‘Actual blessing;’ Detroit Lakes school finally opens after wind gust blew it down – InForum

DETROIT LAKES – It’s not often you hear a natural disaster was a blessing.

However, that’s the case at the Faith Christian School in Detroit Lakes.

It’s actually growing because of it.

The school has 52 students.

“Truly a dream come true,” said middle school teacher Anita Thorson.

She has been a teacher at the school for 17 of the 25 years it’s been in existence. Most of those years the classrooms were in portable trailers.

“Remember back in the day when had to gather around a space heater just to stay warm,” Thorson recalled.

Last year the school was in the process of building a brand new school which is attached to Faith Lutheran Church, when a huge wind gust destroyed the frame of the new school days after it had been put up.

“One guy said well maybe God doesn’t want you to build this school, and I said wait and see what God will do,” said Pastor Paul Larson.

Going into the project the school was expecting to pay between half a million and a million dollars for the new school.

In the end they didn’t even pay a penny.

“Everything has been donated, help has been donated, material was donated by many people, cash came in from all over the country, we have just been blessed,” said Pastor Larson.

Bigger classrooms with more space.

“You can see things better, like the teacher and your work, and the screen, and since the room is more enclosed it’s easier to hear,” said Eva Stensgard, a student at the school.

A school bigger and better then initially drawn up.

“For their learning I can already tell that it’s been a success for them to be able to have their own space, and a place to be able to do their work and to learn,” explained Thorson.

A small Christian school turning a disaster into a true blessing.

“I knew that God had a plan through all of it, and now I can see because of it the community was so much more involved then they may have been otherwise and that’s been a real blessing,” said Thorson.

“Wait and see what God will do and this is what God has done, God should get the glory for this,” said Pastor Larson.