Special thanks to Daniel Ortega, Oregon Conference Pathfinder director, for his help with this story!
With the help of her mom, Irma, Alison Dominguez has been bringing new faces to her Adventurer club in Gresham, Oregon. “I have friends that already know Jesus, but don’t go to church,” said Alison. “At lunch one time they prayed with me, and after that I asked my friend, ‘Do you want to go to church with me?’ She said, ‘Of course!’ So I gave her my mom’s phone number and after that my mom and her mom called each other. My mom said if she wanted to come to Adventurers with us, too, we could pick her up and bring her with us.”
As we sat around a table together, Alison and Irma shared that the adventurer club has been growing as Alison has invited more of her friends. “There’s another kid about her age that has grown up with Alison. About eight years ago we invited them to join us, but they had always said no. But just recently he has started coming, and we think it’s due to the persistence and ongoing invitations. I think a big part has been the friendship between them. My daughter is very friendly and very patient with other kids. She treats them well, so they are able to connect with her. It used to be that when we asked him if he wanted to learn more about Jesus he would say no, but just recently he had his Bible open. It was a kids’ Bible that we had given him, and as he was reading through it he looked up and said, ‘You know, I love God.’ On his own he had been flipping through it and reading some of the pages. I was so touched by him saying that on his own without being prompted or asked.”
Altogether this year, Alison and Irma have brought six or seven of Alison’s friends to join her in Adventurers, and both shared that being involved in Adventurers has brought them closer to Jesus and their community. “I’ve learned that Jesus is a saver for everybody and that he is somebody who is nice to everyone,” said Alison. “And I learned that God is good with all people.”
“The Adventurer club guides us in our relationship with Jesus and helps us do our part as parents,” said Irma. “The club unites us as parents and families, and it helps reinforce this idea that God loves us. It helps instill in our kids the love of Jesus. It’s really helped us to understand the idea of doing everything in love like the Bible teaches. I want other parents to know how important and valuable the Adventurers experience can be and how helpful it can be in instilling the love of God in our children, because although I want my child to do well here on earth, I want more than anything to see her in heaven.”
