Eternity Alone Will Tell

Well, today was the day. Yesterday I taught handbells for the last time at the Elementary school. Today, I was given the honor of conducting the entire rehearsal for MVA's handbell choir, partially because today was my last day with them. I did the first rendering of the completed promotional video and am even now putting the finishing touches on for the final rendering. I delivered (with the help of a student) 131 devotional books to the dorms. Lastly, I began to say my good-byes to a school that has meant so much to me in the past and means so much more to me now. I thank God for the way he has used people like Adan, myself, and so many others to bless MVA and the way MVA has blessed us right back.

So for now my friends, I say good-bye to Mount Vernon Academy and to this blog. At some point I hope to post the promotional video (rights to the music pending), but for now I simply want to thank MVA and God for the amazing journey we've been on. I leave MVA knowing with confidence that God is still working hard at this school, through this staff, and through these students. I leave a very proud alumnus, knowing that my school is one of the finest there is.

As the grand old school song states in the last verse, which has grown to mean so much more to me since graduating:

"When our lives shall close in triumph over cares and sin and woe,

When this race of life is finished, and we all shall homeward go;

May we meet with all the students, and our faithful teachers too.

Then we'll have a grand reunion, and be glad that we've been true.

For MVA go do your part, and loyal to her be. 

Eternity alone will tell what thou has done for me."

Numbers

One hundred and thirty-one...the total number of devotional books we now have thanks to a donation from the Ohio Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Eleven...the total number of elementary school handbell students I get to work with that are doing an amazing job and blowing my mind all the time.

One...the number of students that have returned to MVA after a two-week hiatus. We praise God to have this young man back at the Academy. I look forward to sharing the amazing lyrics he has written for some background music in the promotional video.

Several...the number of MVA handbell ringers I have the privilege of working with and tutoring. It has been a blessing to work with them and I appreciate how gracious they and their teacher, Mr. David Nino, have been to me.

Twenty plus...the number of students who are training to be literature evangelists and are going to be coleporteuring across the state of Ohio to witness and to earn money for school. Thank-you Dean Smith for bringing this amazing ministry to the MVA campus.

Many...the students and staff I will miss here at MVA and MVE when I leave for WWU this Friday.

One...and only: the amazing God we serve who blesses every day!

You Give and Take Away

Today, as always at MVA, was a good day. The ACTS community center (Adventist Caring Through Sharing) donated a few devotional books to the library, thanks to the solicitation of Jennie Downing. Mrs. Downing also came in and labeled all 116 of our books this morning, which was a tremendous blessing. We also are expecting more devotional books from the Ohio Conference office tomorrow. Praise God!

The video project, though daunting at times, is making headway. As soon as the project is complete and the rights to one of the background tracks secured, I look forward to sharing the creation with you.

I also am pleased to say the elementary school is doing well and that their handbell choir is growing each and every day.

In other exciting news, the new dishwasher arrived today. I was privileged to be among the first to see it, and I must say, it is a beauty. It is great to see how God is pouring how His blessings on this school and providing for us the things that we need.

One last item to share, which is a blessing that comes mixed with sorrow. This past Thursday, our sister school, Thunderbird Adventist Academy, had one of their students gunned down as he tried to protect his sister. We are grieving the loss together with them here at MVA. The outpouring of compassion from the students today was powerful. Alyssa Thompson, the SA Pastor; Paul Torchia, the chaplain; and Jennie Downing organized a collection of about 25 cards for the students to sign and send to Thunderbird and the family of the young man who was killed. I praise God for the way He is moving in these young people's lives and through this staff here at MVA. Now I ask that you not only continue to keep MVA in your prayers, but please also make Thunderbird a part of your conversation with God as well.

