Campion Academy’s select choir, Koinonia, traveled to the Colorado Indonesian-American Seventh-Day Adventist Church (CIASDAC) last Sabbath to lead out in the service and perform several special songs for a Students with a Testimony (SWAT) trip.
This SWAT trip was special for Mabel Cabandon, senior, who grew up going to CIASDAC. “It was super cool being a part of the service in a church that was so influential in my childhood,” Cabadon explained; “Most of the Indos that come to Campion grew up with each other in this church so it was really special being able to perform with them.” Indonesian students from the Denver area make up about 12% of Campion’s student population, a significant portion of the very diverse student body. In general, our Indonesian students are well-known for their talents in singing, as 40% of our select choir, Koinonia, are of Indonesian descent. After traveling about an hour to Denver, Koinonia was greeted by the church members who led them downstairs to a breakfast feast. After breakfast, the group was able to experience an Indonesian service before they led out in the second, English service. Koinonia opened with praise songs, followed by a call to offering and then children's story given by Toby Quillin, a junior at Campion. Quillin reflected, “My children's story was about different types of feathers and how they work together to make one bird. In music, we have to work together to make one song. I hoped to demonstrate that the most important thing in any group isn’t how good you sound individually, but how you work together.” The service was centered around music with the intention of giving the audience a “glimpse of heaven,” according to Cecilia Simmons, Campion’s Music Director. Koinonia performed a large selection of songs that the group had prepared. Between songs students shared stories, scripture and prayer. Following the service the students joined the congregation for food and fellowship. Dominic White, senior, expressed, “This was my first time trying Indonesian food. It was delicious, absolutely exquisite, and they offered us both breakfast and lunch! Eva Resz, Student News Team
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This past Friday, Campion students served their community by planting at Eden Valley, cleaning up Glacier View Ranch (GVR), sorting donations at Habitat for Humanity, picking up trash on the highway, or rejuvenating our own campus. Students in select choir and orchestra worked with middle school students in preparation for the musical performances.
One of the groups got to do ground keeping on campus. This consisted of mowing the lawns, weed-whacking, planting flowers, and adding mulch to the beds. Grace Garman, senior, elaborated, “I loved doing community service because I got to be outside and enjoy the weather. I got the luxury of planting flowers, and I am glad I got to make the campus look nice.” Another group traveled about 20 minutes to Eden Valley, a Seventh-day Adventist wellness institution. They planted rows of onions and learned more about the lifestyle of the people there. Yolanda Han, junior, expressed “My favorite part of the trip was getting to interact with the staff. I got to see what it was like living there, and I really learned a lot from the ground work.” The students in the highway clean-up crew picked up trash along the two-mile stretch of Highway 60 that Campion has adopted for over 10 years. Carlos Santana, chaplain, took a group of students to spend the day at Glacier View Ranch. They had jobs that ranged from cleaning, shoveling snow and dirt, hammering down door heads, and using wood varnish on older doors. Santana stated, “This service impacted me in a great way because it felt good to know we could make a difference to people who needed it. They had a new crew who were still learning how things go. Also, they have a big pastor’s weekend coming up and we were able to help make things look nice and ready.” Campion students participate in school-wide service days each semester, in line with Campion’s mission of training students to serve and make a difference in their communities. Catie Fairfield, Student News Team While the wind howled, and the power was out throughout the region, hundreds gathered in the dimly lit Campion gymnasium to hear the final concert of the Rocky Mountain Music Festival on Saturday, April 6. About 130 middle grade students from 12 Adventist schools and homeschool programs from across Colorado and even Kansas came to participate in the festival which featured choir and orchestra performances.
Cecilia Simmons, Campion Academy’s Music Director, was the primary organizer of the event as well as the orchestra conductor. Guest clinician, LeeAnna McMullen, an opera performer, pianist, and vocal educator with over 25 years of experience, led the students in choir. Lola, a 6th grader at HMS Richards School, shared about her experience participating at the festival, “I think she (McMullen) really knew what she was doing and she was really fit for that job. I liked that all the schools came together to sing. It sounded really pretty, and it gives more diversity to help us prepare for heaven.” The festival kicked off on Friday morning and the participants spent about six hours rehearsing their pieces in groups. Campion Academy’s select choir and orchestra students spent the day practicing and mentoring the younger students. Toby Quillin, currently a junior at Campion and a member of Koinonia, has been attending the RMC Music Festival every year since he was in middle school. Quillin reflected, “When I was younger attending Music Fest, I remember looking up and listening to the high schoolers singing and trying to follow them, and now I am one of the ones that the children listened to. It was interesting and fun to work with the kids around me.” In between afternoon rehearsals, the students were able to attend breakout sessions such as soccer, gymnastics, games and art. Friday evening, the Campion Academy Music Department along with Mile High Academy’s middle school choir, performed for a vespers concert in the Campion Church. On Sabbath, the festival choir and orchestra performed a few selections for the church service, but their main performance was at 7 p.m. in the Campion gym. A few hours before the students were set to perform, the power company turned off all electricity to many areas of the Front Range including Campion’s campus. There was concern over the fire danger due to downed power lines from the high winds that were predicted to continue to increase overnight. Campion staff members and volunteers scrambled to gather generators for the kitchen crew to provide the evening meal, as well as some light and power to the sound system in the gym. Despite the outage, all of the participants were well fed and the show went on. Simmons recalled, “The second my phone started ringing off the hook I knew something was wrong. No power! How on earth were we going to perform in the cold and in the dark! I called the clinician and the first words out of her mouth were, ‘We’re not going to let the devil win.’ From that moment on, it was on! Students excitedly brought their personal headlamps along with extras for anyone who might have needed them. Parents loaned batteries for stand lights. Everyone came together to make sure the concert was a success. And boy was it. The lights being out added an extra glow (pun intended) to the proceedings. It was a beautiful way to cap off two intense days of rehearsing and performing.” Simmons concluded saying, “On Sabbath the pastor talked about using the opportunity to perform as a moment to self reflect on what we individually needed to surrender, so our worship through music was pure and holy. God used all of the trials and tribulations of the weekend to remind me that I needed to trust Him through the good and the bad. He was and always will be in control.” Jill Harlow, Communication Director The Campion Academy Music Department put on a performance for the visiting Music Festival participants. The concert featured the Mountain Echoes Choral, Koinonia, Teh Campanas, and the Campion Academy Orchestra.
