Graduating On Time

I’m not sure how many educators get a chance to see students grow up in their school from kindergarten up to 12th grade. However, almost every graduating class from The Potter’s House high school has a few students who have attended The Potter’s House since they first learned their ABCs, and this year is no exception.

This year Joel DeJong is one such student, whose hand I shook every school day for 9 years straight, and who is now graduating from our high school. We share some humorous memories together, and he recently gave a compelling speech at our New Friends Banquet with the following recollection.

It has been a great 13 years at The Potter’s House. I am not knowledgeable of any other school where you can garner the interest of the School Superintendent and enjoy a laugh with him. For example, a few weeks ago, while performing a play for my AP English class in the school library, I had to run around the room as fast as I could. And who happened to be in my way but Mr. Booy. I had to decide between slowing down and missing my cue, or running over the superintendent. I chose the latter. When I approached him apologetically about it later, his response was to say, “It’s okay. I think I’ll still let you graduate on time.” It would have been quite embarrassing had I not gotten to know him so well over the last 13 years.

Joel DeJong is indeed graduating with my blessing, to go forth and pursue his talents in communications and theater.

Some Things Never Change

This week, a parent from The Potter’s House came into my office with a folded sheet of paper he had found in one of his mother’s boxes. She had recently passed away, and they were sifting through her belongings.

In one of her boxes, he found a newsletter she had received from Southwestern Christian School on June 8, 1961.

This school newsletter covered some topics that are still very relevant today.

Apparently the issue of missing library books has been constant over the last century.  “Although we’ve tried to keep accurate record, many library books and textbooks have disappeared. They may have been taken home without permission or misplaced and forgotten at home. We come into your home with this kind of request for your help.” 

Lost and found pile-ups are nothing new either. “Several items of children’s clothing have disappeared. We would like to help you. We have a large assortment, but cannot identify the owners. Ask the children, please, to try to find their lost articles and claim them.” 

A surprising point of continuity between school matters in 1961 and 2013 is tuition. “The minimum tuition was increased 50 cents per week per child.” In 1961 the tuition per child was $237.50 ($6.25 per week). For three children or more, it was $399 ($10.50 per week). We are happy to report that this year at The Potter’s House, we’ve also only had to increase our tuition by about 50 cents per week per child.

And you know what? One thing we can be proud of is that sixty-two years later, thanks to the generosity of thousands of people, The Potter’s House tuition, for those who are most needy, is not much higher than that – $550 for three or four children.

Similar to Southwest Christian School sixty-two years ago, we are still missing numerous library books and have an ever burgeoning lost and found. We can also rejoice that, thanks to the grace of God, we’re still able to offer affordable Christ-centered education to economically challenged families.

2nd Generation Visionaries

“I can’t believe there was ever a time when gray tar-based shingles were ever a popular choice of siding!”

For nearly thirty-eight years, I’ve looked out my back window facing Naylor Street at one of the most run-down houses in Roosevelt Park. This house was built when gray tar-based shingles were a popular choice of siding. The house has been inhabited through the decades by a never-ending list of short-term renters who have often behaved in ways reflective of the home’s appearance.

I was very pleased this fall to see a large dumpster parked next to the house. This ever dilapidating gray shingled abode was finally getting overhauled and refurbished. I was even more pleased when I found out it was one of our former students, Jonathan Van Keulen (Potter’s House graduate of 2002), and his wife who were renovating the house.

“​”For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11″ (www.3-11.org)

The inspiring part of this change in the neighborhood is the purpose for which Jonathan and Lauren plan to use this duplex. They purchased this home through the urging of our board president Henry Bouma, who lives across the street. Within a few months, Jonathan and Lauren will relocate to this home and offer the upstairs of the duplex as a transitional safe haven for at-risk youth. They’ve formed an official organization for this project, and called it Three Eleven, based on the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 3:11. They intend to carry this vision out in other houses in Grand Rapids.

This is the kind of impact we dreamed our students would one day have when we founded The Potter’s House thirty-two years ago. Jonathan has an unquenchable heart for God and lives a life that is Christ-centered, with diverse relationships.

What was once a dream is now a commitment to inspire current students to live a life like Jonathan has chosen: one that is not based on comfort, but service and sacrifice.

Longevity – 16 Years

Shawn Beene surprised me the other day when he dropped a letter on my desk that I had written to him sixteen years ago.

