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After 10 days of preaching evangelistic series at multiple churches in Costa Rica, the Campion mission team has returned both exhausted and blessed. The group included seven current students, four alumni, and Campion church pastors and members.
During the evangelistic campaigns, each member of the team was assigned to preach at a different church. The students would wake early in the morning to review, practice and personalize their sermons. In the afternoon, they would spend time visiting local people’s homes and inviting them to attend the meetings. Each evening they would preach a sermon on a different topic and spend time interacting with the congregation. The meetings culminated with a total of 74 baptisms on the final Sabbath. Lily Testardi, sophomore, explained, “Costa Rica was exhausting, but rewarding. It was awesome seeing people getting baptized and knowing it was most certainly not because of any of our exceptional sermons and public speaking abilities, but because of the Holy Spirit. We really got to see God in action down there.” The student participants were especially challenged with the preaching aspect of the trip. Megan Harden, sophomore, shared, “For me personally, public speaking is not an ability that comes naturally, which made it both terrifying and exhausting.” Caleb Gann, sophomore, shared her sentiments, saying, “Before this trip, I really disliked public speaking. However, after this trip, I do not mind public speaking anymore. The first meeting for the first five minutes I was very nervous, but then the Holy Spirit came over me and made me calm, and I was able to comfortably deliver all ten of my messages.” Marcela Zuniga, freshman, reflected, “While I was preaching I learned many things about how much I appreciate God. I grew spiritually because I had to learn to depend on God and trust Him that everything would be ok, and so it was!” Besides the meetings, the group also had opportunities for fun such as visiting the beach, ziplining through the rainforest, and exploring a nature center. Each participant was warmly welcomed at their various churches. As Jared Marcenaro, senior, shared, “One of the many blessings I received was my church, everyone was extremely nice and accepting.” Harden experienced the same acceptance at her church, explaining, “Being in Costa Rica taught me a lot about being friendly, the people there are all so open, and experiencing their culture showed me that in our culture we are often cold. They showed me that sometimes it’s better to approach people and say hi rather than just minding my own business.” Gann agreed with the other students that the culture and the faith of the people they met in Costa Rica made a major impact on him. “What I learned from my time in Costa Rica is that we need to be more like the church members in Costa Rica,” he reflected. “They are on fire for Jesus, and they are so invested in every single worship service.” Jill Harlow, Communication Director
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After two years of keeping campus visits limited, Campion Academy was able to once again host an Academy Day this past Friday. Academy Day is an annual free open house for prospective students in seventh through eleventh grades.
The visiting students were able to start off their day with activities planned by the Student Association (SA) officers including, human bumper ball, jousting, and knockout. Sarah, an 8th grader, shared her highlight of the visit: “The activities in the morning were my favorite part of the day and playing bubble soccer. I feel good about coming to Campion next year, and I thought the event was nice.” The SA officers gave tours throughout the day which left a strong impression on Sarah, “The students who gave the tour were kind, and they answered all of our questions.” Academic contests were held as well as opportunities for the students to win various scholarships including athletics and music. Dean Helm, Business Manager, with his creative art known as Helmdini, entertained the students with a special magic performance. Evie, 8th grader, pointed out, “My favorite part was the magic show.” Evie further explained that she is excited to come to Campion because during her visit, the students were friendly and welcoming. The students toured the dorms and participated in mini-scramble games before their last meal from the Cafeteria. Dean and Sue Helm took the students out for ice cream to satisfy their sweet teeth after dinner. Angel, 8th grade, remarked, “I enjoyed the ice cream. The classes and the people who were there were nice.” The day came to a close with an award show and a vespers in the Chapel. The visiting students were sent off with a farewell gift put together by Campion Academy with the hope of seeing our visitors again as future students. Love Pickle, Student news team This past Sunday, Campion Academy’s junior class hosted an Italian-themed banquet for the senior class.
Dressed up in formalwear, the students left campus for dinner at Cinzetti’s, a restaurant with the feel of a Tuscan Villa. With plenty of pasta to go around, the evening started off with a bang. Sujay Karki, senior, commented, “the food was great, I really enjoyed myself. With this being my first banquet, I had a great time.” After dinner, the students returned to campus to finish off the night with a movie, photos, and board games. After watching Luca, students gathered to take pictures before being escorted back to the dorms. Many students raved about how well done the whole night was. “I personally enjoyed the Junior/Senior banquet,” Melody Mambo, junior, reflected. ”I got to talk to people I didn’t normally talk to, and we just had laughs all around. It was definitely all about mindset and I’m glad the junior officers could pull it off.” Jacqueline Kobagaya, student news team Campion and Academy Day students experienced music, art and food from Spanish-speaking countries during the Spanish II class’ cultural performances last Friday. Students performed “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” and a spiritual song, “Al Final” in Spanish. Some students created cooking demonstration videos and provided samples for the audience to taste while they admired other students’ artwork. Check out videos of the performances, cooking demonstrations, and artwork below! This weekend, fifth through eighth grade students from local Adventist schools got on stage alongside Koinonia members in the return of Campion Academy’s Music Festival. Under the direction of Campion’s Music Director, Yves Clouzet, the group spent the school day Friday learning new songs and preparing for their performance for Sabbath’s church service.
