wear,but boy they were cold. His feetwere wet and he was starting tofeel really miserable.

Sleeper finally found whathe was looking for, a clearingwith an outcrop of rocks forming

(continued on page 14)

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t2 High Adventure

at holiday did thesepeople make famousor popular in

t U America? Sarah|osepha Hale. Governor WilliamBradford. Presidents GeorgeWashington. Abraham Lincoln,Franklin D. Roosevelt, and theSeparatists.

Was it Easter. IndependenceDay, Mother's Dar-, Father's Day,Thanksgir.ing. Christmas, or NewYear's Dar,?

Easter is a Christian holidaywhich celebrates Jesus' resurrec-tion. Christmas is a celebration toremember His birth. Indepen-dence Day is America's birthday.Mother's Dar- rras the r,vork ofAnna larvis from Grafton, WestVirginia. Fairmont. \Vest Virgi-nia, got Father's Dav started.

Thanksgiving is the holidaymade famous bv the people men-tioned, and at least 90 unnamedIndians. Chief lrlassasoit broughtthe Indians to celebrate u,,ith theSeparatists u'ho left England toworship as thev sau. fit.

The 3-da1, celebration washeld in 1621. Governor WilliamBradford called for a time of cele-bration and thanks to God for theblessings of survival, a good foodsupply, and housing. The cele-bration was marked by times ofprayer, ihanksgiving, games, andplenty of food.

That was the firsi Thanks-giving celebrated in America.

by Rev. Ste

Since then there have been oth-ers, each held to give thanks toGod for something that wasimportant at the time.

In L789, November 26 wasset aside by President GeorgeWashington by general proclama-tion. However, he never made itan official holiday. Thanksgiv-irrg would not become anAmerican holiday for some time.

President Abraham Lincolnmade Thanksgiving an officialholiday in 1863. He responded tothe multiple appeals made bySarah Josepha Hale, Mrs, Halepleaded with PresidentsFillmore, Pierce, and Buchananto no avail. OnIy PresidentLincoln recognized the need for a

day of thanks.For the next 75 years,

Thanksgiving was celebrated onthe last Thursday of November.However, in 1939, PresidentFranklin Delano Rooseveltmoved it to the third Thursday ofthe month to make the shoppingperiod longer before Christmas.Congress changed it to the fourthThursday ir 1941and made it a

federal holiday.Since 1941 Thanksgiving has

developed some traditions.Feasting has been a "must" sincethe first American celebration.Family gatherings have become atradition also. "Thanksgiving," a

painting by Doris Lee, shows sev-eral family members preparingthe traditional Thanksgivingmeal.

Football came on the sceneas the National Football Leagueformed. Thanksgiving and the

OtuingDaIIas Cowboys go together liketurkey and stuffing.

Each of the traditions hasmerit. Especially family, food,and football. The tradition thathas faded from the forefront hasbeen the celebration of thanks.Abraham Lincoln designatedThanksgiving as "a duy ofthanksgiving and praise to ourbeneficent Father."

Thanksgiving should be aday of celebration. We shouldcelebrate the foeedoms we enjoy.We are free to gather togetherand worship God in any way wedesire. The Separatists, whichwe now call "Pilgrims," IeftEngland so they could enjoy thisfreedom. Many died in theirattempt to gain the right to wor-ship.

Thanksgiving should be a

time to celebrate with familiesand friends. The Pilgrims feastedwith their newfound friends, theIndians, and the remaining mem-bers of their families. We shouldgive glory to God for this privi-lege.

The first Thanksgiving cele-brated life. The Pilgrims whofeasted were glad to be alive.Nearly one-half of the peoplewho came to America on theMayflower were buried beforespring. The survivors gavethanks to God for their health.We need to be thankful for ourhealth today.

The Pilgrims were thankfulfor their houses. The rough logbuildings were better than thetemporary shelters they lived inthe winter before. The previous

FALL I996 I3

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winter was hard on evervonewho lived together in the com-mon shelters. They had beencrowded together over the longmonths but now houses wereavailable for them.

We need io be thankful forour housing also. We may iivein an apartment, row house,

trailer, condo, home, mansion,or log cabin today, but we stillneed to give thanks for ourhome.

