On Wednesday October 28, JECHS was honored to have Gianna Jessen speak to the student body at a special assembly made possible through the prayers of the Wednesday morning parent prayer group and the generosity of several parents, alumni families and other individuals.

Gianna is a Christian. Her life was given to her by the grace of God. She shouldn’t be walking, but more miraculous still; she should not even be alive. Gianna’s biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester. Many Americans don’t realize it is legal to have an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles County abortion clinic. Her medical records state, “born during saline abortion”…this is what caused her Cerebral Palsy.  Gianna weighed a mere 2 lbs at birth and the doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, sit up, crawl or walk. She began to walk by the age of three years old with the help of leg braces and a walker.

Gianna Jessen does not quit. Giving up is not an option to her. Gianna has what she refers to as the “gift” of Cerebral Palsy.  Gianna doesn’t believe that her Cerebral Palsy takes away her life, but, rather, enriches it. . . she walks with a slight limp today and runs marathons. On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon after running just over 7 hours!  On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. She is now determined to run marathons all over the place, because she was never supposed to even walk!

Gianna understands the plight of orphans, being one herself. She was placed into the foster care system early on in life, eventually being taken into the loving home of a woman named Penny. Penny has been a mother to 56 foster children in her life. Gianna was later adopted by Penny’s daughter, making Penny Gianna’s grandmother. According to Gianna, Penny saved her life.

Gianna speaks all over the world and has recently been in a commercial to share the importance of the Born Alive Protection Act and on Fox News during last years election. 

She shared many things with our students and many parents who joined that day for the assembly. Some highlights include:

To young people: “God forgives, but you life is not all about you…the decisions that you make affect many others. Every day I bear the mark of someone else’s decision. I am not a victim. I didn’t sign up for an easy life but an excellent life. If you are going to do anything in life, you have to stop caring what others think of you in a New York minute.”  

To the boys – “You are not meant to be weasels or punks. You were meant to be warriors. You are made for greatness. This culture puts men and boys down every day; tries to turn them into being like women. You are to stand up for women and children, and not pay for an abortion.” 

To the girls- “If you had a rotten relationship with your dad, you do not need to be dating right now. You need to let Jesus heal you. You need to heal. When your heart is whole you will choose a man who is not a weasel. You’re meant to be fought for. 

The student responses were enthusiastic and positive.  She made them both laugh and cry as she shared her story and challenged them to live a purposeful life for the Lord.  What an incredible opportunity they had to hear this dynamic woman and her miraculous testimony. Thanks to everyone who made it happen.

You could sense the excitement in the air when you walked on campus during mid October.  Something was different from the everyday…it was the school’s annual Powder Puff Spirit Week.  JECHS has been holding this traditional event every year since the school’s inception and it has always been a favorite of both students and staff alike.

The week consists of class competitions, dress up days, special lunches and dodgeball competitions culminating on Friday with a pep rally and the traditional powder puff football game with he freshman and juniors taking on the sophomore an seniors in an all girl football game.

The rally was very exciting with games involving flowers, pyramids, totem poles, kings in chairs and centipedes. The guys who were cheerleaders representing their classes gave an amusing yet talented performance and there was recognition of dress up day winners from the week as well as fall sports team athletes. 

The powder puff game followed and was as fun to watch as it was to participate in. The girls take this game very seriously as they battle out each year for a victory! The sophomore/senior team prevailed over the freshmen/juniors in a tough competition!