Curtains and Books

Though home-leave began yesterday, I took some time to go into the office today. Not only did my mother fix the curtains in the chapel, but I was also greeted by a second box of devotional books from Alden Thompson's Walla Walla University Church Sabbath School class. Today, the books were counted and cataloged, and I'm pleased to say that, so far, the Lord has blessed MVA with 111 devotional books, plus a few old quarterlies and a couple of additional books.

I'm also pleased to say that I was able to speak with another parent of a potential student for this year just today on the phone and that I Mr. Morris spoke to an alumnus that is trying to recruit another student for next year. God continues to bless day by day.

UPDATE: We also added a photos section. Check out the new tab at the top.

Bullet-Points of Blessings

It's been a little while since I wrote something, and it's time to share some more good news!

• Genevieve Cuva, the new taskforce cafeteria worker (and an MVA alum from the class of 2009) has arrived on campus.
• Mr. and Mrs. Spittle of the Newark SDA Church and the Mount Vernon Hill SDA Church have donated more devotional books to the devotional book library.
• Adan and I survived puppy-sitting for the chaplain's dog.
• So many teachers have been so helpful in putting together the MVA promotional video, which is making rapid progress.
• Adan did a wonderful job speaking for dorm worship on Sunday.
• I was able to speak at a regional SDA Pastor's meeting today about MVA, my experience there, and the positive results of our graduate survey.
• Speaking of the graduate survey, the results have been compiled. All the students who have graduated MVA since 2008 have been contacted. Over 85% have replied and of those, we have discovered MVA has a 99.25% acceptance for graduates to colleges and universities across the nation.
• Staff and church members such as Mr. Nino, Mrs. Bellchambers, and others have graciously helped my mother and I get from place to place now that my mother's car is out of commission. We want to especially thank Dean Woolcock for allowing us to use his vehicle for a sad but important trip to Columbus today.
• Speaking of the sad trip, Adan Rodarte finally had to return to Walla Walla today. We have been extremely blessed to have him here at MVA. It is clear that the students will miss him tremendously as will the staff. He has endeared himself into hearts of all he has come into contact with at MVA and we certainly will keep in prayer as he continues to pray for us here in Ohio.                                                                                                                                                                        

The Generous Alumni

I don't know which alumni to thank or who initiated the project, but I do know that the glory goes to God and I am eternally grateful for the generosity of the graduates of Mount Vernon Academy. Today, it was confirmed by the MVA Food Service Director that the alumni have given

approximately $18,000 to purchase a new dishwasher, grill, grill stand, and immersion blender.

He also informed us that the Academy is already making money off of the sales of fresh baked goods such as sweet rolls and bread. We praise God for the way He blesses this school day by day.

Grateful Day by Day

There are a myriad of things in my life to thank God for today. Some of them are personal and not for this blog, but many of them are related to MVA and would be appropriate to voice here.

Firstly, I praise God for the fantastic alumni of MVA, who have graciously raised the money to help the school purchase a new dishwasher, which is so desperately needed. There may also be funds to purchase a new grill as well.

I am grateful for Dr. Alden Thompson and his Walla Walla University Sabbath School class, who just today mailed out two boxes of devotional books for the MVA Devotional Book library. I am also thankful to Donna Rudderow of the Worthington SDA Church who also gave a bag of used devotional books.

I am grateful for people like Joann Erskine, Jennie Downing, and Adan Rodarte, who came in and helped Margaret. Sutton (Advancement Director and Alumni Coordinator at MVA) get out a huge mailing for the alumni and for fundraising. With that, I am grateful for staff like Margaret. Sutton, Jeff Morris, Dan Kittle, and so many others who work so hard to make MVA the incredible place that it is.

I am grateful for opportunities to work with the young people at MVA and MVE in helping them discover the joy in music and I am grateful to have the opportunity to watch them learn and grow.

Lastly, and most importantly, I thank God for the students at MVA, students who are seeking to learn, seeking to lead, and above all, seeking God in their lives. Every time I come to MVA and interact with these students I feel blessed. I am grateful to be an alumnus of MVA and I thank God that He continues to bless this school day by day by day.

