Recently CAA (Crawford Adventist Academy) held its Fall Week of Prayer at Willowdale. Seeing the students enter the youth chapel every morning and hearing their singing from my office below brought back memories from my youthful past. You see, both Michelle and I are products of Adventist Christian Education. We have attended many Weeks in Spiritual Emphasis (WISE) as students. It was while attending a week of prayer in my grade 8 school year that I decided to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. Michelle received her elementary and high school education from Crawford Adventist Academy, and I received my elementary and high school education from Bermuda Institute. Both of us are thankful to our parents who believed, supported, and financed our Adventist Christian Education. We believe that the education we received as young people prepared us for who we are today: a school principal and a church pastor.
As stated above, our parents financially made it a priority to provide their children with a Seventh-day Adventist Christian education. This commitment also included continued and higher education at Burman University in Alberta and Andrews University in Michigan. Both of our families had three children, and the monies spent acquiring an education in Adventist schools represented a mini fortune. Never once have we heard our parents complain about the cost of our education. Our parents viewed the education that we received as an investment and not money lost. Our parents wanted the education that we received at home and church to be mirrored at the school that they sent their children to. Michelle and I are testaments to the faithfulness of our parents. So, when our children were born, Michelle and I immediately started saving for University (RESP-Registered Educational Savings Plan) and committed to placing Ethan and Mackenzie in our schools. We were never blinded by the fact that no school system is perfect, but we wholeheartedly believed in Adventist Christian Education; an education that prepares students for the present world and eternity.
Today, I pastor a church that shares a campus with a school that the early pioneers of Willowdale started. Willowdale, through the years, has been a staunch supporter of Adventist Christian Education. The largest yearly allocation in our annual church financial budget supports Adventist Christian Education. Years ago, multiple Willowdale donors, realizing families’ financial need because of the ever-increasing cost of Christian education, donated funds to Willowdale’s Tuition Assistance Fund. These funds help families committed to Adventist education but are challenged to cover the entire cost. Many would argue, why don’t these parents send their child(ren) to public education if they cannot afford private education? Public school education is free. Many parents have taken that option, but for those parents who have been convicted regarding the importance of spiritual education and the spiritual blessings that accompany Christian education, help is needed.
During the four Sabbaths (2, 9, 16, 23, 30) of November, I want to appeal to the Willowdale church membership and our online friends in support of Willowdale’s Tuition Assistance Fund. The donations from past donors are very close to being depleted. The Tuition Assistance Fund needs an infusion of donations. During November, no appeals for the building fund or any other church need will compete with this one urgent need. Michelle and I have experienced and seen the value of an Adventist Christian Education, and we want to be the first to donate to help this cause. I once heard a song from a Christian singing artist who sang these words, words of thankful children, “Thank you for giving to the Lord, I was a life that was changed, thank you for giving to the Lord, I am so glad you gave.” Our contributions will help to provide our treasures (our children) with an education for the present but also an education for eternity. May God bless you as you answer the call to give and bless others.
Pastor Glenn DeSilva