Issuu

FALL 2016

A CALLING How CVC alumni are loving God and neighbor through service

IN THIS ISSUE

THE CAVALIER

CALL CASE

THE VIEW: BACK TO SCHOOL

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS

REAL FAMILIES

ALUMNI UPDATE

12 2

SERVING OTHERS: CVC Alumni giving back

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From the Superintendent’s Desk

Dear Reader, The theme for the 2016-2017 school year at CVC is Others: It’s Not About Us. You will notice, as you page through this issue of The Cavalier, a focus on that theme. We tried to recognize employees and alumni who embrace the call to serve.

Central Valley Christian School

Each year, in order to select a theme, we solicit the input from others around campus and then narrow down the suggestions until we find something that supports our mission as a Christian school and also has potential for creating really cool elementary classroom bulletin boards. This year’s theme narrowly beat out the runner-up theme of Greatness – It’s All About Me. We’ll keep that one in mind for next year.

5600 W. Tulare Avenue Visalia CA 93277 559.734.9481

Actually, greatness wouldn’t be a bad theme if it were accompanied by the right theme verse. In Matthew 20, Jesus uses a mother’s request for her sons’ special status to explain how to be great. He says, “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. Whoever wants to be first must be your slave. The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve.”

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In teaching his Philippian friends about humility and service, it is no surprise that Paul uses Christ as the example. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,” Paul says in Philippians 2. He continues, “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.” Last year was a fun year of listening to others “tell their stories” about how God has worked in their lives. I’m even more excited to watch this year’s theme play out on each campus, as teachers challenge their students to explore the mindset and attitude of Jesus Christ and then with them figure out how to be more like Him. I’m eager to watch students strive toward greatness as they serve one another. Competition is a great thing, especially when we’re competing for the Best Servant Award. Maybe we can determine who is the most humble and then, in recognition, cancel the awards ceremony. The more I think about it, the more I like this theme.

admissions@cvc.org

Advertising and Content Information: Marissa Carpenter CVCS Marketing Director mcarpenter@cvc.org 559.798.5327

Seriously, now – please pray for our teachers and students. Add to your list other employees, like Case Brouwer and Beth Koetsier, who you will read about in the following pages. Include the parents of your children’s friends. Pray that in this coming year, our entire school community will get to know Jesus better. By knowing him better, pray that we will become more like him. Pray that, like Jesus, our focus is less and less on ourselves and more and more on others.

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WHEN IN DOUBT

CALL CASE

Meet CVC's problem solver extraordinaire and animal wrangler — maintenance director Case Brouwer Written By Blake Hiemstra Middle School Principal

The problems flung at the secretary might vary. “The air-conditioning isn’t working.” “A light’s flickering in my classroom.” “There’s a loose frog flopping around my desk.” “The urinal in the middle school bathroom is plugged once again.” But the secretary’s response to any crisis — whether of the catastrophic variety or the minor inconvenience flavor — is always the same: “I’ll call Case.” The “Case” to whom all these calls get routed is none other than Case Brouwer, CVC’s maintenance director. For the better part of 17 years, he’s been the man behind the scenes at CVC, keeping everything running smoothly on an everexpanding campus. When he first punched the time clock in the fall of 1999, CVC’s geographic boundaries extended as far as the canal that presently separates the middle school from the elementary school. From that time, CVC has spread out (and up), making the job of caring for all the facilities a large and time-consuming one. To be a successful maintenance director, Case needs to know a little bit about everything and be able to fix nearly anything. His jack-of-all-trades training began early on his family’s chicken farm in Escondido, California. Years after emigrating from the Netherlands as a 2 ½-year-old, Case learned the meaning of hard work, gathering eggs and cleaning coops on a daily basis. When one brother got