The Books, The Books

This will be another short and quick update: Dr. Thompson's Walla Walla University Church Sabbath School class (there is a mouthful) has collected a bunch of used devotional books which they will be mailing to Mount Vernon Academy this week! Praise God for how he is using a group of people over 2,300 miles away to bless this school tremendously.

We are also excited that the promotional video for the school is coming along nicely. We took a lot of great shots today and now have a full blown story board to get the rest of the shots, hopefully this week. We have access to some great video editing software thanks to Mr. Nino, music director at MVA, and we also will have music for the video done by a former student of MVA.

We want to again solicit your prayers for this team, the students, and the staff. God is blessing in tremendous ways and it is your prayers that unlock the power of the Holy Spirit to move on this campus.

Praise God for the Sabbath and other blessings...

Happy Sabbath everyone! This was a good week. We had the opportunity to watch (and film) some of MVA's first soccer games (which, by the way, they won the last one). We saw progress with both the Elementary School handbell choir and Cascabel (MVA's handbell choir). We had the opportunity to connect with old alumni from MVA as we put together an academic profile for the school. We had some great laughs in the office and the cafeteria with the students and staff. We have multiple leads on filling the maintenance taskforce position. We also have the strong possibility that we will be getting a new taskforce food service assistant, our very own Genevieve Cuva, MVA class of 2009. Most importantly though, the official word in the alumni newsletter is that Mount Vernon Academy is currently enrolling 97 students. This not only way above our projections for the year, but if I'm not mistaken, it is also above what our enrollment was last school year, even at its peak. We praise God that the Academy continues to inch its way back towards solid footing, with credit certainly being owed to the staff and administration who are allowing God to work through them to bless this school. 

We Got Mail!

Actually, we got a box of devotional books delivered by one of MVA's board members. We want to thank the Bellefontaine SDA Church for their donation of books for the devotional book library. We also received a call from the Akron SDA Church today regarding the project. It is exciting to see God pouring out his blessings on this school.

Also, enrollment has continued to climb this year at MVA. While it is lower than where the school once stood four years ago, it is not only beyond what we projected and beyond what we budgeted for, it is slowly increasing day by day. We thank God that He has counted MVA worthy to be entrusted with these students, who continue to impress and amaze. We also thank God for the progress being made on projects such as the promotional video (thank-you Khari Williams), teaching handbells at MVE (Mount Vernon SDA Elementary School), and on helping teachers with projects such as Mr. Lee's science equipment (thank-you Adan Rodarte).

Continue to keep MVA in your prayers!

Lake Day

Today was Lake Day for the Academy, an annual event where the students spend time at Pleasant Hill Lake competing in class competitions (such as the annual tug of war), riding on boats, playing on the beach, and bonding together as a family. We took some great footage for the promo video and had a wonderful time connecting with the kids, who we are growing quite attached to. Some amazing stories were shared, reminding me once again what an amazing group of young people God has entrusted to MVA.

So Many People

Today, once again, we have a few people to thank. Firstly, Adan Rodarte has once again proven to be a lifesaver, managing the main office, filing papers, fixing phones the Elementary school, and just being a general blessing to all he comes in contact with.

The second is Jennie Downing, who has been helping with filing the medical paperwork and preparing the medical binders in coordination with Dean Sheila.

The third is Shari Bellchambers, who has been at the Academy throughout this week helping Dean Sheila and helping with paperwork.

The fourth is Ricky Woodruff, who came in this afternoon and jumped right in helping with paperwork too.

All of these people made it possible for me to get away from the office (though it was fun having to call recent alumni and talk with classmates I haven't spoken with in quite some time). I was able to take some shots for the promo video and do a little bit of teaching at the Elementary School. It is a privilege to work with such a dedicated community of people that are focused on seeing Adventism thrive so it can minister to the community of Mount Vernon and the greater community of Ohio through the work of Mount Vernon Academy.

