Remembering Christopher
Scripture
and Comfort
Read about the healing Christina McGrinson experienced after her son's murder.
At the funeral for Christopher Austin, held just days before he would have turned five, the pastor read fairy tales to illustrate that bad things sometimes happen to children.
But Little Red Riding Hood would escape the wolf, whereas Christopher was not as fortunate: He died of multiple stab wounds at his father’s hand. Christina McGrinson ’66 knew she had to tell her son’s story to help others—especially children—grieve real life’s sometimes unhappy endings.
In 2006, the 25th anniversary of the tragedy, McGrinson began writing Forever Friends, a children’s book published in English and Spanish, the Panama-born author’s native tongue. The book follows Christopher and his friend Brad through their final playdate, the funeral, and Brad’s resolve to carry Christopher in his heart forever. Readers mourn alongside the community as they lay Christopher to rest with the song God Is So Good, which the boy had once sung as a solo.
“I feel the Lord has preserved me to be an encourager to children,” says McGrinson, a retired schoolteacher. Once a woman wracked with sorrow, she is now an author inscribing her books with Nehemiah 8:10. Truly, the joy of the Lord is her strength, carrying her past a tragic ending to a fresh new start.
To purchase Forever Friends or arrange for a speaking engagement by McGrinson, contact her at charismapa5@yahoo.com.
by Amy Scheer
Patient-Focused
Randy Oostra ’77 is the CEO of a health system that has $1.5 billion in revenues, employs over 15,000 people and serves 2.5 million residents in a two-state area. But he says his job comes down to this question: How would you want your family to be treated?
“We have to run a solid organization from a business standpoint, but we’re really about taking care of people and strengthening our communities,” says the president of ProMedica Health System, based in Toledo, Ohio. “I hope our patients say we treated them with compassion and they got a first-class experience in every way.”
Oostra’s expectation of providing consistent quality must be working. ProMedica—which includes 10 hospitals, a physician’s group, an HMO and a continuing care division—was named the country’s most integrated system by Modern Healthcare earlier this year.
A biology major and medical technologist, Oostra worked in healthcare administration in western Michigan and the St. Louis area before joining ProMedica in 1997. He served the system in a variety of capacities before being named to his current position two years ago.
Responsible for all of ProMedica’s operations, Oostra stays grounded by remembering the patients. “We have thousands of employees who are just trying to do what’s best for their patients every day. When you cut through everything, that’s what it’s all about.”
by Duane Beeson
Soaring
Bad weather, long winters, back-breaking work, nerve-wracking travel to isolated spots—Brian Bruxvoort ’82 is living the dream.
Being a missionary pilot in remote Alaska may not be everyone’s idea of the perfect job, but after a lifetime of seeking God’s calling, Bruxvoort is right where he wants to be—working for Mission Aviation Repair Center (MARC) in Soldotna, on the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula.
The work isn’t easy. His duties include maintaining, inspecting, fueling and cleaning the aircraft. That’s all in addition to flying pastors, missionaries and service teams to villages across an area one-and-a-half times the size of Texas, often using only gravel runways in temperatures of 20 below. The destinations are so isolated they can’t be reached by road, making the air service necessary.
The greatest reward for Bruxvoort is the interaction with the people he transports, especially the kids he brings from the villages to Bible camp and the youth groups he transports to villages for short-term mission work.
“I enjoy talking to these young adults who are starting to live for the Lord,” he says. “They often face tremendous social pressures to fall back into old habits and temptations. To get to know them, pray with them, encourage them to stay in the Word—that brings me the most satisfaction.”
by Sherrie Barber Willson ’98
Teaching Across Cultures
When Mandy Chaplin ’02 graduated from Northwestern, her plan was to teach in a city, then go to Africa to pursue her love of working across cultures.
Instead, she found a unique culture near home: the Yankton Sioux Reservation in Lake Andes, S.D., where she teaches second-grade American Indian students.
The whites and American Indians in town don’t mix much, but Chaplin sees relationship-building as a necessary part of her job. Many of her students have serious family issues—broken homes, drug and alcohol abuse.
“Teaching them math and social studies is important, but the most important thing is to make them feel loved and secure,” she says. “There are a lot of behavior problems, but it helps to step back and realize what’s happening in their lives and try to address that, not just patch the surface problem.”
Chaplin drives a van for an American Indian Sunday school and has also opened her home to 14 foster children during the last two years. She knew she’d become accepted by her diverse community when one of her students described her as a “white Indian.”
“It’s such a blessing that God allows me to be used in these kids’ lives, even in a small way,” she says. “There are a lot of tough things, but I think teaching in a suburban, middle-class town would drive me crazy.”
by Sherrie Barber Willson ’98