East Texas church ladies
organize local troop of Frontier Girls

East Texas church ladies
organize local troop of Frontier Girls

BIG SANDY, Texas -- Three East Texas women have organized a troop of the Frontier Girls, a national scouting organization formed in California in 2007 to provide opportunities for girls and young women.

The three organizers are Sylvia Duke and Diana Havir of Hawkins, Texas, and Penny Harris of Liberty City, Texas.

Mrs. Havir is troop leader, and Mrs. Duke and Mrs. Harris are assistant troop leaders.

"We looked at several different programs when were trying to decide on a scouting troop for our girls," Mrs. Havir said.

"We ultimately chose Frontier Girls because we were impressed with its conservative values that uphold our Christian beliefs."

"The program was founded to assist girls in becoming women of honor and to equip them with the confidence and strength needed to become the mothers and leaders of tomorrow," Mrs. Harris said, referring to a Frontier Girls pamphlet.

"The program focuses on life skills, leadership, character building, teamwork and service to others."

Mrs. Harris likes the Frontier Girls promise: "I promise to love God, be loyal to my country, and to love my neighbor as myself."

Frontier Girls creed

Mrs. Havir said the nine components of the "Frontier Girls creed" are taken from the nine aspects of the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5.

Here is the creed:

"As a Frontier Girl, I will be loving, treating others as I would like to be treated.

"I will be joyful, finding blessings in every situation.

"I will be peaceful, respecting others' opinions and beliefs.

"I will be patient, persevering toward my goals despite obstacles.

"I will be kind, respectful to all and willing to help others at all times.

"I will be good, pure in all I do, think, and say.

"I will be faithful, to my God and loyal to family, friends and country.

"I will be gentle, taking special care of those weaker or less fortunate than I.

"I will have self-control, using my time, materials, and talents wisely, and being accountable for my own actions."

Merit badges

Mrs. Harris described the scope of the 150 earnable merit badges.

"The merit-badge selection contains something for everyone, from math and computers to beekeeping and poultry," she said.

Mrs. Harris explained that the structure of a troop is designed to include girls from grades kindergarten through 12.

"Although a troop can be separated into different program levels according to age, the idea of togetherness is to provide older girls with leadership roles and with the opportunity to mentor the younger members," she said.

For more information

The Big Sandy troop meets twice a month (on the first and third Tuesdays at 6 p.m.) in the building of the Church of God Big Sandy.

For more information about the local troop, contact Mrs. Havir at (903) 920-7590 or Mrs. Harris at (903) 984-6987.

Mrs. Havir said Big Sandy's troop is only the ninth in existence since the Frontier Girls' founding, and she hopes other Christian women will consider founding troops in their areas.

For more information about the national Frontier Girls organization, go to www.frontiergirls.com.