Additionally, I want to thank all the dedicated staff at MVA that make it a great place to be, whether it's the cook with his excellent food (thank-you Sam Hutchinson for those amazing chimi-changas), Jeff Morris who makes the office go round, Principal Kittle with his amazing vision for the school, the campus Chaplain whose vision of ministry is inspiring, the teachers such as Keri Conwell or Lynn Lee who are working hard to provide their students with the best education possible, or all the staff who make this school a tremendous work environment.

Lastly, I want to thank all the students who have made me feel so proud to be back home at my Alma Mater, Mount Vernon Academy. Whether it's Kari with his music, Alyssa with her spiritual plans for the campus (she is the SA spiritual VP), DeAndre with his cheerful attitude, or David Jr. with all of his helpfulness, each of these students has made me feel welcomed and loved here at MVA. 

Fun with the Camera

Yesterday I taught a 6th-8th grade handbell choir while Adan fixed phones. I also continued working on paperwork at the Academy and typing up documents while...Adan fixed phones..AND, he started working on our video. Here is a sampling of some of his shots. We want to thank David Nino Jr. for offering us ideas and helping us find some video editing software. Samples of the audio editing (using Audacity) will show up later.

Continue to pray for this project. A special thanks to God again for all the amazing students I continue to be impressed by at MVA as well as the incredible staff!

A Great Start

Greetings everyone! I wanted to thank-you all for your prayers. God has blessed with a tremendous start and I can see His spirit moving here in Mount Vernon, Ohio. I'm sorry this took so long to post; let me fill you in where we are at.

On Friday Adan and I had the chance to meet the new staff including the assistant boys' dean, the chaplain, and the Principal, along with catching up with returning staff. We were excited by the various suggestions each made for ways we could be helpful. Some of the things we are now working on include:

• Substituting for the Handbell choir  (Cascabel)
• Finding a taskforce maintenance worker for the Academy (we have contacted the SM program directors at several SDA Universities and are awaiting replies)
• Filing papers and compiling statistics for an academic report for the school
• Answering phones and fixing the phone screens / voice-mail messages (thanks Adan)
• The 40 Day Devotional study with the kids (the books have arrived and are at the Academy. We will begin after the class pastors are elected)
• Forming a devotional book library (we are waiting to hear back from churches)
• A Mission Spotlight video for the alumni and constituents
• Making a 5-7 minute promotional video for overseas recruiting for MVA

We were especially excited by the master spiritual plan Paul Torchia, MVA's chaplain, has for the school. We are also extremely excited by the big dreams Dan Kittle, MVA's Principal, has for the school. It is a blessing to see God is moving here.

Friday night we were able to join the students for vespers, which was a bonfire up by the athletic fields. After the music was done, seven students went up to share what they were thankful for and light a candle representing a day of the week. Without fail, every single student thanked God for the opportunity to be back at MVA. What a blessing to see how these young people are enjoying their experience at MVA and that God is blessing them. It was also a blessing to hear Paul Torchia, speak to the students on what it means to be still and know that God is there for us even when we try doing things on our own. His talk about letting God lead and never getting to that point where we quit following and messed up, was fantastic. Afterwards, Adan and I had a chance to pray with several students and then meet with several of them (in addition to the ones we met earlier in the day). This is an incredible group of young people!

Adan and I also had the opportunity to join the students for Sabbath School at the Academy and church at the Hill Church. Praise God for the work he is doing through the staff at MVA to minister to these young people. We also want to praise God for sending Anthony Czaja (an MVA Alumnus) our way to provide us with a video camera for making the promotional video, as well as an additional willing hand to help out at the school.

