The Host Plant

Bonnie Boer

In biology, we just completed the plant section of our book. We talked about pollination, fertilization, germination, dormancy, and reproduction. The section that really caught my attention dealt with the way plants reproduce artificially. They reproduce in three ways: cutting, layering, and grafting and budding – the kind that I am going to write about in this article.

If you are going to form new plants by either grafting or budding, you must take a piece of one plant and attach it to a part of another. When you graft, you take a cut piece of stem (the scion) and attach it to the host plant (the stock), making sure the vascular cambium layers of the stems are correctly aligned so nutrients can pass into the scion freely. The cut branch takes advantage of the strong root system of the host plant and lives through the nutrients and water taken up through the host.

Mr. Medema showed us that we are really from wild scions, the cut pieces, that are grafted into the stock, or host, Christ. It was none of our doing, so we were taught not to boast.

We were also reminded to bring forth fruit: praise and thanksgiving for our salvation. John 15:5 speaks to us about this. “I am the vine (Christ), ye are the branches (the elect): He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Without Christ, the host, we are wholly incapable of bringing forth fruit. Without Him, we could not live and have our being.

On Guard!

Josh Dotson

In world history we are learning about feudalism and the Middle Ages. Mr. Van Uffelen taught us that the reason people in Europe drive on the opposite side of the road has to do with the Middle Ages.

Europeans drive on the left side of the road today because during the Middle Ages people would walk on the left side of the road. They did this so that they could quickly pull their swords out with their right hands and defend themselves without having to waste time positioning the sword. Men usually carried their swords on their left sides and drew the swords out with their right hand.

You may be wondering why Americans don’t drive on the left side of the road then, too. The reason for this is because when America was being colonized, people used guns instead of swords. They had big rifles and in order to protect themselves, they would walk on the right side of the road, so that they could walk easily and watch for attackers with their right hand on the trigger and their left supporting the barrel of the gun. 

John Calvin

Grace De Jong

In church history class, we have begun to learn about the Reformation. One of the greatest leaders of the Reformation (and the greatest influence on our own denomination) was John Calvin. John Calvin’s attitude toward life is a great example for us to follow.

Calvin was generally a quiet man, but God called him to a work that required boldness to speak in front of large crowds. John Calvin is remembered for working most of his life in the French-speaking town of Geneva, Switzerland.

But these were unhappy days in the life of Calvin. He did not want to be in Geneva. Instead, he wanted to be in a quiet place where he could write in peace. But, he conformed his will to that of the Lord. He wanted what the Lord wanted, and that was to spread the gospel of truth to every nation, tribe, and tongue. God used Calvin in Geneva even when, in spirit, Calvin did not want to go there. The Lord revealed His will to Calvin in his life.

That is something that we must be willing to do – give up our wishes and desires to follow the will of the Lord. If we do, the Lord promises us far greater blessings than we could ever have imagined. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.” Proverbs 3:5.

102 Years Old

Gina Verburg

Can you imagine living though both of the World Wars? Can you imagine seeing things invented? Can you imagine being born in 1900 and still being alive in April of 2002?

I couldn’t imagine it either, until I went to the Netherlands and met my great grandma, Oma Japin. Over Christmas 2001 she had a serious stroke, and it definitely affected her memory. She didn’t believe us when we told her, “You are 102!” She just shook her head and said, “That’s very old.” The only things she remembered were things in her past, around the years 1910 to 1995. After that, she said it’s all very foggy. She didn’t even know where she was, and we constantly had to tell her that she was in a place called Huis ter Done. We also had to tell her where we were in the room, because she couldn’t see.

The one thing that amazed me was how she would join in with us when we sang the Psalter numbers (in Dutch, of course.) She would even move her hands to direct us, singing aloud as if her life depended on it. When the nurses put her to bed at night, she would sit up, fold her hands, and pray. She did that every night.

On April 19, 2002, after 102 years of life on this earth, God chose to take my Oma Japin home. I’m sure she will be missed very much. She was a very godly woman. I will try to be a godly woman, taking after my Oma. She set a good example for me, and I hope God gives me the strength to follow.