“My favorite part of Spirit Week was the shorter classes, and the rally of course, especially the guy cheerleaders. powder-puff was my favorite dress up day because we got to go all out, showing our class colors!” – Junior, Jamie Cabral 

“Student body participation in Spirit Week was excellent this year. I only saw two people wearing uniforms all week. My favorite part of the week was dressing up every day, because it’s fun to get creative!” – Senior, Amie Shroyer 

“I had the most fun with Powder Puff color day, because I got to wear a cape and the juniors went all out with glitter!” – Junior, Emily Buhrkuhl 

“My favorite part of the week was class unity. The students lifted up and promoted each other. I enjoyed the camaraderie.” – Computer 1 & 2 teacher, Frank Ruiz 

“It’s hard to pick a favorite part of Spirit Week because I love it all: fun clothes, no lunches from home, dodge ball at lunch, etc. I love how the students worked together so creatively on “Peas in a Pod” (dress alike with a buddy) day I guess my favorite was the rally. I love student recognition and the guy cheerleaders were great entertainment.” – Vice Principal, Dottie Henry 

On Saturday night the week came to a close with a social event called the BAB held out at the Voohrees ranch in Galt. This western themed party was attended by seventy percent of the student body! Besides a delicious dinner of tri tip sandwiches, chips, apples and pumpkin pie there was a variety of activities to participate in – a mechanical bull to ride, a seed spitting contest, lassos, milk Bottle throw, an egg toss and a bon fire and s’mores.

Jon Hathorn, STUCO adviser commented,  “The reason I came to Jim Elliot Christian High School is because I want to see students have the chance to lead. BAB and other school events are wonderful learning opportunities for our students to become leaders.  I love having students learn and develop their God given gifts and use them for the His glory and for the enjoyment of others.”

JECHS  Student Council is incredibly creative and truly know how to make things fun! Add to that a school full of students who are enthusiastic and spirited and who share close relationships with one another and their teachers and you can clearly see the Jim Elliot difference. 

The memories they make and the friendships developed at Jm Elliot will last a lifetime!

Enjoy this slide show of the weeks events!

Once again we are pleased to announce the outstanding success of many of our JECHS alumni, who after graduating from our high school, have gone on to achieve academic excellence in college and graduate school.  Congratulations to the following:

Stephanie Porter (‘04) graduated this past Spring from the University of Alabama Huntsville with a Bachelors of
Science in Biology and minors in Chemistry and Math.

Daniel Howen (‘05) earned his  Bachelor of Arts in Cinema and Media Arts from Biola.  He graduated Magna Cum Laude and will be entering graduate school at UC Irvine in the fall for a teacher’s credential.

Kelly Martens (‘05) received her Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies from Fresno State University.  Kelly graduated Phi Kappa Phi signifying that she had a 3.5 or above for all 4 years.  She is going on for her Masters in Elementary School Education in the Fall of 09 at the University of the Pacific. 

Emily Levy (‘05) graduated magna cum laude with her BA in psychology from Fresno State University. She is currently in the special education credential program where she will complete her Masters Degree at FSU.

Melissa Knopp ( ’02 ) graduated from California State University, Fresno with a Bachelors in Mass Communication and Journalism-Print emphasis. She was the Copy Editor and Senior Writer, this last spring, for the university’s newspaper, The Collegian.  She has been hired as the Education Reporter for The Hanford Sentinel. It is my first full-time job and I am enjoying being in my field of study, especially so soon after graduation and in our current economical state. She shares – “I love what I am doing and God has been so faithful to me! He is a truly amazing Father and I am very blessed!”

Ashley Woolstrum (‘05) graduated from Fresno State University in May where she earned Phi Kappa Phi status.  She will continue my education in the fall,  attending Stanislaus State where she will be working toward a teaching credential. She plans to teach in an elementary school. Ashley also obtained a Cosmetology license in 2005

Tiffany Kammerer Woolstrum (‘04) graduated from Sacramento State with a Bachelors degree in Health Administration In December of 2008. She received an Associated of Science degree from Delta College in Radiologic Technology. She has been working at Lodi Memorial Hospital in the Radiology department since 2006. She is a Special Procedures Technologist.

Jon Davis (‘03) earned his MBA from the School of Business at Azusa Pacific University this spring with a 3.82 GPA and was named the Outstanding Graduate for the Class of 2009.