Saturday evening Adan and I had the privilege of helping out with vespers. Adan, myself, Chaplain Torchia, and several students lead music and then Adan gave a message about the reality of spiritual warfare but how God has won the victory for us. Several students throughout the evening and following day approached him to thank him for the great work God did through him (which of course, we thank God for, as all the credit goes to Him). Afterwards, we were blessed to be able and participate in one of the first Student Association events of the year. It was great to watch the classes competing with one another and see the strong student leadership exemplified in the SA officer.

An unexpected area God was able to use us was at the local Adventist elementary school. God has blessed the school with the highest enrollment they've seen in years and it is a privilege to be able to help this, another one of God's institutions, with their program. On Sunday Adan and I went to MVE (Mount Vernon SDA Elementary) where he reprogrammed phones while I picked out music and organized the handbell curriculum which I will get to teach for the next five weeks. I am excited to be working with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders and introduce them to the art of ringing and the excitement of music.

Lastly, Adan and I ended our day with spending time at MVA figuring out shots for the promotional video. We were blessed with the unexpected privilege of being able to help with supervising the open gym time, where we were able to hang out with more of the students, play games with them, and get to know them a little bit better. I am so excited for the work God is doing at MVA through the staff and volunteers. I have been tremendously blessed by each student I have met and I am grateful to God for the amazing work Adan Rodarte, my partner in this adventure, is doing to help out. God is moving!

I want to end this long post by saying we have updated the projects list (check that tab regularly). If you see a project you can help with, let me know. Our biggest needs right now are:

• Finding people with video knowledge to help shoot and edit the promo video
• Finding a task-force maintenance worker for the Academy (we want to thank James Syvertson, former MVA student, for his willingness to help in the search process)
• Calling churches to solicit donations of used devotional books for our library (we want to thank Jennie Downing, an MVA alumnus, for her willingness to help with phone calls)
• Prayer for this school and this project (we want to thank all who have been praying for us; your prayers are being answered)

Thank-you again friends, and God bless.

Grateful

Today, as Adan and I pack up and prepare to leave Washington and Idaho for the magnificent Midwest, I count my blessings as to how God has blessed this project, even before reaching Ohio:

• Emily Rose (MVA class of 2012) and the Stillwater SDA Church (Dayton, Ohio) that graciously offered to donate books to the MVA Devotional Book Library
• Alden Thompson's WWU Sabbath School class that donated approximately $500 of devotional books to MVA
• Paul Torchia, MVA's chaplain, with his leadership and willingness to let us come in and work with him to make MVA a spiritually nurturing environment
• Dan Kittle, MVA's principal, with his amazing leadership and willingness to let us to come in and work with him to make MVA a better place
• The incredible staff and faculty at MVA
• The awesome prayer support from MVA alumni and staff, Ohio church members and MVA constituents, WWU students and staff, Camp Sunset Lake Staff, and others all across the nation
• The amazing willingness of people like Adan Rodarte (WWU student) and Ricky Woodruff (MVA class of 2009) to step in and lead in making this project a reality, and, in the case of Adan, being willing to fly all the way from Idaho to volunteer his time to serve MVA
• God and the way He has lead in making this project come together piece by piece 

"Nothing is impossible with God. Every good and perfect gift is from above." 

(Luke 1:37 and James 1:17) 

Mini Miracles

MVA began registering freshman yesterday and the rest of the student body registers tomorrow! Praise God for the start of another school year.

We also want to praise God for the generosity of Dr. Alden Thompson and his Walla Walla University Church Sabbath School class. Not only are they helping us find devotional books to give to Mount Vernon Academy, but they are going to help us obtain the 40-day devotional book we would like to go through with the students at MVA, starting hopefully at the end of this week or the next. We praise God for providing through Dr.Thompson on such short notice. It is through little miracles like these that we are reminded that God is not finished reaching young people at MVA. We also want to thank the chaplain, Paul Torchia, for his amazing leadership at MVA and for his graciousness in allowing us to work with him in sharing the good news with the youth entrusted to Mount Vernon Academy.

