While more than 80 new Pathfinders received their scarves at the ZOAR District investiture ceremony on 19 September 2026, one candidate was missing. Thirteen-year-old Deolinda Dala was in hospital.
Deolinda, a member of Nova Aliança Church and the Atalaia de Cristo Pathfinder Club in the Zango and Icolo e Bengo region, had been among the candidates prepared for the ceremony. She had asked to be taken to the church so she could take part. When that proved impossible, the regional leadership decided instead to bring the ceremony to her, with the support of ZOAR district Pastor Maurício Kimuanga.
Because of the hour, the hospital could not admit the full group. Club leadership waited outside while leader Serrote Bande went in alone.
When Bande asked Deolinda whether she knew who was standing in front of her, she did not respond at first. On hearing his name, she reached for him. He placed the scarf around her neck, the symbol of identity and commitment for Pathfinder Club members.
"Today, I'm going to sleep with my scarf around my neck," Deolinda said afterwards.
The visit did not end there. Bande gathered other patients and mothers present in the ward, offered a prayer, and explained what the Pathfinder Club is and what the ceremony meant, drawing the interest of healthcare staff who had been following what was happening.
For Pastor Kimuanga, the decision came from concern for a young person who had waited a long time for the moment and was distressed at missing it.
"The ministry needs people who are willing to serve, like Leader Serrote," Kimuanga said.
The Pathfinder Club is a worldwide ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for children and adolescents, focused on developing values, discipline, leadership, service, and a relationship with God. The scarf investiture marks a public commitment to the movement and its principles.
The ceremony took place during celebrations marking the Pathfinder Club's 76th anniversary, organised through the Northeast Angola Union and the South Luanda and Cabinda Mission.