 Sarah Buhrgraduated with a Bachelor’s Degree Magna Cum Laude from East Tennessee State University, 2nd in her class in December 2007.  She competed Division 1 volleyball on a full ride while there, was on the Atlantic Sun All-Conference Academic Team 2 consecutive years, Team Academic MVP 2 years and ESPN the Magazine regional All-Academic Team.    She is currently teaching Spanish and one class of PE full time at Saint Mary’s High School as well as being the Junior High Director at Quail Lakes Baptist Church.

This past week Jim Elliot was honored to have a New York Times best sellling author, Robert Dugoni come and speak to our English & journalism students about his life, writing and the importance of following your dreams.

You can read about this exciting and educational opportunity afforded our students here in the Lodi News Sentinal article.

When two JECHS alumni decide to marry each other it becomes a mini Jim Elliot reunion! That is what happened on Saturday, June 13 when two members of the Class of 2005 were wed in Elk Grove – bringing together staff, students, families and of course many alumni.

Kyle Hess and Kelly Martens exchanged vows in front of a few hundred friends and family members during a beautiful outside ceremony. Afterwards there was a festive reception with lots of delicious food and great fellowship while celebrating this new couple. 

Kyle has three siblings who attended Jim Elliot – Keith ‘00, Danielle ‘02 and Danae.  His parents Dan & Karen Hess were one of the original families who participated in the founding of Jim Elliot back in 1997.  They moved to Oregon in 2005 and have been greatly missed by the Jim Elliot family.

The Marten’s are a important part of Jim Elliot as Mrs Kathi Martens is our beloved secretary and office manager. Her warm smile greets each an everyone who come into the JECHS office each day. She and her husband Ron have been passionate supporters of this school for many years and we appreciate their time and commitment to this ministry.

Kyle and Kelly will be residing in Linden, CA. Kyle is employed by the University of the Pacific where Kelly will be attending in the fall to receive her Masters Degree in elemenraty education.

Congratulations Kyle & Kelly!

The weather was delightful!

The food was delicious!

The fellowship was divine!

The first (annual?) Jim Elliot Christian High School Picnic Extravaganza and Alumni reunion was a hit! Over a hundred of the JECHS family & friends turned out for this special event including – students, our current families, alumni & their families, staff & board members as well as our future students & families.  We all enjoyed the “picture perfect” day of relaxation, games, conversation, yummy food and renewing old friendships while making new ones!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this day a success.  Enjoy the slide show of this fun event! (if you are reading via email you ned to go to the blog site to see the slide show – www.jechs.wordpress.com  – while you are there  take the time to subscribe to our blog  – you’ll be blessed with all the information, inspiration stories & photos of  the happenings at JECHS)

We would love to hear your comments about this event as well as your input as to if we should make this an annual June event at Jim Elliot?? Do share under the comments or directly to our Development Director at blambdin@jechs.com.

Congratulations to the Class of 2009 who received their diplomas at the graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 6 in the Temple Baptist Worship Center.

There is just something very special about a Jim Elliot Christian High School graduation. It is unique. It is inspiring. It is dignified. It is moving. It is memorable. It is God honoring.  Year after year we hear friends and family exclaiming what a wonderful experience the Jim Elliot graduation ceremony was for them personally.   

A few of our graduation memorable moments – 

• The graduating seniors and staff participating together in a special time of communion before the ceremony
• Our top ranking seniors speaking articulately with amazing stories, insight and motivation
• Honoring our wonderful committed staff  – with special awards going to those who have completed benchmark years
• Presentation of the Jim Elliot Award – the highest honor for a graduating senior
• Beautiful moving musical selections from our talented students
• Photos of each senior from their childhood through senior year being shown on the large screen as they receive their diploma – always bringing laughter, tears and cheers in the warm loving atmosphere that epitomizes the Jim Elliot family
• The Lord being glorified and honored throughout the entire event – in every prayer, speech, comment and presentation

This slide presentation captures a portion of the graduation experience.