(I’ve included a picture of this letter below)

It was two days after our New Friends banquet in 1996. We had a phenomenal 8th grade student speak to the audience, and I was so impressed with the passion he shared that I wrote him a three paragraph letter. In this letter, I thanked him for representing the mission of The Potter’s House so well in front of approximately 500 people at the Amway Grand Plaza Ballroom. I told Shawn that God had great plans for his life, and I looked forward to the day he’d return and speak on behalf of The Potter’s House again.

Sixteen years later, Shawn walked into my office and handed this letter back to me. It wasn’t a very long walk, as his office is about 50 feet away from mine, where he now works in our Development Department. He helps raise tuition assistance for The Potter’s House by sharing his passion for this school with others.

It is beautiful to see longevity play out in The Potter’s House. Having been a Principal and now Superintendent here for more than 30 years, I have seen many seeds get planted and then  blossom into flourishing plants. It is such a joy to see our students develop positive visions, especially visions that involve our mission: to serve God and society to their fullest potential. It’s even more joyous when alumni choose to cultivate their passions in the garden where they were first planted. Longevity is a beautiful thing to witness.

The original letter I sent to Shawn

Rocket Scientists

There’s the common phrase “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out”. This insinuates that rocket scientists are pretty intelligent and rare people. We at The Potter’s House are very proud to announce the accomplishments of Kurt Swieringa, one of our alumni.

Kurt has just taken a full time research position with NASA at the Langley Air Force Base. Prior to his current job, he graduated from University of Michigan with a dual Bachelor’s in Engineering Physics and Aerospace Engineering. NASA was so impressed with his work that they decided to give him a full ride scholarship to get a Master’s in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. He’s currently finishing his Master’s, and also helping to redesign the Air Traffic Control system for the United States.

Kurt’s father informs us that a highlight of his undergrad work was to experience zero gravity in NASA’s micro gravity air craft. His undergrad research was with Nano Fet technology, for which he was chosen to represent University of Michigan in this weightless excursion. Check out the cool photos below!

Kurt experiencing zero gravity with NASA

I’ll end with a quote from Kurt’s father, who was generous enough to share this story about his son with us. “I do think this is a direct result of the encouragement that the students at the Potter’s House receive from the teaching staff. Just look at what your kids are doing now. And from a parent, thank you, thank you, thank you and one more thank you for all you do for these future Doctors, Engineers, Pastors, Nurses etc.”

CONGRATULATIONS KURT!

Interview with “West Michigan Christian News”

I was recently interviewed by West Michigan Christian News. These interviews gave me a chance to share more about why the Potter’s House exists, and our motivation to continue being a place of inclusion, welcome and Christian love.

I never get tired of sharing with people how this school started. Here is one of the interviews where I talk about how I received my calling to serve the Potter’s House.

Shaking Hands

It’s easy to miss things when you are shaking hands. About five years ago, I missed the obvious. Each morning, I shook hands with three girls who were from a refugee camp. Neither they nor their parents spoke a word of English, and there were only two people in all of town who could translate for them. The girls were in kindergarten, second, and sixth grade.

Each day from September to February I shook their hands. The sixth grader went home mid-February with a stomachache, and the next morning, one of the teachers told me that she gave birth to a baby girl. I certainly missed that. I looked at the teacher and said, “Can anything else happen in this place that hasn’t already happened?”

Those were some important moments for Potter’s House middle school. The next morning we needed to tell the students, with the help of Pregnancy Resource Center, about a lot of things that we didn’t plan on talking about. We talked about how someone could be in the school and be pregnant without the teachers knowing, without her parents knowing, and possibly, without even she knowing.

How did this happen? It turned out her job in the refugee camp was to get wood at the woodpile for the family fire, and at the woodpile, she was raped. There were other complications. Her mother, who she lived with, had just had a baby three months before. Now there were two babies in the house—one expected, one unexpected, but both loved.

It was amazing the way the family came around this girl, but also the way the middle school loved her and supported her. And ten weeks later, she was back half days in school.

I missed something while shaking hands again this morning. The younger sisters of this young mother are still in our elementary. They came in holding the hands of two young preschoolers. I asked what their names were. While I was asking their names, it finally dawned on me who these two preschoolers were. One was the uncle; one was the niece. It seems like yesterday when they were born, but here they are in our preschool.

You could miss a lot of things while shaking hands in the morning. The one thing that you’re reminded of many times over with the stories of the students and how they come to The Potter’s House is the grace of God. He has ever-present power to redeem from even the worst of circumstances and turn it to His glory and turn it to redemption in our lives. That process is in the beginning stages in the lives of this family, but we rejoice at His work of grace. We are committed to walking alongside them on this journey.