Arizona Conference

Thunderbird Adventist Academy Students Plan Service Events

The Royals, the National Honor Society (NHS) chapter at Thunderbird Adventist Academy (TAA), embraced the opportunity to celebrate the holidays by serving their fellow students and giving back to others.

ABOVE: Glenielle S. & Mahal T. prepare shoe boxes and deliver the boxes to the drop-off location. ABOVE RIGHT: NHS students prepare collection boxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child

The holiday season kicked off with a project to give back by participating in Operation Christmas Child. Empty shoeboxes, toys, coloring books, socks, shoes, games, and even a TAA frisbee filled collection bins around campus as the entire student body joined the NHS members to make a child’s Christmas a little more special. The goal of 75 boxes was easily reached, and 83 boxes were taken to the drop-off site after final exams were completed.

ABOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Ntakirutimana F. and Lana M., of team Grinch Gang, placed first; while twins Natalie & Emily O. placed second. Other teams included Amber L. & Alyssa M. of Cornoa Christmas; Diane T. & Jeffery W. of Gingerbread Architects; Amelia D. & Kiley M. of Jolly Snowflake; Madysen C. & Danica of Puptarts.

Gingerbread House Wars

The Gingerbread House Wars event challenged the six participating teams to fully decorate their pre-constructed buildings in 20 minutes, all while being interviewed and broadcasted on Facebook live. With tables covered in cookies, candy canes, pretzels, candy bars, and of course a lot of frosting, teams designed log cabins, traditional gingerbread homes, a Snoopy doghouse, and even a Vincent van Gogh The Starry Night gingerbread home. In the end, after much deliberation by the panel of judges, team Grinch Gang won for their gingerbread replica of the Thunderbird Adventist Academy campus.

ABOVE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Oliver Morada, prays at the Fuel for Finals event, while students Mary- Jade A., Giselle M., Sarha V., Vika O., Blakely A., Neci R. and other students (BELOW) enjoyed the fire pit.

2nd Annual Fuel for Finals

In the chill of early morning during final exams, the TAA family met around the firepit for the 2nd Annual Fuel for Finals. This was a time for everyone on campus to pause from the busyness of studying and endof-semester events to pray together for God’s help and wisdom on upcoming tests and to thank Him for the many blessings we have received over the semester.

Unlike the previous year, when we invited the community at large to join with us on campus, this year we invited them to join us in heart and mind at 8 a.m. to pray with us.

When asked why it was important for NHS to plan these activities, Aerille Salamat, The Royals president, said, "During these trying times, it is easy to only think about yourself. We are all trying to survive and not get COVID. When planning events like this, it may not heal everyone in the world from this pandemic, but NHS can at least help with the morale, even if it is just targeted to a small group of people. The goal of NHS is to bring people together. We shouldn't have to go through these tough times alone."

____________________ By Phil Draper