Please leave your comments or thoughts about the JECHS graduation and congratulations to the graduates!

Jim Elliot students continue to shine and be honored throughout the community.

Two more of our seniors were recently chosen as Teen of the Month and their accomplishments were highlighted in the Lodi News Sentinel. (Travis Dodd was chosen last fall – you can read his accolades here)

Here are the news articles for Lizzie Oliver – March Teen of the Month and Elizabeth Theisen – April Teen of the Month as they appeared in the Lodi paper.

Lizzie Oliver, a senior at Jim Elliot Christian High School, has been selected as Teen of the Month for March by the Lodi Youth Commission.

Oliver has a 3.98 grade-point average and is on the varsity volleyball and basketball teams. She serves as president of the California Scholarship Federation, publicist for the Interact Club and student body secretary for the student council. She is participating in the spring musical and was nominated for the homecoming court. She is also part of the servant leaders at Bethel Open Bible Church in the Youth Leadership Program.

She enjoys reading, especially historical fiction; spending time with friends and family; and going on short-term missions with her youth group to San Francisco and Mexico.

Oliver lives with her mother, Alyssa, father, Randal, older sister, Lauren, and younger sister, Sami. She feels her parents have always supported all of her dreams and have given her the tools for success. She considers her sisters her friends, who she has been able to joke and laugh with.

Following graduation, she plans on attending Pepperdine University, where she will major in political science. She will then pursue her master’s degree in public policy and a law degree in a joint degree program, splitting her time between Pepperdine’s Law School and the School of Public Policy. Oliver hopes to one day work in Washington, D.C.

 

Elizabeth Thiesen, a senior at Jim Elliot Christian High School, has been selected as Teen of the Month for April by the Lodi Youth Commission.

Thiesen has a 4.10 grade-point average and serves as the Interact Club president and senior class president. She is a member of the California Scholarship Federation, cross country team and varsity basketball. She is also involved in the school play, the school worship team, the Temple Baptist Church multimedia team and serves as the church youth worship leader.

 

 

 

She enjoys singing, playing guitar, reading books about historic events, exercising and spending time with friends. Thiesen lives with her parents. She says they have raised her to have solid Christian morals and have always been supportive.

Following graduation, she plans on attending Biola University to participate in the Torrey Honors Institute program and major in political science or history. She hopes to become involved in the government, either militarily or politically, to help restore the system to the way it was when the founding fathers established the American nation on Biblical principles.

Congratulations to these two students from all of us at JECHS

Our live auction was very lively, fun and exciting and it raised over $20,000 during Denim, Diamonds & Dreams!

We truly appreciate all those who participated in the live auction – a big thank you to our donors and the following winners -

•   Bill Alexander was the winner of a week in Hawaii October 24-31. He and his family will enjoy a vacation in the beautiful home of Chris & Carrie Elliot on the Island of Oahu.   Winning Bid: $875
• We auctioned off  two different “Week In Tahoe” vacations at a distinctive Lakefront Condo on the beautiful and exclusive Marla Bay in South Lake Tahoe!  The winners will enjoy over 2,000 square feet of lakefront living space in a relaxed environment that includes an inviting game room, 4 bedrooms (sleeps nine) and 3 full bathrooms.  The week of  May 19-25 went to the Vigil family for $800 and the week of  June 2-8  was won by the Hausuaer family for $2,300

 

• What parent of a senior wouldn’t want the front row RESERVED just for them at the 2009 graduation ceremony (seats 8-10 people)  No showing up hours early for graduation to reserve a seat, get the best photo opportunities and no worries about getting seats together for their family & friends.  This is a unique opportunity for a special family with  graduating senior!  We ended up auctioning off two front rows  for $300 each to Don & Peggy Walters (Senior graduating – Kelsy Walters) and to Steve & Penny Theisen(Senior graduating – Elizabeth Theisen)

 

Penny & Steve celebrate their winning bid!

