Cover Story
by Rachel Martindale
"I knew that if this is where the Lord wanted me, He could provide the money. And I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but I knew that He would do it."
--Deidre Cohen
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Multnomah Students Strive to Graduate Debt-Free
Seniors and Head RAs Anne Nightingale and Deidre Cohen talk in the Solid Rock Cafe. Cohen, a youth ministry major, wants to be a full-time foster parent after she graduates. She adopted the dream several years ago and was further inspired by inner-city ministry and classes at MBC. --Rachel Martindale, photo
"I didn't feel good about it anymore, I guess," she said.
The Lord told her, "Deidre, if you trust me, I'll stretch your faith."
So she trusted. "I knew that if this is where the Lord wanted me, He could provide the money. And I knew that it wouldn't be easy, but I knew that He would do it," she said.
From paychecks larger than expected to a surprise $500 gift, Cohen received "amazing blessings."
She said sometimes people will tell her someone gave them money to give to her. Or she'll get a notice from the business office that money has been donated to pay for a portion of her tuition. "Just amazing," Cohen said. "Just miracles."
Cohen's mother, Devona Tafalla, works as the administrator at Cohen's home church. Mrs. Tafalla called Cohen one day last fall with news: "Somebody's giving you $1,000 for your school."
"Last Sunday, six days ago, my church didn't really know of my need," Cohen said, "but I walked out of the church with over $400 in my hand. They were just like, 'We need to bless you today.' You know, the Lord just does things like that."
Cohen works at the Spaghetti Factory and as a head resident assistant in MBC's Memorial dorm. Last year, she chose not to work so she could chair Multnomah Community Outreach and lead a ministry team to Compton, Calif., near Los Angeles.
Her parents have supported her decision, she said.
"The hardest thing for them, I think, is to see their child in need," Cohen said. "Like, they wish that they had the money to give to me and to, you know, spoil me. But they don't, and it's OK."
Mrs. Tafalla began saving for her daughter's college when Cohen was 3 years old. However, circumstances foiled her efforts. "I've always wanted to help her," Mrs. Tafalla said.
Mrs. Tafalla remembers telling the Lord, "OK, you're going to have to show up [when it's time for college]. It's been a blessing to me to see how the Lord has provided."
Cohen's boyfriend, Cameron Potter, said he's never met someone who gets more money for "doing nothing." He said, "It's definitely not the way the Lord has chosen to work with me."
Potter drew loans his freshman year but said he's always felt uneasy about it. So, during his second semester, he stopped borrowing. Potter said having no loans motivated him to work hard enough to bypass loans. Every year, he has had to have a job.
In the spring of 2004, Potter had to move off campus. Funds were low, even with his parents' help, and Potter couldn't work any more hours.
In his mailbox, he found a scholarship notice for $1,500. He wasn't eligible for that particular scholarship.
Puzzled, he went to the business office, where he was directed to Paul Griffin, MBC's senior vice president, of finance and advancement.
Mr. Griffin told Potter that no one at MBC was eligible for that scholarship, so Mr. Griffin chose a recipient. He had prayed, and Potter's name had come up. Potter didn't know Mr. Griffin even knew his name.
"It was so perfect," Potter said. He cited Psalm 37:25: "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread."
Potter and Cohen said they don't think loans are wrong. "I think that is the way God provides for some people," Potter said.
"The Lord doesn't always choose to provide in the way he has for me," Cohen said. "I do think sometimes we don't trust enough. 'We have not because we ask not.'"
Cohen likened tests of faith to exercise: "You have to tear the muscle, and it gets stronger. The Lord shreds our trust, and then he comes through so our trust is stronger. He, like, takes us to our limit. It's not easy."
Four times last year, she met with Mr. Griffin to discuss how to pay for school and to set up a contract to show the business office she was doing what she could. She told Mr. Griffin, "I don't have any money, like, I'm sorry. I want to be here."
Cohen said, "It was hard. I remember at times crying out to the Lord, and he really met me."
One such time was near Thanksgiving 2004. Cohen was living off-campus to save money. She said about that time, "I needed money for my car insurance or something, and I was like, 'Lord, what is the deal? How are you going to do this?' I'm here all on my own, trying to pay for school, and somebody was telling me that my parents were sinning by not paying for my school, or at least not helping."
Cohen said she thought about reading John 9. She turned to the passage where Jesus heals a blind man. The disciples ask Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "And he was like, 'Neither. It was so that My glory may be displayed,'" she said.
Cohen said it was like the Lord told her, "Nobody sinned, Deidre. I've chosen you for this life so that people can see my glory."
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