More Than a Game
Perhaps Jan. 27, 2009, will not go down as a significant night in high school basketball history. But, on that date, at least one player’s life was changed forever.
Ethan Childs, a freshman from Mayville, Michigan, was part of the event staff for the game that evening between Maranatha Baptist Academy and Ethan Allen School, a juvenile detention facility for boys. Childs had hoped to be part of the Leland Dormitory team that conducts a weekly mentoring ministry at Ethan Allen. He missed an orientation meeting due to his work schedule, however, and was unable to join the group.
But God gave Childs (right) a second chance.
“I was working ‘crowd control,’ and I talked to some of Ethan Allen’s junior varsity players during the varsity game,” Childs said. “The varsity game was close, and the JV team was really cheering loudly. There was one guy who appeared to be sort of the ringleader of the JV team, or at least the guy making the most conversation. I never found out any more than his nickname, but they all called him ‘Ace.’ ”
When the varsity game ended, Childs began talking to a group of JV players. Most wanted to discuss how many pretty girls they had seen that evening. Childs turned the conversation to a more serious subject.
“I looked at one guy and asked him, ‘Have you ever thought about where you are going when you die?’ ” Childs said. “He became totally serious. His whole attitude changed. I gave him the quick summer-school run through the plan of salvation.”
Two teammates and a group leader tried to interrupt the conversation, but “Ace” told them all to go away and remained seriously engaged in what Childs was attempting to convey.
“Ace told me, ‘Look where I’m at—I’ve done some pretty bad things,’ and I told him God can forgive any sin,” Childs said. “It was amazing. It was so cool. He prayed and asked Christ into his heart, right there in the gym lobby.”
The team left immediately afterward. Childs later attempted to contact “Ace” for followup, but he had been moved to a different part of the Ethan Allen facility that was not part of the Leland Dorm ministry.
“It was so hard for me not to come back to my room that night and just jump around all over the place,” Childs said. “It was the first time I had helped win someone to Christ that way. It was definitely a spiritual high.”
A Vision for Blessing Others
Jolene Mellor knew she was in trouble as soon as she heard the crunch.
The senior from Fontana, California, had just pushed a pile of dirty clothes off a table and onto the floor. When she did, she also pushed off her eyeglasses—the same eyeglasses she had worn since age 15, more than seven years.
“I have astigmatism in my right eye, so they are pretty important to me,” Mellor (right) said.
Mellor is from a single-parent household. Her mother is self-employed in a cleaning business and had no insurance to help cover the cost of new glasses. She works two on-campus cleaning jobs to help pay her college bill (“and a lot of grants, and a lot of prayers,” she said), but there was no extra $200 left over for glasses.
Senior Laura Peck from Laurel, Delaware, had been aware of the situation for a couple days. When nothing transpired for Mellor in the way of help, Peck decided she would find a way to bless and encourage her friend.
“I just started getting together a list of names of people who I thought might know her,” Peck (left) said. “I told everyone I could, then I sent out 20-to-30 emails to other students.”
Josh Akerberg, a freshman from Milton, New Hampshire, also was aware of Mellor’s problem. Both are members of the symphonic band. Mellor often had trouble reading her music while playing the clarinet, and battled headaches as well. The astigmatism had grown worse over time, and her outdated lenses were of little use.
“Josh started going through Judson dorm, just asking guys to dump in their jars of change,” Peck said.
Peck and Akerberg (right) didn’t let Mellor in on their secret until the change jars were empty and they had 
collected $261 from their fellow students. Many had given in spite of their own pronounced financial needs.
“I set up an appointment for her at the Wal-Mart Vision Center, then I told her we were going to Wal-Mart on Friday,” Peck said. “When she asked me, ‘So, what are you up to?’ I had to confess. It was incredible to see the way her whole face lit up. I told her right before she had to go to class, so she didn’t have time for much more reaction than that.”
The money was more than enough to pay for the frames, lenses and exam. The glasses arrived one day before the band was to leave on its spring tour.
