SAYING “YES!” TO PARK CHRISTIAN

Why did we choose Park Christian? Our journey started six years ago when Matt and I decided to move our family out of the larger school district three of our kids were enrolled in to a smaller school in Minnesota. I was hired as a 2nd grade teacher in the new school system, and we were building our dream home. Everything seemed to be falling into place. For the first three years, things were fine, but we just felt like something was missing.

In 2019 I had an accident while coaching volleyball that sent us on a roller coaster journey of me trying to recover from a traumatic brain injury. During that time, my faith and our family’s faith grew stronger. There were many days that all I could do was pray because I was in so much pain. So that’s what I did, and I dug into the Bible more than I ever had in my life. I kept wondering why God wasn’t listening. Why did this happen to me? As I slowly started listening, I realized that for so long our family made decisions because it was what we thought was best for us instead of really truly listening to what God wanted us to do.

In the fall of 2020, Matt started a new business with Sarah West and Jason Frueh, both families of Park Christian. I really believe this was God putting these people in our path to steer us in the direction he had intended for us. Over the next several months, Sarah and Jason continually talked about how amazing Park Christian was, from the staff and overall culture to the experiences their children were having there. Matt would come home and say, “Amy, they have nothing negative to say. Maybe we should consider this for our kids.” But I was teaching at the school our kids went to, it was five minutes from our house, and we didn’t have to pay tuition. Why would we make this drastic change? Last spring I decided not to continue teaching in order to help my brain heal. This decision seemed to make PCS even a further away possibility.

Our family went on a tour of PCS, and Matt and I spent the entire time looking for even one reason to say “no”. There weren’t any! From the student-led worship, Teresa’s tour, our meeting with administration, and the expressions on all of our kids’ faces at the end of the day, every part of that day was a blessing. Matt and I had a conversation with some teachers who said they knew that God intended for them to be here even though it didn’t make sense in their lives at the time either. We left Park that day with a sense of hope, joy and peace for the first time in a really long time. We decided to trust God and prayed that if this was where He wanted us to be we trusted that He would provide.

From the day our family said “Yes!” to Park Christian, we have continued to see God’s amazing work. Our children, including our two highschool kids, made a smooth transition into the student body. They have been accepted with open arms. As a parent and an educator, I have found great joy in seeing my children have homework that continually incorporates scripture, not just in their Bible study classes.

So back to the original question: Why did we choose Park? I believe God chose Park Christian for us. This is where He has wanted us to be. The greatest gift has been that we have found a peace in life that just can’t be explained. We are so blessed to be part of this extraordinary family called Park Christian!

 The Matt & Amy Baasch Family

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