While the children got to experience performing in a larger choir, students from Campion got to experience mentoring children. Blessing Simamora, senior, says; “I loved working with the kids and singing with them. Music fest required a lot of dedication and hard work from both Campion students and the kids but I’m glad our performance turned out great.” The children were able to learn valuable lessons about music and singing in harmony in a choir; a first for many of them due to the pandemic. Zachary, sixth grade student at HMS Richards Adventist School, commented, “The hardest part was learning to sing Jubilate Deo because we had to learn to sing all the Latin vowels correctly and to sing different notes and parts at the same time. I had never done that before, but I just listened to Brayan and Melody (Campion students) and followed what they were singing.” While this year’s music festival was limited to local schools, Campion Academy’s Music Department will take to the road in April and provide an intensive workshop at Intermountain Adventist Academy in Grand Junction. The annual music festival was one of the many casualties of COVID last year, and choir performances have been some of the most restricted activities throughout the pandemic. While this year’s festival was small compared to previous years, it was another sign of the return to pre-pandemic norms. For the first time in the past two years, the choir was able to perform without the requirement of face masks. Elizabeth Jureckova, Student News Team  Campion students spent two days exploring Union College, attending meetings, touring campus, and enjoying local activities.
Union College professors presented on the large variety of majors and specialties available at the college. Blessing Simamora says, “I liked that Union presented different majors and the great opportunities you can get from attending. It was an overall great trip.” The event provided the opportunity for students to meet with Union College professors, as Madi Ramos states, “I enjoyed meeting some of the staff at the presentations. They were really nice and inviting and you could tell they cared about all their students.” Besides learning about academic life, students enjoyed local activities such as swimming in the pool, playing mini golf, and eating at the local ice cream and coffee shop. “What I liked about our preview days was that we got to bond as a class and spend more time with each other,” reflected Simamora. This weekend gave Campions seniors the opportunity to think about their futures and plans for college. Elizabeth Jurekova, Student News Team The Student Association planned a fun evening of activities including: musical chairs, bottle spin, gaga ball, and volleyball for Campion Academy students last Saturday. In a unique spin, all of the activities happened in the dark with glow sticks. “It was well planned,” said Geraldy Marvel, junior; “I liked the musical chairs and Gaga ball. It was really fun and the SA team did a really good job. It was a great night to remember.”
Noah Sturges, Student News Team Campion Church hosted International Sabbath last Saturday where people from diverse backgrounds took the stage in cultural clothing, showcasing multiple languages throughout the service.
The service started off with colorful flags from around the world being marched onto the stage, followed by greetings in 13 different languages spoken by students and church members. Freshman, Samuel Walton said, “This Sabbath was an incredibly special experience. From hearing all the different languages and looking at the flags, it truly was endearing to see the church do something like this. I personally held the American flag, which meant I had to be the first one who walked on stage. Diverse ethnic groups uniting for one service was an awe-inspiring experience.” The praise team led worship songs in many languages, and several people prayed and read the scriptures in their own languages upfront as well. During the congregational prayer, each member was invited to take a small flag and pray over a different country, and a special prayer was held for the conflict in Ukraine. “Diversity is one of the most beautiful aspects of humanity. It was as if a little bit of the world had come to one place. Singing songs in Swedish, French, Portuguese and many more languages was not the easiest thing, but I was overjoyed at the opportunity,” reflected Tiffany Mogaka, junior; “My favorite part was getting to wear my African Kitenge and seeing my schoolmates dress in their distinct traditional clothes. I look forward to seeing another day like this next year!” Campion Church’s worship pastor Leandro Bizama led the praise team and organized the different aspects of the service. He stated, “It was simply very fun to experience. I felt nervous to sing in all other languages at first, but I loved every minute, and I felt the church singing together in a special way. It was a great opportunity for everyone to feel comfortable with their differences, and to reflect on how God sees all of humanity.” Airi Nomura, Student News Team Last week, guest speaker Pastor János Kovács-Biro led Campion Academy in a Week of Prayer. The topic of this special week was Moses and the Israelites. Using this Bible story and modern day stories of his own, Kovács-Biro made connections to current life. During a time of reflection towards the end of each meeting, students and staff meditated on the stories that were told.
Due to his visa being denied, Kovács-Biro was unable to attend in person so he spoke to the students through Zoom calls. Despite this obstacle, Kovács-Biro and the chaplain team were still able to provide a week of spiritual renewal. “I really enjoyed hearing Pastor Biro again this year,” Jared Marcenaro, senior, reflected. “It was kind of a bummer that he could not be with us and had to be on zoom like last year, but he still has amazing thoughts and stories to tell." Jacqueline Kobagaya, Student News Team A group of 29 Campion Academy students spent four days immersed in the joy of winter: sledding, skiing, snowboarding and playing in the snow for the annual ski trip at Copper Mountain.
On Saturday morning, the trip started off with students leading the worship service at the Leadville Seventh-day Adventist church. The local members were able to experience the student praise team as well as personal testimonies from Love Pickle and Angel Villalobos. Later in the day students changed into their snow gear and headed to the town hill for sledding. During the next three days Campion students were able to enjoy the slopes on skis and snowboards under sunny skies. Chase Bright, senior, states, “I had a great time with my friends. I had a lot of fun switching my skis for Owen’s snowboard and absolutely shredding the gnar.” Besides the wonderful weather, Campion students really enjoyed the meals that were prepared for them at the condos. “My favorite part of the ski trip was bonding with people I wouldn't hang out with on a daily basis and the food was amazing too.” says Lizzie Pearson. Students would meet together everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. During this trip, Campion students grew closer together as they got to know each other better. Brisa Maldonado says, “It was great learning something new with people who are willing to teach while having fun, and making new friends.” Students returned back to school campus tired, but with great experience and countless memories. Elizabeth Jureckova, Student News Team |
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