First Set of Specific Projects

Hello Again Friends,

Let us begin with the news that one of our project partners, Ricky Woodruff, is accepting a job in Traverse City, Michigan and therefore will not be physically present with us through most of the project. However, he remains an important link as he is still coordinating a lot of our spiritual goals and will continue to remain a partner with us in prayer.

Another important individual that needs to be mentioned is the new campus Chaplain, Paul Torchia. We were able to dialogue with him this week and we are excited to be working under his guidance as we strive to give MVA the highest quality spiritual environment possible.

With that being said, we are going to try and begin with some small projects.

PROJECT ONE: We would indeed like to get a devotional library developed in each dorm. If you have devotional books that you have already gone through, or know people that do, we would like to compile them and give them to the Academy as a donation. Books can be either delivered or mailed to myself. Feel free to contact me at ldowning24@gmail.com for a place to send the books. Also, if you think you could get an announcement made in your church, that would be helpful.

PROJECT TWO: This is like a smaller version of the Kohl's Cares project. Target is giving away money and school supplies to the most voted for schools on their Facebook page. Search for Mt Vernon Academy and spread the link around. https://apps.facebook.com/givewithtarget/

PROJECT THREE: If you know of any churches that have contact with students who might benefit from coming to MVA, we would love to come and either speak for the service, help with the service, or just come and meet with the student and their family. We want to spread the word about what God is doing at MVA. Feel free to again contact me for more information.

PROJECT IN PROGRESS: Lastly, we are hoping to do a 40-day devotional with the students using Dennis Smith's "40 Days of Prayer and Devotions to Prepare for the Second Coming." This project we are still coordinating with the chaplain but should it take place, it will require the purchase of about 45 to 50 books with costs being projected at $300-$500. Once again, feel free to contact me about how donations for that can be made. If we decide to go ahead with that project, we are hoping to make it so donations can be made in a tax-deductible form directly to the school.

Thank-you for your continued prayers and support. Remember to spread news about these projects to your local churches and to your friends and family. Thank-you, and God bless.

UPDATE: We would also like to mention that we have updated our project mission statement and goals page. We also have been in contact with another MVA Alum, Nick Leonard, who has graciously volunteered his graphic design abilities to helping out MVA.

We Have Contact...

Today, this project took a huge leap: We made contact with Principal Dan Kittle and I am pleased to say that he has been most gracious in allowing us, a group of young people, to come and help out Mount Vernon Academy this coming fall.

While details are scarce plans have been laid to have a follow-up conversation this coming Monday to narrow down our list of goals. It is so exciting to see God working and bringing this all together. While I have to admit that I have been worried about all of this, it is good to see that God's timing is and always will be precisely when we need it.

Continue to keep this project in prayer everyone. 

Change...

I suppose a blog post is better late than never. I'm sorry this took so long to create. Much change has taken place since the last time I posted here on this blog. I'll try and keep this brief and update you on what is happening.

First, as I am sure you have heard by now, MVA has suffered another great loss in the resignation of a long-time teacher and strong supporter of the Academy, Pam Castillo. Please keep her and her family in prayer and be sure to thank her for the incredible contribution she has made to this school. MVA could never have stood as strong as it did without her amazing gift of service.

Secondly, Dan Kittle has officially begun his tenure as the new Principal of MVA. While we are still working to contact him directly, we are looking forward to collaborating with him as we move forward on this project.

Additionally, I would like to mention again the Devotional Book library we are trying to get started in both dorms (more information can be found on the "Projects" page of this website). Adan Rodarte has already contacted the Pastor of the Garden Grove Church in California soliciting help for this project. If any of you are able to contribute towards a devotional book library in the dorms of MVA, we would greatly appreciate your assistance.

Furthermore, it should be noted Pastor Fred Shoemaker of the Mount Vernon SDA Hill Church (the Academy church) has agreed to work with us improve communication and the relation between the church (which, should be noted, maintains a strong support for the Academy) and the school itself. We are working on possibly finding more ways to involve church members at the school and also involve the students in church functions such as Wednesday night Bible studies.

