Puyallup Elementary Blog

I-Term Reflections From CCS 6th Graders

“The I-Term high school students were amazing! They were really fun, entertaining, and good at sports. Their P.E. was awesome, letting a lot of us play. Their chapel was moving and made me really want to be an I-Term student. I can’t wait until I am in high school.”
—Samuel, 6th grade

“I am thankful that the high schoolers who came were all so competitive and they took us seriously. I am happy that we could play basketball with them. I was so happy that we could play basketball with Bo. Me and Ezekiel love him; we love how he plays the game. He is our favorite player, and we like his chances of the NBA. We also like Josiah because he is Ezekiel’s brother. I appreciated the dunking competition. And finally I appreciated how friendly they were and they put on a show.”
—Judah, 6th grade

I-Term Reflections From Mrs. Bingham, JH Teacher

For my specific advisory project, my 7th graders partnered with Tori Heckman’s 8th graders. We collectively assembled Easter baskets for Olive Crest. From counseling, to foster care services, to traditional living assistance, Olive Crest offers a broad spectrum of care for abused, neglected, and at-risk children and their families. Our goal was to assemble 30 baskets for the nonprofit organization, but the volume of donations we received allowed us to pull together 48 Easter baskets!

 I-Term Reflections From Dr. Josh Kristoff, High School Principal 

The final words of John the Apostle’s gospel are as follows: “Now there are also many things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25, ESV). After spending two weeks with 18 CCHS students in Cape Town, South Africa, I have a better understanding of this verse. The stories I have, the times I saw God at work, the instances where God was working in me, and so much more are too numerous to put into words. And then, multiply that by 33 people and you have the makings of a 10-part docu-series that still wouldn’t even scratch the surface of accurately capturing the details of our I-Term experience. I encourage you to find someone who was on the trip and ask them to share their stories (and make sure you carve out a nice chunk of time because it won’t be short).

The resounding truth that rattled around in my heart each day was … IN CHRIST ALONE. Our students and alumni led a worship night where South African teens were committing and rededicating their lives to Christ. In addition to those leading worship, other CCS

students were praying for these teens and worshiping with them—300+ South African teens and our 18 students, praising and worshiping the same God. Completely equal, no barriers, no differences, just crying out to Jesus and in need of His saving grace.

There are problems in Cape Town and there are problems in Puyallup. There is division in South Africa and division in America. But regardless of the location of the sin-stricken issues, the solution remains the same: Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior!

Earlier in John’s gospel, we read: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ ” (John 14:6, ESV). May we all rejoice because of Jesus, who provides the way, who is the truth, and who gives us life!