By: Sharon Templeton听
Class of 1960听
Growing up in North Dakota in the 50s, I was often given the advice to 鈥済et your education.鈥 My older brother had attended NNC and traveled in a summer men鈥檚 quartet recruiting students and financial support. One summer, Rev. Jackson brought his family to our district and their influence impacted many to attend NNC that year. There was no question in my mind, my heart was settled on getting my college education at NNC.听
My first semester was spent enrolling in basic classes and discovering all the opportunities available for helping me find my way through the maze of higher education.听听
I took a painting class and struggled with what I had originally thought would be a fun class. Miss Long helped me realize I would not be able to earn my living in art, so I continued my search. Miss Washburn turned me on to literature and broadened my view of excellent reading material. Miss Wilson pulled me aside in speech class and suggested I had to believe in what I was speaking about to make my point. Dr. Wesche created a hunger to know more about world history. In every class, I experienced help from professors who took an interest in me and gave me the gift of time and encouragement to continue to Seek First and learn to grow and become!听
N麻豆原创 is founded on the principles of learning and growing; of becoming all you can be as God鈥檚 creative and redemptive agent in the world. Every person working at N麻豆原创鈥攆aculty and staff鈥攊s dedicated to giving their best to the students, offering a myriad of opportunities.听听
I鈥檝e witnessed students coming to N麻豆原创 from other countries on scholarship, knowing very little about the college, yet being welcomed into the community and thriving on the gift of caring friendship. Faculty and staff go above and beyond the classroom to share with students who are eager to receive the gifts of opportunity to expand and broaden knowledge.听
N麻豆原创 is a giving body of believers desiring to provide opportunities for growth, sharing experiences, offering insight, walking alongside, broadening worldview and impacting the lives of students to Seek First the Kingdom of God while receiving an exceptional education.听
By: Roxanne (Mitchell) Johnsen 听
Class of 2017听
When my husband, Trevor, and I graduated from N麻豆原创 (2017/2018), we were motivated and ready to venture into a life of full-time ministry. We had learned to be excellent in our fields of study, but also to be creative and redemptive agents in the world. Our four years on campus nurtured our spiritual development, which has molded us into the parents we are today.听
After graduation, we moved to Eugene, Oregon, bought a house and started our lives. Trevor served a local church as the pastor to youth and families.听听
We made some amazing memories while Trevor was a youth pastor. I worked full time as a critical care nurse for a few years and loved it. I was working in the ICU when we first heard of COVID19. Our world was rocked just the day after 鈥渢he world shut down鈥 when I miscarried our first baby in our home. This was one of the first moments in our married life where we had a choice: seek God or seek ourselves. We could have crumbled in our grief, but we chose to put our trust in God that He was holding our baby and there was still so much He had for us in our lives.听听
We welcomed a beautiful, healthy baby almost one year later. Beverly Dee joined our family, and we were so happy to be parents to this sweet one.听
Just two weeks before our Bev was born, our world was rocked again due to a sudden staffing change at our church. We were faced with a difficult decision to stay or to move. This was another moment to choose: to seek God or to run. While we knew our time in Oregon was done, we chose to trust the Lord鈥檚 leading and remain in ministry. We were craving community and came back to Idaho, where Trevor served as a children鈥檚 pastor at a local church.听听
In March of 2023, we welcomed our second healthy girl, Mabel Marie. At this time, we were both working full time, parenting a toddler and infant, serving our church and trying to make time for our relationships with friends and each other. We formed a great community in our church, hosted in our homes weekly and I was a dedicated worship leader.听听
It was a great life, and while we had been doing many things right, we knew that change was coming.听听
As we started asking ourselves really hard questions, we began to see that we were heading toward a path of going through the motions. We didn鈥檛 want to just DO the right things, we wanted to remember to continue to seek God every day. Through much counseling and discernment, my husband stepped out of his ministry role. This could have crumbled our relationships, but instead we were met with so much community, love and support. We were amazed at the amount of affirmation we received from following the Lord鈥檚 leading in this decision.听听
However, we noticed ourselves losing our passion and just going through the motions. Through all our busyness, we lost sight of the value of a daily, conscious effort to live our lives for Jesus.听听
We wanted to push past this feeling of going through the motions. So much of our lives has been choosing the 鈥渞ight鈥 thing and following the next step. Marriage, house, ministry, babies, more babies. I鈥檝e always wanted to look like I was making the 鈥渞ight鈥 choices.听听
We realized that we were focused more on ourselves than seeking His Kingdom first.听听
How could this be, when we felt like we always chose God when we were at a crosspoint in our lives?听听