Visitors had the chance to explore a ancient Jerusalem-style marketplace staffed by volunteer students and church members. Ekenna Nwankwo, senior, played the role of Jesus in the first and last English versions of the drama on Sabbath. Eddie Camacho, Class of 2020, played the role of Jesus for two versions in Spanish and one in English. Campion Academy, Campion Church and HMS Richards School worked together to produce the annual Easter pageant, “Journey to the Cross”. The interactive event drew over 800 visitors and had more than 100 volunteers for the five different showings in both English and Spanish on Sabbath, March 30.
The audience started the program at the church watching a skit entitled, “Call the Man”, in which each actor demonstrated different problems in the world such as: abuse, war, violence, political strife, teen pregnancy, suicide, and death. In the end, Jesus is depicted comforting and helping each person. Lillian Resz, a drama student in the skit, shared, “We can try to solve the problems of the world, but we can’t do it alone. We must call on Jesus to help us and that's exactly what the presentation was about. Jesus came to solve each and every problem and make peace. This can happen in our everyday life as well.” Then the group was led to the HMS gymnasium which was set up as a market during Jesus’ era. People received a few coins that could be used to buy goods at the village. Students from Campion Academy helped in the village with their Bible classes. The next event was the disciples calling everybody to follow them in Jesus’ triumphal entry, ending at the Campion gymnasium where the audience watched an emotional act about the final events of Jesus’s life here on Earth. The play depicted the last supper, Gethsemane, the trial, death, and finally the resurrection of Jesus. Ekenna Nwankwo, senior, who played the role of Jesus, commented, “It was a really great experience, especially getting to do it twice last year and this year. It opened my eyes to what Jesus really went through.” Eddie Camacho, alumni from 2020 portrayed Jesus during the Spanish versions of the play, and many bilingual Campion students also switched roles for this version. “It is important to have this option because there are several communities in the area of Spanish-speaking families,” explained Pastor Leandro Bizama, “We hope to help grow and reach their communities and having Spanish events in our programs provides a great way to do that.” The ultimate goal of the event was to help people remember Jesus’ sacrifice and understand his love for us. The interactive program was able to impact people’s lives in a meaningful way. Daneil Camas, senior, expressed, “I felt so overwhelmed with emotions that I ended up watching the play three times. I would have to say that this year’s (Journey to the Cross) was the best representation of Jesus’ sacrifice that I’ve seen.” Julia Santiago, Student News Team The Campion Ski Club spent four days enjoying God’s nature in the mountains on their annual four-day trip to Copper Mountain.
They started their trip off by holding a church service at the Leadville church, where they shared praise music, testimonies, and experiences from the recent mission trip with the local church members. Brayden Marroquin, junior, expressed, “It was fun being able to share our experiences of going to the Dominican Republic and being missionaries there. I could tell that our testimonies really spoke to them.” The students were able to fellowship with the members of the church over potluck. After church, the students went tubing at Leadville’s Dutch Henry Sledding Hill. A group of the students made it their goal to send a tuber over the top of the track, but despite multiple attempts and recalculations, they were unsuccessful. For the next three days the group went skiing and snowboarding at Copper Mountain. Each person had a different skill level: some had been skiing and snowboarding since they were small and others were just starting. “I really liked growing closer to everyone on the ski trip. I liked how everyone was willing to help me when I was struggling on my first day,” Yolanda Han shared. During this trip there were several friends that decided that they wanted to switch gear and try something new. Addison Gann, sophomore, shared, “My favorite part of ski trip was trying skiing again. I had skied before but preferred snowboarding. It was really fun to try it again and to watch my friend try snowboarding.” Elin Sorensen, freshman, who had switched gears with Addison, agreed saying; “It was fun to try snowboarding for the first time.” In the evenings, the students were able to explore the historic town of Leadville, eat dinner together, catch up on schoolwork, and play games. On the last day, the students gathered for a group picture and went on a run all together. “My favorite part was going on a run together. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting to know everyone better.” Jovanna Maldonado, senior, reflected. Vashty Segovia Santos, Student News Team Members of the Campion Church, Academy and community traveled to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. 31 Campion students, accompanied by an additional 20 students from Thunderbird Adventist Academy, reached the Barahona community with sermon series, Vacation Bible Schools (VBS), and construction on the boy’s dormitory from March 7 to 18.
