It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning the 3^rd of July that the members of the New Haven SDA Church and members of the Pleiades Pathfinders and Adventurers club met on the church grounds for our annual AYM Cookout.  There was an infectious joy and excitement among the approximately 60 participants as we boarded the JUTC bus heading to the Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) property in Lyssons St Thomas. After prayer by the Pathfinder Director, we departed the church compound with palpable anticipation for the day’s events.

A rather bumpy 2½-hour journey later, with lots of music and games, we arrived at our destination and were ready to start cooking. The organizers arranged the group into two competing factions. The First group was made up of AY members, whilst the other was made up of pathfinders and adventurers supervised by their leaders; both teams chose their areas for food preparation and set about doing just that.

The event organizers allowed two hours for the teams to prepare their appetizers, main courses, and desserts, with 'YAMS' being the star of the main meal. For the next two hours, there was a faint smell of firewood in the atmosphere, accompanied by shrieks of laughter from busy children set on tasks and friendly taunts between the two groups.

At all times the groups were under constant observation from the four judges: Sharon Thompson, Natalie Nesbeth-Brown, Robert Brown, and Shawn Wiggan. Under their gazes, two hours of preparation and cooking flew by in a flash, as it came closer to the time for the final presentation even the skies darkened with anticipation.

The pathfinders were judged first and displayed a 3-course meal served on bamboo place settings and simple decorations that  were sourced in the environment. The judges employed their best neutral expressions as they enquired about the nature of the meal and how it was prepared.

The AY members prepared a 5-course meal elevated on a platform, for a classier feel in contrast with the rustic nature of their competitors; they also had decorations present sourced from the RADA grounds. With their introductory presentation poem by Windon Blake and Zoe McKoy, their confidence in their impending victory was on full display.

The aftermath of the presentations was filled with lunches being served and sampling of the judged meals by spectators and team members alike. Of course, the pathfinders and adventures led the charge down to the beach and into the blue Caribbean Sea. The swim session was cut short by the arrival of the rains and rough seas, so we thereafter rushed to pack our belongings and prepared for departure.

To increase the anticipation, the organizers withheld the announcing of the winners until our arrival back on the church grounds. And so a long day of traveling and cooking ended with the group of Pathfinders and Adventurers being triumphant. The Lord was merciful in that the day was accident-free and our spirits were jubilant. I would encourage anyone and everyone to make the church’s annual cookout a part of their yearly calendar of activities as it is a chance to fellowship with each other and build closer bonds for eternity. 
 

Written by Mario Jackson