 Ryan and Beth Voorhees once again were the winning bidders for the Dinner party for six on Mokelumne River at the lovely home of Don & Peggy Walters.  They will get to enjoy a relaxing summer evening with some close friends that will include a patio boat cruise with appetizers and a gourmet meal by candlelight.   Winning Bid: $550 Thank you Ryan & Beth!

 

 

• The Week in Washington DC  created quite a “bidding war” with several of the participants bidding via cell phone from various places like Yosemite and Utah!  But the ultimate winners were – Pat & Vicki Gotelli who along with their boys will enjoy a week at the beautiful home of a Virginia native Gloria Borden in Lorton just a short drive from Washington D.C. and minutes from the Metro.  They can spend a week touring our nations capitol and the beautiful countryside of Virginia while staying in an inviting atmosphere with true southern hospitality and a delicious breakfast served each morning.   The winning bid: $2,000  Thank you, thank you  Pat & Vicki!

 Cookie of the month- 1 batch of delicious homemade cookies delivered to you monthly for a year… mmmmm  mmmmm  good! Made by the famous JECHS baker – Karen Liu . This popular auction item went to Lori Blackwell for $300.  Lori – enjoy and thank you for supporting JECHS!

Lori with her dear friend, Kathi Martens

 The  JECHS Senior Class of 2009 Quilt – hand made by Brenda Richards had all the seniors faces  & names embroidered on it. Don Walters won this auction item with the highest bid of $300.  Thank you Don!

Don Walters is happy with his winnings at the auction!

 

Pancake Breakfast for ten with Mr Couchman ended up going to two lucky winners for $450 each – Steve Fetzer and Tarianne Cottonwho will each enjoy a famous homemade pancake breakfast in their homes, prepared and served by our very own awesome & amazing principal.  Linda Couchman will be adding her famous fruit toppings! Thank you Fetzers & Cottons!

Principal for the day- wouldn’t you just love to be in charge for just a day? Well our winning bidder is looking forward to being principal for the day!  Jana Flaig-Brummett out bid the competition and won this item for $500. Thank you Jana!

Jana Flaig-Brummett

The biggest and most amazing auction item of the evening ended up being  A five course gourmet dinner for 6 served in your own home by chef Scott Fichtner (Deputy District Attorney in Stockton)  After much back and forth bidding,  Scott graciously agreed to do two dinners and they both ended up being sold for $4,000.   Last years winners of this item – John & Stacy Lippertdecided to come back for a second round winning one of the dinners and Doug & Elsa Talbert were the other winners of this amazing gourmet experience.  Both these couples and their blessed friends will be treated to a delicios, enjoyable and memorable evening.   Thank you to the Lipperts and Talberts for their awesome support of Jim Elliot!

Doug Talbert after purchasing the gourmet dinner

We had two BIG winners of this HOT item –  Blossoms by Lisa  – a monthly floral bouquet  for an entire year!  Bill Alexander and Don Walters are sure to have happy wives as they receive these beautiful unique arrangements all year long.  Winning Bids: $750 each.  Thank you so much Bill & Don! (and congratulations Peggy & Michelle!)

Shoes by Chiles was a hit!  Chiles Wilson has designed and made over 200 shoes and he agreed not only to auction off one but two pairs at the fundraiser. The winners with the highest bid of $300 – thank you to  David Couchman and Sandy Huber.

Mr Couchman signing the auction bid sheet for Chile’s shoes

What was in Mr Hathorn’s Homeroom Basket?

Congratulations to the winners of the Homeroom Basket Challenge – Mr. Jon Hathorn’s class! They will be treated to a pizza lunch, ice cream social and free dress day on Wednesday, May 20.

A gourmet dinner for 10 served by Jim Elliot’s very own student council.  Stu Co will  prepare and serve a dinner of your choice in the orchard for up to 10 of your friends.  Dinner to take place between June 1-22. 