Everydal, 1ve can celebratethe spirit of Thanksgiving in ourhearts. We can be like thePilgrims who gave thanks to Godfor all their blessings. We can

praise God for our freedom toworship everyday in a free coun-try. We can give thanks each dayfor family and friends. Weshould be thankful for the foodr,rre eat and the homes we live in.Most of a1l we should be thank-ful for the free gift of eternal lifethrough fesus Christ our Lord. @

(continued from page 12)

an overlook. He led |onathan upinto the rocks and they settled into wait. Sleeper had been up onthe mountain before and hadfound numerous signs of deer inthis area. The rocky outcrop washigh enough to keep them out ofsight of the deer and yet givethem a good shot. The windbecame colder and colder. ii bitright through ]onathan's capoteand the leathers underneath.

He pushed his coyote fur hatfarther down onto his head hop-ing to cover his ears a little bet-ter. He was starting io wish thathe had his snow skiing suit onalong with his down parka andgloves. This hunting the old-

fashioned way wasnot all that it wascracked up to be.

Suddenly Sleeperwas tugging at his sleeve.Jonathan looked up. There belowthem in the clearing was anincredible trophy buck.Shivering both from the cold andthe excitement, Jonathan slowlyraised his gun. He carefully slidthe leather booty off the frizzetand took careful aim. Ever soslowly he brought the magnifi-cent antlered buck into his sites.Gently fonathan squeezed thetrigger. The hammer fell. Flinistruck frizzen. Sparks flew in alldirections as the frizzen flippedup revealing the 4F powder inthe flintlock's pan. Sparks fellinto the powder . . . and nothinghappened,

lonathan looked up in shock!His gun hadn't firedl Sleeper

hurriedly readied his gun to fire.But it was too late. The big deerhadn't grown as large as he hadovernight. He had lived on themountain for many seasons. Assoon as the click of lonathan'smisfire was heard, the big deerhad leaped forward and out ofthe clearing.

Jonathan was heartbroken.He had a perfect shot, and thepowder in the pan had becomedamp. Soon it was time to headback to the van. He was wet,cold, and miserable. It was fun togo on FCF events, but he wasglad he didn't have to live in the"good oI' days."

On the way down off themountain Sleeper gave a littledevotion. He told ]onathan andthe others that letting your rela-tionship with the Lord grow coldwas a lot like letiing your pow-

@

I4 High Adventure

der get damp.

,l-0 \eF(

ost of us hate tests. It seemsthat rre either study the

wrong stuff or don't spendenough time. and get that awfulguiity feeling as \ve wait for theresuits.

Exercising some simple studytips mar, make r-ou better equippedand able to ercel. So take a look atthese and relax. It's probably not as

bad as J,ou lhink.Eat breakfast. or take something

along to eat on the bus or when youare walking to school. An enginecan't run rrithout fuel. and neithercan you.

Look or-er the rvhole test assoon as vou get it. Some questions

Ieave the space biank. Try to answerall questions.

Don't ramble on when answer-ing essay questions: Stress yourpoint. Teachers usually know whenyou're trying to fool them.

Be as neat as possible whendoing your test.

When your test is returned, lookover the results to see what areasyou can improve. Then begin nowto study for the next test.

Take notes in class and pay spe-cial attention to those topics theteacher says wiII probably be on thetest. Taking tests is a skill thateveryone can learn and succeed at ifthey klrow the rules.

Practice often makes perfect.And when it's all said and done,won't you feel good about that "A"on your paper? {i)

Martha R. Fehl is a free-lancev,riter living in Brookville, Indiana.

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may be worth more points thanothers and require extra time.Answer those you know first,particularly the shorter ones.

Taking tests is a skili thateveryone can learn and succeedat if you know the rules.Listen to the directions and

read each question carefully. Neverand always are sure signs that thequestion is probably not true.

If your hands are shaking or youcan't remember anything, take a fewdeep breaihs and relax.

If you're guessing at theanswers, your first guess is usuallyan educated one because youremember something about thetopic from class or during review.

When answering a multiple-choice question, eliminate the obvi-ous wrong answers and then guessat the last two. Your chances arebetter this way.

Never wryite, "I don't know," or

CORNER

FALL I 996

Bslll)v'q

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