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drafted to Vietnam and another left for college, Case became his dad’s number one employee. “In all our years of farming, we never hired an outside employee,” Case recalls. “The family just did all the work.” In the Brouwer household he also learned a devotion to Christ. “I had very devout parents,” he recalls. They modeled the Christian life, and he simply absorbed their work ethic and their life of faith. He’s carried that devotion with him when he moved out of the house. After high school and a move to rural Oregon, Case worked as a herdsman on a dairy farm. When something broke on the dairy, they needed to fix it themselves. “We lived so far out, that if we called for service, by the time they arrived, the cows would have burst.” Coupling a basic knowledge of how things work with a willingness to try anything, Case simply learned his trade by watching others and mimicking what craftsmen did. As a newlywed in Ramona, California, Case built his own house from the ground up. “Just by watching what other people do,” he remembers. The experience served well to prepare him for the varied challenges that he comes across at CVC. He meets the question of “How do you spend your time?” with laughter. “Problems,” he jokes. “Dealing with problems. They (teachers, principals, secretaries, students, parents, coaches, passersby, police) call me when something goes wrong, and we try to address problems as soon as possible.” Note that “soon” isn’t just limited to the hours of a school day. Often times even the wee hours of night aren’t safe from the interruption of a phone call, especially when dealing with the unpredictable nature of those noble and enlightened public servants known as teachers. A few years back a teacher suffered under the tyranny of a rampant rodent when a renegade mouse decided to take up residence in her classroom. Tired of enduring the mouse’s deposits in her room, she fought back, staging a Tom and Jerry simulation by bringing her own cat from home to spend the night in the room on a mouse-hunting mission. Despite the predatory intentions of the feline, its stealthy movements tripped the motion detector, triggering a 2:00 A.M. call from the alarm company to the Brouwer residence and prompting a bleary-eyed Case to meet the police at school to apprehend the cat burglar, er, intruder. Perhaps Case’s background in animal care has served him well to deal with the creature-related calls that often beckon him to the elementary campus to deal with all manner of frogs, snakes and stray dogs. Suzette Leigh, CVC’s elementary secretary, puts it accurately: “Case has a loud voice, but a soft heart . . . except when it comes to ground squirrels and gophers.” Indeed, to do the job well, it takes someone with a servant’s heart and an affable personality. In a job that can sometimes seem thankless, Case mixes a desire to help others with an easy-going personality prone to hearty laughter, often allowing colleagues to hear him before they see him. Len Fakkema, CVC’s elementary principal, explains why he enjoys working with Case. “I love his quirky humor and loud laugh.

One always knows when Case is around because of his laugh and loud voice. I enjoy his willingness to complete the work that is asked of him. Sometimes he'll say, ‘I don't think I can do that,’ but he'll turn around and do it anyways.” That’s an assessment concurred by Larry Baker, CVC’s superintendent. "A job like Case's is difficult because there are so many different people who consider themselves to be his boss. What I appreciate about Case is the self-discipline he exercises by not shouting 'You're not the boss of me!' Instead, he just quietly follows through on what they asked him to do. Well, maybe not quietly." The service nature of his position often goes unnoticed because it’s done long before or long after the curtain rises. Anytime an event--sporting or otherwise--happens on campus, he and his co-worker Ruben are in charge of set-up, take-down and cleanup. Thus, he probably spends more time on campus than virtually anyone, watching more games during a season than ESPN execs and making an activity-laden day such as the Fall Festival into a marathon-like endeavor. Though the time required for such a job might make one weary, it’s fulfilling for Case because of one simple truth: he loves kids. The best part of his job is interacting with the kids. Though summer’s absence of the student clientele is conducive for getting projects done, by the time August hits, he’s ready to have the campus teeming with students and start interacting with them again. “I love the kids,” he explains. “They’re fun, and they keep me young.” A school’s theme for a year is often a pretty, even pithy saying without much power unless it’s displayed in the lives of those integrally involved with the school. Case Brouwer’s unselfish servant’s heart on this campus gives credence and testimony to the truth of this year’s theme: “Others: It’s Not About Us.” 5

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THE WHEELS Written By Marissa Carpenter Director of Marketing & Enrollment

More than Point A to Point B The wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round / ‘round and ‘round / ‘round and ‘round. It’s a familiar tune. Especially if you have small children. (And you may or may not be muttering under your breath at me now because it’s stuck in your head.)

round to plan out our bus routes, make sure our buses are up to code, and verify that our bus drivers are well-trained. To be given money for this propane bus addition, Beth and CVC’s transportation department worked with the City of Visalia, who had previously helped us win a grant for discounted air particulate filters (more on that soon). The City of Visalia communicated on our behalf to CalTrans, and we were awarded grant money to purchase a new, alternativefuel bus.

You know what’s cool about buses, besides being big, yellow, fun and the subject of a nursery song? Some of them, including CVC’s next fleet addition, are fueled by propane, an alternative fuel that burns more cleanly and doesn’t require particulate filters--which run approximately $15,000 per bus. (And you thought your oil change was expensive!) No, not every school has a propane bus. And not every school has a Beth, either.

I Will Grant You Three Buses The government isn’t exactly a magic genie when it comes to grants, and buses don’t necessarily come in threes. There are strings attached. There are heaps of paperwork. There’s a point system (keep reading) and rules must be followed. There are a lot of acronyms (see the handy guide in the corner.) There’s a check-in and there are status updates that have to happen. Just know this: our transportation department saved CVC $166,000 by applying for the particulate filter grant last year. And on October 10, our newest propane bus will arrive, ready to transport 78 students!

