When I was the associate pastor for youth ministries at the Pioneer Memorial Church back in the early '90s, one of my responsibilities was to manage the Summer Day Camp. Each year, we employed a number of students as counselors to be good role models and have a positive influence. One of our star counselors was Julia Aitken. Her beautiful smile and gentle, caring spirit made the children feel loved, accepted, and welcomed in her presence. As I recall, she rarely had any problems with discipline, as she was able to inspire the best in children.

When Julia graduated from Andrews Academy, I wasn’t surprised to see her do so well in the elementary education program at Andrews University. Upon completing her teaching degree, Julia was hired to be the teacher and principal of the soon-to-be-reopened Ann Arbor Adventist Elementary School. She was excited about the school because the pastor, Dan Hall, and the school board had shared with her that they were reopening the school with the goal to reach children for Christ, including children from the community. They advertised everywhere and prayed earnestly for God to send the students He wanted to be there. She had no idea what God was going to accomplish through her at her first assignment.

The story began a year before she arrived. Susan Reid was an educated professional who wanted the very best for her daughter Kaitlyn, who was in the second grade in the local public school. As the year progressed, her daughter became more frustrated with her teacher and school. Things were just not right.

Because of her work schedule, Susan had also enrolled Kaitlyn in the “before and after” school program at the Little Lamb Day Care & Nursery at the Ann Arbor Seventh-day Adventist Church. Susan became acquainted with the director, Jodi Denton, and one day shared her frustration about Kaitlyn’s experience, “I don’t know what I’m going to do with my daughter next year for school.”

“Sue, you’re not going to believe this,” Jodi replied, “but the Seventh-day Adventist Church is thinking about reopening their school.”

Susan had noticed the church campus included a building that looked like a school and learned from Jodi that it had been closed for several years. If it reopened, that could be the answer for her daughter. Susan began praying that the church would decide to reopen the school. Jodi prayed too.

One May day Jodi greeted Susan with great news, “They are going to open the school, and you’re going to love the teacher.”

Susan’s husband David was a little frustrated with the prospects of an additional expense, but he didn’t say no. Susan and Kaitlyn were the first in line at the Open House. Kaitlyn liked Julia, and Susan just knew this was going to be the right move for them.

When school began, Kaitlyn fell in love with her new teacher. She began to thrive immediately under Julia’s instruction. Julia was just the kind of teacher they had been hoping for. Susan could hardly believe the growth that she saw in Kaitlyn.

Church life had been a big part of Susan’s childhood. Raised in a typical German family in Wisconsin, right across the street from a church, she attended youth league, Sunday school, and anything else the church had for her. So Susan was pleased her daughter was able to attend a school associated with a church, though she knew nothing about Seventh-day Adventists. Susan thought having Sabbath on Saturday was a little weird, but it didn’t bother her because she knew Kaitlyn was getting a great education.

An involved parent, Susan attended all the activities and was a strong supporter of the school, and especially of Julia. She found everyone associated with the school was wonderful, including the pastor. They had such a successful year that Susan was eager to enroll Kaitlyn again the following year.

One of the reasons for such success was prayer. Julia kept a prayer journal, and on its pages were prayers like, “Lord, please touch Kaitlyn, David, and Susan Reid's hearts, and work a miracle in their lives.” She wondered how God was going to answer her prayer.

Susan did a considerable amount of traveling with her job and needed David to pick Kaitlyn up after school one day. She explained that the students were preparing for a play at the church and asked, “David, would you please pick her up? You will have to go into the church and wait for her to finish.”

David wasn’t thrilled about having to go into the church. You see, he was an atheist and had been most of his life. He begrudgingly slipped into the church and sat down to watch the rest of his daughter’s practice. While the children sang and rehearsed their play, something happened—something incredible.

When Susan got home, David tried to explain it as he choked back the tears. “I don’t know what it was. I don’t know what precipitated it. I don’t even know what I was thinking, but I felt the hand of God on my shoulder.” Susan didn’t know what to think.

David contacted the pastor and learned that the church was providing an evangelistic series via satellite called Net ’99. David began to attend every night. Within a few days, David had a Bible in every room in the house, in his car, and even in his office. When he wasn’t at work, he was at the church attending the meetings or talking with the pastor or some of the members. David just absolutely threw himself into the church.

