Adventist education exists to change lives, and these miracles — and so many others — happen each and every day. Students at Columbia Adventist Academy (CAA) in Battle Ground, Wash., have seen this firsthand and were reminded of it once more at a special chapel delivered in April by a former classmate and member of the CAA family.
On a Friday night only a few months before, the news began circling social media and pinging as texts on students’ phones. There had been a bad accident. Keaten Wells, a high school junior and former CAA student, was in the hospital.
Details began emerging. He had been on his motorcycle. He hit a stopped car. He was unconscious. Doctors were not optimistic.
The hospital waiting room was filled that weekend with CAA students and staff. Over the next weeks, the CAA family wore “Pray for Keaten” bracelets, an outward sign and reminder of the constant prayers on their hearts for Wells’ healing. Months later, he stood before the student body and said, “Your prayers have been answered.”
According to doctors, Wells wasn’t supposed to live through that first weekend. During his long recovery, he had rough times, times when he didn’t know why he was still alive. He struggled to see the purpose in his life, but said, “Through Scripture and prayer I had God come to me and tell me that I did have a purpose and He would always steer me on the right course.”
Prior to the accident, Wells said when teachers would talk about miracles in Bible class, he was skeptical of their place in daily life. “I was dead wrong,” he told students during his chapel talk. “Seek God’s miracles that He performs every day … I see over a hundred of them right here in this room. Each and every one of you being here today is nothing short of a miracle.”
Wells’ reminder to each student that they themselves are miracles was a powerful reminder for all of the reason schools like CAA exist: to bring about the miracle of a changed life. As many different CAA students have shared in chapel their stories of the miraculous ways God has worked in their lives, it truly paints a picture of the miraculous God we serve.
At the end of Wells’ chapel, the student body and staff gathered around him in a prayer of dedication as he continues in his journey of healing and seeking God’s purpose. After all, CAA is a family, a community of support, together seeking the miraculous.
Mikey Burdick (junior), Keaten Wells and CAA chaplain Aaron Payne celebrate Wells' miraculous recovery.
Students and staff gather around Keaten for prayer of dedication.