During the mornings, students leading VBS, preaching, and translating began preparing for the evening programs while the construction team mixed concrete and carried bricks to create an addition to the boy’s dormitory. Unfortunately, the construction work was unable to be completed due to funding. Moises Hernandez, senior, reflected, “I really enjoyed doing construction and I learned the importance of productivity. We would work hard, and I enjoyed working with my friends. I was sad when the construction ended, but for the remainder of the trip, I helped Claire translate for VBS which was a blessing.” Each evening, the student missionaries spread out to nine different area churches and put on evangelistic sermon series and VBS programs. The student preachers personalized ready-made sermon outlines to share our uniquely Adventist Biblical truths with the attendees, while other students worked with children in the well-attended VBS programs. Pastor Leandro Bizama, the main coordinator of the trip expressed, “I was proud of how our students grew and bonded and shared the gospel. They traveled many miles on crammed vehicles, and ministered to hundreds of people every single night.” Alexandra Cordoba, junior, shared, “There were two things I learned while preaching and translating. First, the church was on fire for God. I would ask who loved Jesus and everyone raised their hand. Second, I learned that we should be grateful for the stuff we have here in America because they don't have the basic necessities.” In addition to the work, students and sponsors from both schools were able to form a closer bond by sharing meals, going to the beach, hiking in the mountains, exploring the town, and worshiping God together. Keon Paez reflected, “I had a great time experiencing the country and it’s culture. It was so beautiful, especially the sunsets.” After seven nights of sermons and VBS programs, 24 local community members and three of the Campion students chose to get baptized on Sabbath. Sergio Enriquez, sophomore, shared why he decided to get baptized during the trip, “During the mission trip I was a translator, and I had to translate the verse Acts 22:16, ‘And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’” Sergio explained that this verse hit home saying, “I decided I should be baptized now.” Bizama furthered, “The biggest blessing of the trip was to see all the baptisms, and also how the Spirit kindled the fire of evangelism and service in our students’ hearts. A fire I believe will never be put out until Jesus returns.” Eva Resz, Student News Team Professionals from the Campion Church hosted Campion students for a job fair. The students had the opportunity to meet with people from different careers that they might want to pursue, and ask any questions they had.
Keaton Drake junior shared, “It was very interesting and helpful to get advice and knowledge from people who are experienced in the profession I’m interested in. They were very friendly and were willing to answer all my questions. It was a good experience to be able to learn from someone in the field I want to work in.” Professions like occupational therapy, graphic design, photography, law, and education were a few of the careers represented there. The professionals talked to the students about colleges and universities that they could apply to for their career track. The job fair was a great way for the students to see what the future has in store for them. “They really helped me figure out exactly what kind of job I want and how I can get there,” Max Bicknell, sophomore, expressed. Vashty Segovia Santos, Student News Team Campion’s international students had a winter retreat at the YMCA of the Rockies in Granby to experience snow sports and some of the activities that they are not used to in their countries.
As soon as they arrived, the students went to the snow tubing area and enjoyed sliding down the hill. Eriane Saraiva, senior, shared, “It was an amazing and new experience for me. It was very hard going up and down holding my tube, but I think my favorite part was snow tubing with all the Brazilians. I felt really happy at that moment.” For Sabbath, they started with a worship time with Jill Harlow, international club sponsor, sharing a message about how snow represents purity and the brightness of God in the Bible. After worship, they went snowshoeing in the mountains, where they took a lot of pictures and got to enjoy the cold but sunny weather. Yngrid Silva, junior, commented, “I loved the view of the park when we went snowshoeing. I was very cold and tired of using the snowshoes, but it was good to experience the hike and take a lot of pictures with my friends.” In the afternoon, the students practiced ice skating and had the chance to go snow tubing again. In the evening, they enjoyed playing sports and roller skating in the YMCA gym. To finish the weekend on Sunday, the students went skiing and snowboarding at Winter Park, getting to experience the adrenaline of a new sport for most of them. Nicolas Rodrigues, freshman, added, “I really loved the trip and I really had fun. I think it was a little hard to snowboard, but in the end it was kind of easy. I wasn’t used to being that cold and I’ve never worn so many jackets in my life, but I really enjoyed the international retreat.” Campion Academy currently has 20 international students from Brazil, as well as students from Democratic Republic of Congo, China, and recent immigrants from Tanzania and Mexico. Luca Lu, sophomore from China, shared, “It was my first time going to a mountain resort. It was so fun to try some snow sports and the icy world truly gave me an unforgettable memory.” Pedro Vieira, Student News Team |
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