Frequently changing schools was tough on Tim.
“During the recession, we lost our home,” says Sharon*, mother of a Portland Adventist Academy student. “We had to move and my son Tim* had to attend new schools. It was hard on him. He lost confidence. He was bullied and he came home discouraged nearly every day.”
Sharon looked for ways to help Tim. They eventually found a community in a Seventh-day Adventist Church and Tim was welcomed as a friend. “Church friends seemed to make a difference for him,” said Sharon.
The years went on and eventually Tim was at a public high school with more than 3,000 students. “I had friends there, but they weren’t like my church friends,” says Tim. “I didn’t feel comfortable and I wanted a different life.”
It was family friends from church who encouraged Sharon and Tim to visit PAA for an Open House.
“After I visited PAA, I didn’t ever want to go back to my old school,” said Tim.
“Tim became persistent about attending PAA,” recalls Sharon. “But it was impossible for me to afford tuition. And because I didn’t want to disappoint him, I told him if he wanted it so bad, he needed to pray about it and take the steps to make it happen.”
Normally shy and reserved, Tim stepped out of his comfort zone. Child-like faith gave him the courage to pick up the phone and call PAA.
“I was a little surprised,” says Jason Bibb, PAA’s Vice Principal of Finance. “I’ve never had a student call me to ask how he could become a student. I could tell he really wanted to be here. I knew we had to find a way to make it happen.”
Just days before school started, Sharon found herself in Jason’s office shedding tears of gratitude. Through the compounding gifts of their Adventist church family tuition support, the Oregon Conference’s “Every Child Deserves to Know Christ” scholarship, and the Portland Adventist Academy Student Scholarship (PAASS), Tim would attend PAA!
Now, a junior at PAA, Tim not only attends classes where the teachers pray, but he also enjoys chapel every week, he participates in Gospel Choir, and he has already been on two spiritual retreats with his friends.
“Being at PAA is so different,” says Tim. “It’s just out of the park for me. Honestly, it’s been hard to get used to because I never knew the world was like this. People are so nice. Right off the bat, I made friends. And I’ve realized that being around people who are nice all the time inspires me to be better.”
“It’s a miracle to me,” says Sharon. “He comes home more confident, outgoing, and positive. It’s changed his life to be in a place that doesn’t contradict his beliefs.”
Tim is one of ninety-nine PAA students who attend PAA because of tuition supporting scholarships like PAASS.
Lives are changing because of the people who want to make miracles happen for students like Tim and parents like Sharon.
Sharon sheds tears as she expresses her thanks. “You’re providing a spiritual home for Tim and all of these students. They are getting opportunities they need that they could never get at a public school. God is working through you to bring students to a safe place where they can be supported in their faith and love of Jesus. It’s overwhelming how grateful I feel.”
*Names have been changed to support the privacy of our students and families.
The PAASS Auction is one of the greatest contributing forces in the support of our scholarship funds. You can join the team of people who help provide miracles for students like Tim. Click HERE to help change a life!