At SAS, we hold an Education Sabbath every month. Pround parents come to watch their children participate in the program. Jennifer and Kimberly (Lucy’s mother) came to watch Lucy’s first Education Sabbath program. All three of them showed up at church the following week and they did not stop coming.

After one year, Jennifer approached my husband and asked if she and Kimberly could attend Bible Study classes. He gladly agreed! On March 3, 2022, Jennifer asked to be baptized.

“I had been searching for a church,” says Jennifer. “I tried several other churches around the community but they were not a good fit. When I came to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I felt connected. I know that Sabbath is the right day to worship. One day, Girlie gave me a Bible and everything made sense from then on. I understand what I have been reading.”

Jennifer is very involved in her church and school family. She and Kimberly study their Sabbath School lesson while Lucy enjoys the Kindergarten class with Teacher Betty. Last week, Jennifer volunteered at SAS to serve school lunch to the students.  When Jennifer heard that we are fundraising to improve our school and construct new buildings, she handed me $1,000 to help out.

What a powerful testimony of how the Holy Spirit works in each of our hearts! I know that heaven rejoices to see one of His children accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. Jennifer’s story is one example of God leading his children into a closer relationship with Him. He uses Scappoose Adventist School as an instrument to make that connection. 95% of the students that SAS serves do not come from SDA families. We know that we are working hand-in-hand with God to introduce our students to the love of Jesus. Thank you for supporting our mission to provide spiritually focused, academically driven education to the children of Columbia County, Oregon.

Girlie Zunega-Aguilar is the principal of Scappoose Adventist School in Oregon. She served as a teacher at Saipan Adventist School for 7.5 years. She is currently a Ph.D. student at Andrews University working on her dissertation entitled "TOGETHER AS ONE: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF A MARRIED PRINCIPAL-PASTOR PARTNERSHIP IN COLLABORATIVE MINISTRY IN THE SCAPPOOSE DISTRICT OF THE OREGON CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS"

Nicole Potgieter is the Content Acquisitions/Social Media Coordinator for Scappoose Adventist School. Originally from South Africa and now living in Arizona, she enjoys writing, photography, and playing with her dog, Monty.

Return to Snippets

Working Together with God at Scappoose Adventist School

By Girlie Zunega-Aguilar

with Nicole Potgieter

S

cappoose Adventist School (SAS) is a small, preschool-8th grade Christian school in Oregon. We think of ourselves as a tight-knight group made up of students, teachers, families, and staff. At SAS, we serve our community at large by providing excellent, hands-on, Christian education.

Our community also stands behind us and supports us. They go above and beyond the call of duty by digging deep into their pockets to support our school. They understand the importance of Christian education for the children of our county. This was how I first met Jennifer.

The Scappoose-St. Helens SDA Church is closely associated with our school, which leads to people calling the church rather than our office for more information about enrolling their children. Last year, my husband, Pastor Antonee, received a call from Jennifer, inquiring about SAS. He took some time to get to know more about Jennifer, and then, referred her to me. She called me right away to find out more information about enrolling her granddaughter, Lucy, in preschool. We got the paperwork done and welcomed our dear Lucy to our school family.

Summer 2022

copyright 2022 North American Division of Adventist Education. all rights reserved.