Proclaim the Praises!
TOP LEFT: Chole Hicks, fourth grader at Chowchilla Adventist School holds the trophy for her first-place finish in the Grand Finale of the CCC Spelling Bee. TOP RIGHT: Jonathan Zepeda, with his thirdplace Grand Finale trophy, is surrounded by his classmates at San Francisco Adventist School, who also hold certificates and ribbons for participation in the CCC Spelling Bee. RIGHT: The Dinuba Junior Academy celebrated when Madeleine Sundstrom, seventh-grader, placed second in the Grand Finale of the CCC Spelling Bee.
16 Pacific Union Recorder
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e who loves Christ the most will do the greatest amount of good. There is no limit to the usefulness of one who, by putting self aside, makes room for the working of the Holy Spirit upon his heart, and lives a life wholly consecrated to God” (Ellen White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 250-251). During the last several months, our Central California Conference (CCC) articles have been about graduations, the Soquel Virtual Camp Meeting, and saying farewell to one president and welcoming a new one. Although it may have seemed that not much else was happening, it was just not possible, because of limited space, to share other stories of what God was doing through His people. The following few stories, out of the many that could be told, cause us to join with the Apostle Peter in declaring, “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV; emphasis added). A virtual spelling bee Although a new school year has already begun, an event occurred on April 7, 2021, that was rather exciting but has not yet been reported. This event showcased the great spellers in our schools. Due to pandemic restrictions, the CCC education department held its first virtual spelling bee, with eight schools participating. Sandra Green, CCC associate superintendent, coordinated the event and elicited the help of education department staff and several others. This included Vicki Murray, a children’s storyteller from New Mexico. In her worship talks, she urged the children to be faithful in Bible study and do their best in all their schoolwork. After individual rounds from grades three to eight were held in each school, one student became eligible in each grade level to participate in the second round. Held on Zoom and entitled the Main Event, in this round the students were
Central California Conference