“I didn’t have a great group of friends growing up, and certainly not people who had had the impact on my life spiritually that people here have had,” Mellor said. “It was God’s reminder of how He can provide in ways we never would have thought of.”
--Posted by Andrew Call, 3-20-09
Students busy with Christmas activities
Maranatha students, through their dormitory societies, are working hard to make this Christmas a more blessed one for many people.
“They’re going to be very busy,” Director of Student Activities and Leadership Dave Marriott said.
Each of the five dorm pairings have taken on a special avenue of ministry in December, although most activities are open to all students who desire to be involved. These unique outreach activities show how the energy and enthusiasm of youth, combined with a heart for souls, can result in significant accomplishments.
Give my regards to State Street
The Carey and Melford dorms took more than 100 students to Madison on Friday for Christmas caroling. One choir will sing in a homeless shelter, while the other will sing at several University of Wisconsin fraternity houses.
“The students in those frat houses will just drop what they’re doing because they won’t believe it,” Marriott predicted.
Student leader Samuel Prusak said the group will also spend time at the bustling State Street district, handing out tracts with candy canes attached.
“We want to just swamp State Street with students handing out tracts, talking to people and singing,” Prusak said. “Going to the frat houses is a great way for the students at UW to see some of their peers singing praises to God and having fun. This will open doors and reach people that we may never be able to reach while just working on State Street.”
Carey and Melford also plan to dispense free hot chocolate on State Street on Dec. 12.
A Flood of kindness
Spurgeon and Gould (collectively nicknamed The Flood) have designed a ministry for bus children at Calvary Baptist Church in Watertown. The Flood is encouraging each dorm room on campus to adopt a specific child, purchasing a gift and encouraging that child to continue attending services at Calvary.
The Christmas tree in the Old Main lobby is decorated with ornaments bearing children’s names. Students “adopt” a child by registering on the ornament itself, then purchasing a gift for that child. Gifts are to be turned in to students Steven Thayer or Elise Jones by Dec. 10.
The Flood will deliver those gifts while caroling Dec. 13 at the homes of children on the bus route.
“Our goal is to get something nice for the kids, but more importantly, to help Calvary build relationships with some of the families that may not regularly attend church,” Thayer said.
A helping hand
Judson and Weeks dorms will be volunteering at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and also at Access Women’s Center in Madison.
The students are purchasing baby clothes and items, as well as Christian literature. These will be added to a gift basket given to mothers who complete programs at the pregnancy center. The items are being collected through Wednesday and will be delivered Sunday.
“Our dorm is really excited, because our huge basket is overflowing,” Weeks student representative Sarah Dyal said.
Judson residents will volunteer in the Milwaukee Rescue Mission's kitchen on Dec. 13, according to student representative Ben Huseby.
Happy Day for poor children
Day and Armitage dorms are combining forces to fill shoeboxes with gifts and a gospel tract as part of the Operation Christmas Child outreach. The Operation Christmas Child website indicates the group has distributed more than 61 million shoeboxes to needy children since 1993. The boxes include toys, school supplies, hygiene items, gum and candy.
Mentoring ministry
The Leland and Hilsen dorms will continue their ongoing mentoring ministry at juvenile detention centers, according to student representative Joel Smith.
“We minister to four ‘cottages’ at Ethan Allen School, and the Hilsen girls minister at Southern Oaks (a juvenile correction facility),” Smith said. “We don’t have anything special planned for Christmas, but our ministries there will stay on schedule.”
Hilsen student rep Elizabeth Borstad wrote a monologue from Mary's perspective to share with the girls at Southern Oaks. She drew from Old Testament prophecies, the Gospel accounts of Christ's birth and his crucificion and resurrection t share the Christmas story and the plan of salvation. The students baked sugar cookies for the Southern Oaks girls to frost during a mentoring time afterward. Each girls was also given a Bible as a Christmas present.