Beth Koetsier, CVC’s director of transportation, works year-

Point A to Point B is easy enough, but the grant process is

ON THE BUS a complicated system of points. The more points you get, the higher up your organization is on the approval list. Here’s a super quick guide to the steps toward approval: 1) Find a vehicle that fits the grant specifications, estimate the cost, and find matching funds. 2) Explain to grantors the benefits of replacing an old bus with a new one, and use a local government agency (City of Visalia) to act as a liaison with the state government agency (CalTrans). 3) Get the grant! 4) Put out bids for purchasing a bus and check to verify qualification for Buy America (American Steel Buses). 5) Purchase bus and have follow-up appointments with CalTrans for project inspection. It’s no walk in the park, but even after 27 years of service, CVC’s Transportation Director Beth Koetsier still talks about driving a CVC bus with a twinkle in her eye. She recalled for me story after story of hilarious as well as poignant moments in her bus driving career (one of those even involving my brother Jonathan). From Orange Cove to Alpaugh, from Lemoore to Lemon Cove—our buses have seen their fair share of daily miles, along with the occasional long-distance field-trip; and Beth Koetsier is now driving the next generation—the young children of the kindergartners she drove when she

first began. Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, Beth reflected, “The moment those kids step onto my bus, they’re my kids. And until I bring them back to their parents, they’re my kids.” CVC is a family. What a wonderful example of service! HONK IF YOU BUSES — 2 out of 3 CVC families request bus service each year — 469 families utilized bus service last year — 10 school bus drivers — 1 mechanic — 101,462: total mileage put on by our fleet last school year — $0: fee to ride the bus — 1, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 26 – our bus numbers — $488,000 in grant money awarded to CVC’s transportation department GUIDE TO GOVERNMENT ACRONYMS (just in case you were planning on helping Beth with another bus grant) TCAG – Tulare County Association of Governments FTIP – Federal Transportation Improvement Plan CMAQ – Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality TMATR – Too Many Acronyms To Remember

“The moment those kids step onto my bus, they’re my kids. And until I bring them back to their parents, they’re my kids.” — CVC Transportation Director Beth Koetsler

Back to School

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"I am most challenged by the tendency and temptation to place myself at the center of what God has called me to do. I love how God has created and gifted me, and I also enjoy my responsibilities within the ministry here in France. Yet, I am surprised at how often I can hurt others and myself with my selfish decisions and attitude that seek to build My Kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom." — Thys De Hoop

OTHERS: IT'S NOT ABOUT US How CVC alumni are loving God and neighbor through service

An interview with Trevor Schmidt, Joost Verduyn, and Thys de Hoop by Marissa Carpenter Director of Marketing & Enrollment

I’ll admit. As marketing director, I was hesitant to take this year’s theme on. I hemmed and hawed about this story until it dawned on me the complete irony of my self-pity and inward groaning. (What? It’s not about me?) Correct. So I stepped away from my desk and began looking beyond myself. I began to find ways that our own have helped those around them, outside of our tan and blue buildings and full parking lots. Beyond our busy classrooms and jam-packed playgrounds. And I was surprised to learn the stories of alumni that were stepping out of their comfort zones to be the hands and feet of Christ and serve in many different ways—all wonderful examples of considering others better than themselves. Read on for their stories of service.

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Trevor Schmidt

Year graduated from CVC: 2011 Currently serving as: a college ministry intern with Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ) Location: Tokyo, Japan What does a “normal” day look like for you? The main focus of my job with Cru is raising up college students to be Christ-following leaders on the college campus both while I was a student at Cal State Fullerton and while I've interned with Cru in Tokyo. My official job includes using evangelism and discipleship so that students are raised up to be lifelong laborers for Christ during and after their time at college. Throughout the past year I worked on campuses across Tokyo doing ministry with the hope to see an increase of Christ-centered student gatherings. We saw that students began leading and owning the vision of the Great Commission themselves. What is the most challenging aspect of your service? Being in Tokyo, one of the obvious difficulties was the language barrier; I think, in general, one of the biggest challenges my team and I faced while we were there was making the Gospel message

relevant and personal in their own culture. It was easy to meet students at universities, but it's meeting students who were spiritually open that was difficult. What’s your favorite part, and how has your service impacted others? The best part about my time here has been seeing students make the decision to trust Christ and then immediately grow into student leaders that begin praying for their families, close friends, and classmates around them. The reality is that because only 1% of the population are followers of Christ, the students that do decide to trust Christ and become new Christians have amazing buy-in and are immediately disciples of Jesus! How can the CVC family pray for you? Please pray for me and my team of 11 other recent graduates that will be heading to Tokyo again this month (September). Pray for us to come into contact with students there that are both spiritually open and are interested in practicing English. Please also pray that during our time there we love the students, the culture, and that we trust God to be with us in our ministry! Stay in touch with Trevor: trevor.schmidt@cru.org

