Troy Epperly, a retiree and home builder from Port Orchard, Wash., and his wife, Dorothy, are the latest in a long stream of volunteers who have blessed Milo Adventist Academy in Days Creek, Ore., with their labors of love. Troy Epperly has a history of volunteering to help Kitsap Adventist School in Bremerton, Wash., and occasionally at other Adventist schools.
When asked why he contributes his time to help the school, Epperly replied, “It’s my way of giving back to the church and to the schools.” He finds that people want to send their kids to the schools, but they don’t want to contribute themselves. These days there aren’t as many tradespeople in the church, so he feels it is important to provide support in that area.
Epperly and Chuck Vliet, also from Port Orchard, are currently working on the new cabins at Milo’s Camp Umpqua, which Maranatha volunteers constructed in the summer of 2015.
Michael Belknap of Spokane, Wash., volunteered with Maranatha at Milo in the past. In July, he recruited a group of friends to join him again at Milo for several house-painting projects.
Jan Thornton, Milo's principal’s wife, says, “It’s wonderful to see the larger community coming together to keep projects moving forward here at Milo. We all have the same mission: to educate our young people and help them to get to know Jesus. We greatly appreciate the support of all our generous volunteers and donors that make it possible to achieve our mission.”
Troy Epperly works on the new Camp Umpqua cabins.
Jim Donavan (left) and Troy Epperly discuss their plans for the Camp Umpqua cabin project.
