Riverview Academy Fall Festival
By Mariann Beddoe
The annual Fall Festival at Riverview Christian Academy (RCA) in Reno, Nevada, on October 22 once again exceeded everyone’s expectations. God truly blessed us with a wonderful day! The festival has been an annual event organized by Home and School leader Tracy Pieters for over 15 years, and it is always highly anticipated by school, church, and community. This year went far beyond everyone’s expectations, with record-breaking attendance, participation, volunteers, and funds raised for the school.
The students at RCA are always excited at Fall Festival time and enjoy being part of the preparations. Tracy Pieters and the RCA staff devise ways for every student to participate in the process. Most of the classes create art pieces to sell at the event, and many of the students assist in the set-up, decorating, and take-down. The students strive to be helpful, and they love being involved.
The festival was alive with many activities this year for the young and the young at heart. There were a variety of carnival games with delightful prizes, a jail run by Sheriff Fernando Lista, face painting, a hayride, and an outrageously giant jump house. Many gifts came from the community, contributing to even greater success. Donations arrived to sponsor the bounce house, prizes for the carnival games, items for the popular silent auction, and many freshly made baked goods for the much-loved bakery booth.
The Sparks church supplied the drinks with the cutest Mason jar cups, and the Riverview church purchased the supplies for the delicious food options for sale, which were prepared by Chef Vernon Marley and his crew. They offered homemade pizza, a salad bar, haystacks, fresh broccoli cheddar soup, and quesadillas. If that wasn’t enough, there was freshly popped popcorn, and the Nevada Utah-Conference donated and ran a charming ice cream cart selling frozen Mexican treats called “paletas” that were extremely popular.
All in all, it was a wonderful, blessed event providing several hours of good clean fun for all who attended. The staff at RCA is extremely thankful for all those who worked hard and contributed bountifully to make this event such a blessing. Praise God for those who believe in and support Christian education in Reno, Nevada!
Thanksgiving as the Nevada-Utah Conference Reaches Membership of 11, 000
By Michelle Ward
The Nevada-Utah Conference (NUC) has quite a history, having been officially a part of the California Conference (1883-1902); Northern California-Nevada Conference (1911-1913); Nevada Mission (1913-1920); Nevada Conference (1920-1930); Utah Conference (1902-1915); Utah Mission (1919-1929); Inter-Mountain Conference (1916-1931); and, finally, the Nevada-Utah Conference (1931-present).
Even prior to the 1883 membership in the California Conference, the work in both Nevada and Utah was spreading quickly. In 1920, Utah had a membership of about 183, while the California-Nevada Conference had about 270. At the time of the formation of the Nevada-Utah Conference, combined membership was 438. By 1958 that number had risen to 1,419.
Today, in the NUC territory of over 218,000 square miles—encompassing the states of Nevada and Utah, along with several counties in Eastern California and a small section in Arizona—the work has spread to the point where membership has recently topped 11,000 in 49 churches, six companies, and eight groups. This is a milestone that has been reached due to the blessing of God, through the diverse efforts of both the lay members and pastors of the conference.
Although this number is a testimony to the work done in the past, it is a small percentage of the approximately 6.7 million souls living in this territory. Please pray for the wisdom and resources to continue the work for the miraculous conversion to Christ of the unreached within the boundaries of the Nevada-Utah Conference, the Pacific Union, and the world.
