I would like to share something one of our 7th-grade girls wrote for a class assignment.  This young lady is from Phoenix, Ariz., and attends Oneida with her brother, who is a 9th-grader. Both of these young people have excelled in their time at OBI. 

“Defining moments! We all make choices all the time. What am I going to eat? What am I going to buy? What am I going to wear? Some choices are small; some are huge. Those huge choices can be called a defining moment. My defining moment is my decision to go to Oneida Baptist Institute. So sit back, drink your tea and keep on reading.

“One day I was playing outside with my new neighbors, and my brother told me to go inside because Mom wanted to see us. I was scared that I was in trouble. Anyway, my mother told my brother and me that she found a Christian boarding school called OBI. She showed us the page and it was cool and all, but I didn’t want to go. Since I didn’t want to make my mother sad, I said maybe I would go.

“She contacted the school, but there wasn’t any opening after winter break. Then I finally told my mom that I did not want to go to Oneida. I said I was too young and I didn’t want to leave. She said okay, but I knew she was disappointed.

“At my old school, I was feeling left out and I thought I had no friends, so I eventually told my mom I would go to OBI for one year to test it out. She was so happy. If I hadn’t said yes, I wouldn’t be a Christian. I wouldn’t meet amazing people like I have here. It is a special place. I’m so happy God put me here. This is my defining moment.”

Would you be the one to tell some family or young person about this little, yet amazing place called Oneida? The internet is certainly a nice tool that enables folks to find us, but word of mouth is still our best advertisement. So many kids across our state, country and world need Jesus, and Oneida is a place where they can find Him. I would even venture to say there are kids in your neighborhood, community, or church who need to know about our ministry. Would you be that connection to bring another young person here whom you might one day spend eternity with in the presence of God because they met Christ at Oneida?

Perhaps your role in the Great Commission isn’t to go to the other side of the world as a missionary. Perhaps your role is to tell some lost or wayward youngster about Oneida Baptist Institute.