Another item we would like to bring to those following this project, particularly those in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky, is to keep us up to date on any students that you believe could benefit from being a part of the MVA family. We are trying to narrow down places we would like to visit while we are in Ohio, and we would love to be able to share with these students about the opportunities that Mount Vernon Academy provides.

Lastly, please continue to submit this project to God in prayer, because without Him, it is doomed to fail. Thank-you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing God's leading as we near the time for this project to truly begin.

Prayer, People, and Spiritual Goals

Forgive me, but this will be a longer post:

If you look at the "How You Can Help" tab of this project, you'll notice that the list begins and ends with a solicitation for prayer. Ricky Woodruff and I were chatting today about the spiritual projects we want to try and do in collaboration with the new chaplain at MVA (the new chaplain who we both have yet to meet I should add). One of the things we both gladly reiterated to each other was this project cannot succeed without prayer...lots of prayer, so much prayer that the project is saturated with it. I once again, as I did in the first blog post, want to put out a call to all of you to pray for this project and the people involved. In Psalms 127 we are reminded that

"...unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain."

We desire not to labor in vain but instead to labor under the guidance of the Lord, without whom this school would have no purpose and would not even exist.

Ricky Woodruff is just one person I had the privilege of communicating with today. I also had the privilege of talking with Aaron Myers, the IT director at Mount Vernon Academy. I am so grateful for people like him who dream big dreams for MVA. Without people with vision like him, MVA would never have existed in the first place, nor remained open for what has almost been 120 years. His ideas along with Ricky Woodruff's now appear in the revised "Project Goals" section of this blog.

For those of you that are involved in this project, be it in Ohio on your feet or from a distance on your knees, I want to let you know that my friend, Ricky Woodruff (also an alum of MVA) will be contacting you to organize a vibrant prayer group for this project. Without the Holy Spirit, we are sure to fail. Without God's guidance, we are sure to fail. But, as the scriptures say:

"if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

A New Volunteer

As I sit here in Kirkland, Washington preparing to head to camp for the summer, I reflect on how it is always amazing to see how God sends people your way. I have seen through this project that God had picked out the team this would need even before I started looking for volunteers. Having Adan Rodarte, a theology student at WWU, commit to coming to Ohio with me was a tremendous blessing. Hearing from people like Pam Castillo, Ricky Woodruff, Pastor Fred Shoemaker, Ashley Evans, Alex Roddy, Dr. Linda Felipez, and others who want to help has increased my faith. Finding support from people like Megan Morton, Ian Bilinowich, Macy McVay, Cody Clifford, Brittni Bryan, Sara Mayne, Raj Attiken, and others has been uplifting and encouraging. Today, however, I was blessed again by the incredibly generous offer of a young man named Joe Gutman, who has volunteered to help redesign a promotional website that was created for MVA last year (www.mva.freehostingcloud.com). The new site will continue to feature student testimonies about MVA and will also have a place where others can share their story about what MVA did for them. I am forever grateful for the incredible generosity of Joe Gutman, a WWU design major and native of Battleground, WA. God continues to bless in amazing ways through the generous support of people, too numerous to name on this little blog. It's good to know we serve a God with a master plan even bigger than the feeble efforts we attempt to offer Him.


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

Keeping You in the Know

As many of you know, I've started working on a project to help out one of our academies. It's not coincidental that it also happens to be my alma mater, Mount Vernon Academy in Mount Vernon, Ohio. This is a blog to keep those of you that will be supporting this project from a distance in the know about what is going on. As always, one of the most powerful and profound ways you can support us is prayer. Pray for this project. Pray for Mount Vernon Academy. Pray for Adventist Education. And pray that God leads us in our every step, our every action, our every word, and even our every thought.