With that in mind, we wanted to find a way that we could focus on our development as a young family seeking the Lord, while also fulfilling a dream we have always had.听听
We downsized our lives, moved into an RV, I took a travel nurse assignment and hit the road! We have traveled over 6,000 miles, spent the fall in the Great Smoky Mountains and the winter on the Florida Gulf Coast. Now, we鈥檙e back in Nampa. Recognizing this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, we were determined to savor every moment of this unique time.听听
I have always wanted to be a travel nurse. I鈥檝e seen so much value in going to other places and experiencing new systems and processes. I love meeting new people and the chance to make friends all over the country is such a neat opportunity.听听
This could easily be just an adventure with no further meaning. However, I knew that I wanted to come back changed. I didn鈥檛 want to let this time go to waste.听
While living as a full-time travel family, we worked on several goals. We formed new habits. With this habit forming, we鈥檝e realized that all the goals we are pursuing are essentially a muscle that needs to be exercised. We don鈥檛 form these muscles overnight. We don鈥檛 automatically have these habits without having a great foundation and continually choosing to make decisions that lead us in the direction we want to go.听听
Throughout this season, I鈥檝e continued to ask myself why it is so hard for me to seek God鈥檚 Kingdom FIRST. Why isn鈥檛 it the first thing in my head when I KNOW that is the 鈥渞ight鈥 thing to do? When life is good, I don鈥檛 think about that choice much, but when met with crisis, it is a conscious, difficult decision to put my feelings aside and seek God.听听
While our spiritual development was definitely a goal, thankfully, we didn鈥檛 need to form a foundation. We already have one!听听
The foundation formed in our lives in the church and during our time at N麻豆原创 started our desire to seek God鈥檚 Kingdom first.听听
We knew we had a lot of faith throughout our lives, but was seeking God鈥檚 Kingdom our first thought? Not necessarily.听听
This takes time, practice and daily imperfect progress. It takes community and accountability.听听
We had an amazing time throughout our years at N麻豆原创. We experienced our faith developing through classes, chapel and worship. Our premarital counseling was done by our chaplains. We had friends, countless memories and many dreams for the future.听听
When I left N麻豆原创, I knew that I could make a difference for my patients and coworkers as I began my career as an RN. We also knew that our time in ministry was supported and that we would always find community at N麻豆原创.听听
When faced with crisis in our lives, we have always remembered our faith that was developed at N麻豆原创.听听
This is how N麻豆原创 does college different: you receive an education, which is complete the day you turn in your last paper or take your last final. But you鈥檙e also given every opportunity to leave N麻豆原创 with a new start. A start to seek God鈥檚 Kingdom first. A start to work daily, diligently, with humility and devotion to the One who created us. To not only seek God when we鈥檙e faced with times of crisis, but to seek every day, every hour, every moment.听听
N麻豆原创 has shown me the impact that can occur in our lives when seeking God鈥檚 Kingdom first comes so naturally because of our daily commitment to choosing God over ourselves.听听
Another thing N麻豆原创 provides is community. Our four years on campus created endless relationships with other believers, with whom we remain connected to this day. We have connections all over the United States, and we are so grateful. As we鈥檝e entered into parenthood, we have been able to seek out previous classmates in our same stage of life. Seeing our kids play, while dreaming of their future, we can only hope they have a community like ours to support them throughout their lives.听听
While we sometimes still lose sight of the daily habit of seeking first the Kingdom of God, we are so grateful for the impact N麻豆原创 had on our lives, and the community it provides, to continue to follow the Lord鈥檚 path even in the bumps along the way.听听
Currently, we are living with 2 toddlers and a dog in less than 200 square feet. We have had many challenges such as RV repairs, RV park drama, sick kids, long nights of being called in to work every few hours. I like to say that my husband is the real hero: starting a new, fully remote, business while being a 鈥渟tay at home trailer dad.鈥 These challenges completely fade when thinking of our many blessings: gorgeous views, hilarious stories, inevitably setting off the fire alarm every time I cook, hiking the Smoky Mountains, making lifelong friends, days at the beach, experiencing Disney World for the first time, venturing out into a new side gig鈥攂ecoming a travel agent鈥 and working on my physical health. These core memories will last our entire lifetime.听听
Some may say this was a reckless move; to leave two steady jobs for a life on the road, not knowing what the next few months will look like at any given time. We like to think this took bravery. Yes, we were afraid. But we chose to do it afraid. We chose to be brave. And we are brave because of our foundation in our community and our marriage, which was formed in our experience as college students at N麻豆原创.听听
We have the courage to say yes because of our foundation as believers that started in a small town in Idaho. We will be forever grateful for this.听