"The best part about my time here has been seeing students make the decision to trust Christ and then immediately grow into student leaders that begin praying for their families, close friends, and classmates around them." —Trevor Schmidt 13

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Capt. Joost Verduyn Year graduated from CVC: 2003 Currently serving as: Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Air Force Location: Norfolk, Virginia What does a “normal” day look like for you? Currently my job focuses on crisis communication. I am available to go anywhere in the world on only a few days' notice to provide communication support to military units dealing with crisis. My support involves advising the commander on how and why he should communicate, creating plans for how the units can use communication to achieve their goals, and working with U.S., international and regional media to inform the public about U.S. military operations around the world. In this job I have worked at U.S. Central Command, which is the top-level command that oversees the Middle East, and I have deployed into the Middle East to support the communication effort in the fight against ISIL. I also have conducted smaller exercises in Jordan, Israel and South Korea, where we practice integrating with those countries during a time of simulated crisis. What is the most challenging aspect of your service? The largest challenge in my position is my constant travel. In the last two years, I have been gone 364 days or just under half the time. Being away from my wife, family and friends for all these times is always hard. It also makes keeping a routine difficult, which impacts every aspect of my life, including maintaining my physical, mental and spiritual wellness.

What’s your favorite part, and how has your service impacted others? At the same time, being away doing these missions is also my favorite part. Working with people from all kinds of different countries—teaching them, learning from them—has created friendships and experiences that will last forever. It always is a pain to work on things like counter-ISIL messaging for 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, when you are deployed, but it is in those times of crisis where you learn the most about yourself that can shape who you are and your impact on those around you. How can the CVC family pray for you? Rather than pray for me, I ask that you pray for the military family as a whole. There are those going into harm's way each day—ask that they have strength and ask for their protection. Secondly, pray for their families. Families have said goodbye to their Airman, Soldier, Sailor or Marine and are working to fill the void left, possibly for as long as a year, and in some cases forever. Pray that the families of all of those in the military continue to maintain their faith and strength while their spouse, father, mother, sister or brother are serving in harm's way. In many ways, it is a service member's family who sacrifices the most — keep them in your thoughts. Stay in touch with Joost: Joostie2003@gmail.com

Year graduated from CVC: 2009 Currently serving as: Missionary with The Navigators Location: Tours, France What does a “normal” day look like for you? Not one day of my week is the same, but thankfully there is a rhythm in each week and season. It takes months, even years, to integrate into a new culture, learn the language and how best to love and serve the host culture. A “normal” week includes going to French lessons and completing assignments, meeting with a language helper, a weekly team meeting, evangelism at the university, meeting one-on-one with students and my mentor, Bible study with students, and all the preparation and planning for these activities. It’s important to note that missionaries are normal people too — I shop for groceries, cook and clean, do laundry, exercise and rest. And none of these activities happen fruitfully without abiding and relating with Father, Son and Holy Spirit throughout each day. What is the most challenging aspect of your service? I am most challenged by the tendency and temptation to place myself at the center of what God has called me to do. I love how God has created and gifted me, and I also enjoy my responsibilities within the ministry here in France. Yet, I am surprised at how often I can hurt others and myself with my selfish decisions and attitude that seek to build My Kingdom rather than God’s Kingdom. Whether it’s my friendships, responsibilities, sexuality, time or anything else, which are all good within God’s design and parameters, I don’t always love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Each day and often many times each day, I’m confronted with the choice, whether conscious or unconscious, to live and love myself or live for our King and others.

First and foremost, there is nothing like growing closer to the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. As I read the scriptures, I desire to be led by the Spirit and live and love like Jesus did. Secondly, I really enjoy sharing my life and growing with teammates and friends. We have become a family on a mission. And lastly, as I get to know Jesus more, his life and his mission from the Father, I am compelled to befriend and love people who are lost.

