Courage and Positivity Amidst Incredible Hardship

One would expect a school campus to be quiet in the summer; Sacramento Academy was anything but quiet.

In July, Pixie, a member of the Granite Bay Hilltop Church, walked through the doors with a mother and her three sons. Iulia and her family came to Sacramento from Moldova, seeking asylum from the war in Ukraine.

Currently, the school has ten students displaced by the war enrolled from kindergarten to high school. These students have built connections and friendships with their classmates in the first few months of school, despite the language barrier.

“Sometimes God works in our lives in unexpected ways. Although we have been given the opportunity to practice our school theme, ‘More than Me,’ I feel that I am gaining more of a blessing from my relationships with these families than they have gained from us,” said Michelle Piner, registrar. “I am impressed by their courage and positivity amidst incredible hardship.”

“At first, some students felt unsure about ‘the new kid who speaks no English,’ said Kat Schroer, vice-principal of K-5. “Now you see this same student running happily with classmates and making motions for ‘I've Got a River of Life."

A month after school started, Iulia emailed the school to let us know that her very shy kindergartener said (in English), “Bye, Mom!” as he ran off to class. A small miracle.

God and Generators Provide Power at Convocation

The 2022 African American Ministries 45th Annual Convocation was recently held at the Grand Advent SDA Church in Oakland.

Friday’s evening service was met with a slight hurdle as worshippers were met with a power outage. Neither dismayed nor discouraged, the program went on as scheduled as pastors and elders sprang into action to purchase generators and lighting to illuminate the sanctuary.

Guest speaker, Dr. Myron Edmonds used the outage to highlight the power of the Holy Spirit. Local church member Kim Merriweather said, “I left the service feeling deeply moved and despite the lack of electricity, the sermon, coupled with the outage set the tone for the weekend because it forced recognition of the power of God”.

Sabbath morning more than 500 worshippers of all ages filled the sanctuary. Maikapo Mehn, said, “Overall, the convocation reminded me about how great of a reunion it will be when our Heavenly Father comes to take us home."

Sports Skills and Mentors Made at Rio

Recently, 140 fifth to eighth graders from seven territory schools tumbled out of vans, cars, and a hired bus at Rio Lindo Academy.

Part athletic field trip and part reunion, Rio’s annual sports camp is a longstanding tradition inviting every NCC school, including homeschoolers, to attend.

Basic skills are taught for football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and softball. The workshop is staffed by volunteers ranging from retired athletic coaches, pastors, teachers, and current Rio students.

One parent identified the importance of her 7th grader connecting with the Rio high-schoolers by saying, “They are so patient with our kids, it’s really neat to see them coach just like the adults. My son talks about sports camp the whole year!”

A visiting teacher said, “Our kids don’t get the kind of specialized sports skills training and practice at our school like they have here. I watch and learn the drills too, so we can use them for weeks after sports camp.”