On Sabbath, January 13th, as many churches moved to online services due to icy weather, at least one church remained open in Hillsboro, Oregon. Two best friends–students from Tualatin Valley Academy–and their families, prepared for baptism at Crosspoint Adventist Church.

“Simon and Perrin have been friends since preschool,” shared Tualatin Valley principal, Christina Orozco-Acosta. “Their friendship has evolved over the years and now they’re like brothers. They’re inseparable. Simon wanted to be baptized on his birthday this year. It was special to him.”

Pastor Troy Wallace, who has been studying the Bible with the boys at TVA, added, “Simon and Perrin have had this really mutually beneficial partnership in their faith journey. Their faith has impacted each other’s. I know Perrin has been wanting to be baptized, but he usually doesn’t want to be the center of attention. Having his friend with him, I think, was part of the reason he made the decision when he did.”

But as the day approached, a wave of ice, rain, and snow threatened to interrupt Simon and Perrin’s special day. “I knew the boys wanted to be baptized on Simon’s birthday, but in the back of my mind I was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, this is probably going to get canceled with all of the churches closing,” said Christina. “When I heard that they were still happening I got my family together and we drove to Crosspoint. The church was buzzing with families and friends! Troy’s message was beautiful and the whole day ended up just being really, really special.” Pastor Troy, the Crosspoint church family, and the TVA community braved the looming weather to make sure the baptisms could still happen that Sabbath. Simon and Perrin were baptized!

For everyone involved, this story began long before this year. The growing partnership between Tualatin Valley Academy and west side churches has been an integral part of connecting students, families, and churches together. “There’s a long-term effect when you create opportunities for people to befriend each other and spend time together,” said Pastor Troy. “I think that was the story with this particular journey. It was teachers and church members intentionally creating events and inviting people over to their houses and creating opportunities for people to get together that weren’t exclusive to just the church or school. All those little things add up and create possibilities for things like this to happen.”