Now you might think that this would make Susan very happy that her husband had finally, after all of these years, become in touch with God. But her reaction was just the opposite. She just pulled back. Susan couldn’t believe that this man she had married—who was an atheist, who refused to go to church with her when for years she had tried, and who had made her stop wanting to go to church altogether—had now turned into this person she didn’t know.

Susan’s greatest objection was David keeping the Sabbath. She didn’t appreciate the weekly reminder that she had been wrong about church all these years. David’s love and enthusiasm for the church was not well-received.

Within months, David began to make plans with the pastor for his baptism. He wanted Susan to be present, so he tried to work with her to arrange it on a weekend when she would be home. As it turned out, Susan ended up going on another trip the week of his baptism and refused to come home early as he requested. David was baptized, and afterward some friends of theirs had a celebration in his honor. He enjoyed the support of all his friends at church but not his wife.

During the next two years, David’s life was centered in the church. He became active in Bible studies and even became an elder and the men’s ministries leader. On a consistent basis he would say, “Susan, I really wish you’d go to church with me today.” But the more he pushed, the more she pulled back.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn continued to thrive with Julia as her teacher. She became confident and comfortable with herself as a Christian and knowing Jesus. Julia applied the principle that children learn more when they are involved. So, for Bible class, she had the students actively share what they were learning with those around them. Kaitlyn loved the weekly Bible labs, and she learned more about the Bible than her mom had learned in all those years of going to church. Susan had enjoyed the sermons at her church, but not once did they ever open a Bible, reference a verse in the Bible, or explain what Jesus was trying to tell them in the Bible.

When Net 2002 came around, David urged Susan to attend. “No, I do not want to go. Please stop asking me,” Susan shot back at him. Kaitlyn had observed the conflict between her parents and suggested, “Mom, why don’t you just go this one time?”

“Okay, I’ll go one night,” Susan agreed.

Something happened to Susan—something incredible—as she sat there looking at the projection screen where the image of Jesus with His hands over the world was displayed. On the way home that night she said to David and Kaitlyn, “I don’t want to hear any laughing after I say this, but I am not going to miss one meeting—not one! So, whatever we have on our schedule, and I don’t care where I am traveling to, things are going to change, because I don’t want to miss one meeting.”

She didn’t miss a one. After the meetings, Susan started Bible studies with the pastor. One Sabbath, he said what he frequently says at the end of his sermon, “Is there anyone here who is ready to give your life to Jesus?”

Susan didn’t plan it; she didn’t know the pastor was going to ask that question, but it was time. She stood up. When the pastor saw her stand, he was ecstatic. David began to sob, and people all around her were crying tears of joy.

God answered Julia’s prayers. Kaitlyn became the school's student Bible Labs coordinator. David is now the first elder and serves on the Michigan Conference Lay Advisory Committee, and Susan is not only the church treasurer, but she is now the school board chair.

Julia married A.J. O’Carey in 2000 and moved to Janesville, Wisconsin, where she taught lower elementary at the Woodland Christian School. In 2002, Kaila May was born and Julia chose to stay at home with her. She completed her master's degree in education from Andrews University with an emphasis in reading and continued to stay at home with Kaila while she did private tutoring. In 2003, they moved to Berrien Springs where Julia served as part-time vice principal at Ruth Murdoch Elementary.

Born to missionary parents, Julia grew up in Thailand. As a child, she made weekly visits to the refugee camps for the Laotian, Vietnamese, and Cambodian people. As she witnessed their suffering first-hand, she developed a lifelong burden for the people of Southeast Asia. In 2006, she became the associate director of Adventist Southeast Asia Projects (ASAP), where she is making a difference for thousands of children in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

One of Julia's favorite projects is the literacy schools program. In the worst areas of Phnom Penh, ASAP-supported literacy teachers are changing the lives and futures of at-risk girls and illiterate women by teaching them to read and write. By sharing their faith every day and using the Bible as one of the textbooks, more than 60 percent of the students become baptized members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Instead of ending up in slave labor or as prostitutes, they are able to make a decent living for themselves with the basic skills they acquire through the literacy program.

Gary Burns is the Lake Union Conference communication director, and Susan Reid is a member of the Ann Arbor Seventh-day Adventist Church and school board chair.