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Thys De Hoop

“Others: It’s Not About Us” could have very well been Jesus’ motto for his life! And as I’ve been in vocational ministry the past few years, I am more aware of the reality that Jesus has given His life for me. I can only live overseas and give my life away because of what Jesus has done for me. (1 John 4:19). The impact of my involvement with The Navigators is immeasurable. I’ve seen people be physically healed, emotionally restored, surrender their lives to Jesus, discover their role in God’s mission, and many more amazing things. I am passionate about helping others live a lifestyle of Christianity instead of a weekend religion. How can the CVC family pray for you? Pray that I may continue to learn French and adapt to the culture. Please pray that God may send laborers into the harvest fields of France (Matthew 9:35-38). Pray for unity in my team and the Church in France (John 17:21). Please pray that we may abide in Christ and that much fruit will grow in our lives and the lives of our brothers and sisters in France (John 15:5). Stay in touch with Thys: thysdhoop@gmail.com

What’s your favorite part, and how has your service impacted others? I am highly relational! I don’t want a lot of relationships, but rather depth within the friendships I have.

OF CENTRAL VALLEY CHRISTIAN

HISTORY AT CVC: I learned about CVC from my friends at Tulare Community Church and decided to enroll all the kids there. My children started attending CVC in 2008 and have attended there ever since!

year with everyone coming and going at different times so having family meals when we're all together is simply bliss!

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s e i l i m a Real F

FAVORITE THING ABOUT CVC: It's hard to just say one thing we love about CVC because there are A NORMAL DAY: so many wonderful things about the If there is ever a normal day in school. If I were to pick one, the word our household, it would mean that comes to mind is ecclesia. That the Chea kids are up on their is, the sense of community that CVC own, getting their own breakfast offers. I love that we are a community Joel & Seng Leang Hignojoz; Joel Hignojoz, Jr. (26, senior that takes on each other's burdens, and lunches together for school at Fresno Pacific University); Megan Chea (12th grade); while parents are getting ready for cares for and demonstrates love for Bradin Chea (10th grade); Nathan Chea (8th grade) and work. After school is filled with a one another, and does more than what is Caitlin Chea (6th grade) flurry of hectic schedules including needed. The administrators, faculty, staff, transporting kids back and forth to parents, and students all come alongside their practices, games, lessons, etc. us and our children to pray, celebrate Dinner is thrown somewhere in there along with homework, and fellowship with one another. That's what ecclesia is all about chores, and messing around! and what Jesus taught and this sense of ecclesia is demonstrated really well at CVC! WE LOVE: Family BBQs, meals, eating together is what we love! It's hard PRAY: to get the whole family together at a meal during the school Pray for our family that we continue to walk closer to God and to always trust in him even if we don’t always understand his ways.

The Hignojoz-C hea Hignojoz-Chea Family

HISTORY AT CVC: Evan graduated from CVCHS in 1992. Our children have been attending CVC since 2005.

WE LOVE: When we are not participating in sporting events, we enjoy skiing, boating, beaching, swimming, hunting, camping and pool-side BBQs. We enjoy traveling and are always up for an adventure!

A NORMAL DAY: Is there a normal day in a household with 4 active children?! Evan works in agricultural crop consulting, FAVORITE THING ABOUT and I have the privilege/ CVC: challenge of staying home We praise God for the and raising our 4 kids while community of Christian friends managing the books for the and family that we have the family business. Every day privilege of knowing and raising Evan & Brooksley Jones; Hayden (Junior); Gracie begins at the breakfast bar our children with. We give Him (Sophomore); Parker (7th Grade) and Christian (3rd Grade) before school, and Evan joins the glory for the abundance that us as often as he can. I often He has given our family. head to the gym to start the day and then travel between CVC’s three campuses during PRAY: the school year, doing library or playground duty and serving Please pray for the continued physical and spiritual hot lunch; I’ve also served as "room mom" in the classrooms development of our children in these critical years. We also ask in addition to attending various Bible studies and volunteer that we as parents be given wisdom, guidance and patience in activities over the years. the decisions we make for our family.

The Jones Family

Alumni Update

Bailey Koster '12 graduated from Calvin College in May 2016 with a Master's Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. She will be moving back to California to work for Visalia Unified School District.

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Elisa Van Beek ‘09 married Peter de Jong ‘10 on May 20, 2016 in Tulare. They currently live in Hanford where Peter manages Hollandia Farms, and Elisa works at De Jonge Financial in Visalia.

3 Frank Leyendekker ‘06 and wife Lauren welcomed Reiley Anamarie on April 24, 2016. They currently reside in Frisco, Texas, and Frank works as the Assistant VP at Penny-Mac Loan Services in Dallas. 4

Lance Van Grouw ‘11 graduated Cum Laude in June 2016 from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business.

Mark Weststeyn ‘09 graduated in May from Northern Arizona University with his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. He and his wife Emily are residing in Flagstaff, Arizona. They both work at Flagstaff Medical Center where Mark is a physical therapist and Emily is a PICU nurse.

5600 W. Tulare Ave. | Visalia, CA 93277