 Basket Sold to Ruth Mulrooney & Jerry Crutchfield for $1,000

The other top two selling homeroom baskets  were:

Mr Lambdin’s Homeroom Basket

The Ultimate “Time Out”

• $50.00 gift card to Bass Pro Shops
• 60 min. Reflexology Session (Amazing, out of the box, foot rub)
• $20.00 gift certificate to “Faime” Nails
• $65.00/45 min. Golf Lesson with Golf Pro Perry Manley
• One set of Golf clubs, personally sized, for the winner
• A lunch/casual dinner for two at De Grande’s Cafe
• An “up close & personal” day with the Oakland A’s, A’s team Chaplain Donnie Moore, & Dan Lambdin.  Be on the field during batting practice.  Receive signed baseball from your favorite player 2 tickets to a night game. (Does not include Sunday game)

Basket sold for $800  to Mike & Shelly Sherman

Mrs Jine’s Homeroom Basket

Lake Tahoe Extravaganza -One week  – June 7 -14 – in beautiful Lake Tahoe in a condo that sleeps four at Kingsbury Crossing.  Basket also includes $20 gas card, map of tahoe area, s’more kit, squirt guns, CD, DVD and snacks!

Basket Sold for $700 to Scott & Sheri Scofield

A big thank you to all our homeroom teachers and the student body who participated in our homeroom basket challenge!

We want to thank each and everyone of our JECHS staff  for their ongoing support of this school and ministry. Besides teaching, grading papers and completing lesson plans they share duties on campus in the parking lot and lunchroom, they attend meetings, go to professional conferences, attend camp, write reports, coach teams, chaperone events, counsel students, serve as class advisors, attend athletic events and student activities, meet with students outside class time, write letters of recommendations, return phone calls and emails, post grades on Renweb, grade papers and more papers and more papers often until late into the evening.  They do all this and more while making 30% less income with far fewer benefits than their counterparts in the local public schools. (the starting salary a JECHS is $15,000 – $20,000 less than the surrounding school districts)

And believe it or not they still love what they do!  Many staff even went the extra mile with supporting our recent fundraiser in various ways.  A special thank you to the following staff members -

Michelle Sallee -  designed all of our promotional materials and auction programs, personally donated a gift certificate from her photography business for our auction and purchased a ticket to support and attend this event.

Carrie Fox – led the decoration committee in creating an amazing festive atmosphere, donated a basket and gift certificate from her personal interior design business - ”A Foxy Touch” stayed up for hours the evening prior to the event to create centerpieces, worked all day decorating the room, attended and supported the event that evening.

David Couchman - personally sponsored a table at the event, donated his time and talent for the live auction item – Pancakes with the Principal and purchased “Shoes by Chiles”.

Dottie Henry personally donated several silent auction items and filled and hosted an entire table with potential JECHS supporters at the auction.

Kathi Martens - donated many of the items needed for the decorations, sold tickets, as well as supporting and attending the event and working as a cashier.

Marlene Weigum - worked hard sending out receipts to hundreds of businesses, tracking income & expenses and overseeing the cashiers and checkout at the event.

Cindy Jines - personally donated a week at her Lake Tahoe condo for the auction as well as supporting and attending the fundraiser.

Mike Tackett - along with his ceramics class created hundreds of designer napkin rings to be used at the event.

Sherrolyn Elmore - who came and directed the students as they performed a scene from Beauty & the Beast.

Penny Theisen who purchased tickets in support of the event and attended with her husband. (and purchased several auction items!)

Steve Stow - who volunteered to work the evening of the event.

Dan Lambdin – who worked for weeks in preparation of the event, solicited table sponsorships, donated a silent auction basket, worked the day of the event helping with set up, running sound and clean up as well as supporting the fund raiser by purchasing tickets to attend the event.

Tom Bray, Kathy Elliott, Judy Rajala for supporting the fundraiser with their attendance that evening.

Please take the time to thank all of our teachers and staff members for giving of themselves so faithfully to the school and students.  Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week and may be the perfect opportunity to do just that!