MOSES LAKE — The event center at Moses Lake Christian Academy was packed to the gills with 200 attendees plus volunteers Saturday night, as the school held its annual fundraiser banquet and auction.

“We actually sold exactly 200 seats, said Janeil Koethke, the auction committee chairman. “That's as many as we can fit in, so we had to cut it off. We had some volunteers who didn't have a seat.”

The auction raised a little less than $130,000, Koethke said, a dramatic increase over last year’s auction, which she estimated brought in around $80,000.

“We had some things go really high, others went a little lower than expected,” Koethke said.

The money came from a silent auction, a live auction, a dessert dash and a “fund-an-item” appeal for donations to pay for playground equipment and surfacing.

“Right now our playground equipment, I believe it's nearing around 10 years old,” Koethke said. “And so it's needing updating and resurfacing. Under the playground is definitely needing an upgrade. After being watered by sprinklers and everything, it starts to wear and get thin.”

Dinner featured prime rib and salmon, catered by Michael’s on the Lake. The junior and senior classes, about 20 students combined, served as waitstaff. The dessert frenzy and live auction were conducted by Portland-area auctioneer Patrick Siver. Chuck Yarbro Jr., who usually donates his time for the auction, was unable to be there because of a family commitment, Koethke said.

Attendees milled around for about an hour and a half at the beginning of the event, socializing and bidding on silent auction items that included a pellet grill, a smoker, a snow cone machine and a flight over the Columbia Basin, among other things. Dinner was served following an opening prayer by MLCA teacher Tyler Tadema.

Simone Hampton, the elementary secretary, addressed the crowd during dinner. Hampton’s daughter is an MLCA alumna and her son is currently a freshman at the school, and her voice broke with emotion as she spoke about the effect MLCA had had on her and her family.

“When I came to MLCA, when I sent my kids here, I was not living for Jesus. It was something I knew and had been taught, and I wanted it for my kids. But it wasn't a choice I was making for myself … Over the years (my daughter) would come home and tell me Bible stories. She’d say, ‘Mommy, Jesus loves you.’ ‘Mommy, we should go to church.’ And then following that my son started to come home saying some of the same things. One day, a few weeks before Easter, I picked up my kids from school and they were talking about Jesus dying on the cross and his resurrection. And (my son) said to me, ‘Why would they do that?’ And I said, ‘What?’ And he said why would they kill Jesus?’ His eyes were full of tears and his chin was wobbling … It's something I'll never forget. I put my kids here because I want the best for them. I wanted them to know Jesus and I wanted to save them, but they were saving me.”

Michael Rainis, who chairs the school’s long-range planning committee, gave attendees a rundown of what the money would go for.

“These are just some of the things that all of your generous donations tonight will actually help us achieve,” Rainis said. “Advancing a Christian education, increasing teacher and staff pay, adding administrative help (and) really investing in curriculum materials to help increase excellence in our school.”

“We try to keep our tuition as low as possible,” Koethke said. “You know, the state will tell you how much it costs to educate each student. Well, nobody pays that for our school, because we try to keep tuition as low as possible. But that means we have to make up those funds.”

In her remarks, Hampton cited the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5.

“You are the light of the world,” she quoted. “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven.”

“I pray that our light shines so bright that everyone wants to know why,” she added.

Joel Martin can be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.