--Posted by Andrew Call, 12-3-08
Flood to feed Watertown police, fire departments
Students from Maranatha will express their appreciation to more than 90 City of Watertown Police and Fire Department employees Oct. 16 and 17 by hosting a cookout at the police station parking lot.
The Maranatha Flood, a group made up primarily of students from Spurgeon and Gould dormitories, has volunteered for the first of several major student-driven community service projects scheduled this year.
“We really wanted to honor these public safety employees, and thank them for the good relationship they have had with the college,” Spurgeon dormitory supervisor Noah Lomax said. “(Gould dormitory supervisor) Dori Thompson and I have been working on this since the week we arrived on campus. We hope to be able to continue this tradition long into the future.”
Students Steve Thayer and Elise Jones are leading a team of more than 50 student workers and staff members who will participate in the event during three-hour shifts that run consecutively from noon to midnight both days. The students will grill chicken and steak as well as providing the remainder of the meal.
“The Flood girls will help prepare for the barbeque by making cookies, marinating the meat, and setting up the chairs, the tables, and the tent,” Jones said. “Throughout the day, the girls will be meeting and greeting the attendees and serving the food.”
She sees the cookout as a unique opportunity for both outreach and community service.
“I believe this will give the girls the opportunity to serve a group of men and women in our community whose service is often taken for granted,” Jones said.
--Posted by Andrew Call 10-10-08
I just wanted praise God for the way he has been working in my life in my first semester here at Maranatha.
I came to Maranatha feeling that this was God's will for my college choice, but I was not 100% certain. However, I did not feel him leading me to any other school and things just sort of fell into place for me to come to Maranatha. To enroll in classes was a step of faith, however. I came to school with less than half of the money I would need to pay for my first semester. I'm one that likes to be prepared and have a plan for the future, so coming to school not knowing how I was going to pay for it was difficult. I got to school and immediately began seeking out a job. Within the first week, God had provided me with a job to work in the dining hall -- it was at a wage lower than I needed to make it through the rest of the semester, but at least it was something. I made it through the first portion of the semester working my new job and with the little money I had left in my savings. However, when I received the invoice in my mailbox for the final semester payment and it was significantly larger than I had expected, I began to panic, knowing I did not have enough money to pay all of it. The Stafford loan was all the financial aid I was eligible for at that time, but I had a feeling my FAFSA was not filled out correctly. Hopefully, I made my way to the financial aid office where I spoke with Mr. Hibbs, the financial aid advisor, about my situation. It turned out that I had filled out my FAFSA wrong and there was a chance that with corrections I would have a chance to receive the Pell grant. I waited, and did my best to trust that God would provide, but I could not help questioning whether I was right about my coming to Maranatha being God's Will. Soon, the results from my FAFSA corrections were in. I would be receiving the Pell grant along with the rest of the financial aid I needed to make it through the rest of the semester (by the way, the combined number of financial aid I received was very close to the balance due remaining on my account). I was ecstatic. The good news was enough encouragement to carry me through the next few weeks, but soon pre-enrollment for the next semester rolled around and I began wondering how I could enroll for classes with only a small amount of money left from financial aid toward my tuition. Again, I made a trip to the financial aid office to ask for advice. My situation was discussed and the numbers did not look good. All I could do was pray. I asked God to show me what His will was. I told him I'd stay in school if he provided the money. Today I got an unexpected call slip for financial aid. I made yet another trip to the office to discover that I would be receiving the Wisconsin Tuition Grant -- a significant amount of money toward my next semester. It would seem God would have me to stay at Maranatha... at least for now. With tear-filled eyes I thanked God for his amazing provision and grace even when I doubted Him, and for teaching me to trust Him. God is so good!
I know there are many other students out there struggling financially and I hope this testimony, as I share it with others, can be an encouragement. Keep trusting God! I didn't think He would provide like he did, but he has!
Thank you to Maranatha and my teachers for being such a great school and a tool for God. Also, thank you to Mr. Hibbs and the financial aid department for their work, they've been such a tremendous blessing.
-- Eden Jones, freshman