Michael Owens, an eighth-grade student, is truly in a class by himself, particularly since he is the only student in the Nome Adventist School (the school will be closing at the end of the year). But that has not stopped Owens from seeking new adventures and excelling. Most recently, he preached a sermon at the Nome Church.
"The sermon was a class assignment," says his teacher Melanie Stroud. "Owens was given a list of texts and ideas he could choose from, and he chose to write about the different uses for the word 'leavening' and how it relates to the Christian experience.
"He brought out the fact there were statements in the Bible which seemed to contradict themselves—one saying leavening was a bad thing—‘Beware the leavening of the Pharisees’; and another saying leavening was a good thing—‘a little yeast works throughout the whole batch of dough.’ To illustrate, he demonstrated the leavening action of yeast by stirring yeast into a warm sugar-water mixture. After a few minutes, the bubbles began and the glass overflowed."
Owens wanted to be baptized in Hawaii, while on his class trip. His parents joined the trip to Hawaii along with Rick Binford, Nome pastor, who performed the baptism. The small group found a somewhat calm beach on Sabbath morning, where the service was held, before going to church.
In addition to his involvement at church, Owens has participated in the FIRST LEGO Robotics competition for three years and was a member of the team that took the national prize in 2006. He has also completed the 150-mile overnight Junior Iditarod, a test of dog mushing skill and endurance, the past two years and has placed in the top 10 both years.
Michael Owens, the only student in Nome Adventist School, is baptized by Rick Binford, Nome district pastor, in Hawaii.
With the help of an assistant, Michael Owens, Nome Adventist School eighth-grader, stirs yeast into warm sugar water to demonstrate the leavening effect.
