The 2011 Legacy Banquet

Alumni of the Year Harry ’96 and Echo (Tuinstra) VanderWal ’98 Harry and Echo felt called to serve God in medical missions as young children. They are grateful for the strong academic foundation they received at Cedarville and faculty members who challenged them and affirmed their God-given call to serve on the mission field. Following graduation, both pursued advanced degrees in medicine — Harry attended Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and finished his residency in 2006, and Echo graduated from Kettering College of Medical Arts as a physician assistant. In 2005, they founded The Luke Commission (TLC), a faith-based, nonprofit health care organization operating in Swaziland, South Africa. Harry and Echo serve as executive directors while working with a team of highly trained Swazis to deliver comprehensive health care clinics to 25,000 rural patients a year. TLC’s mobile clinics serve as an avenue to share the love and hope of Christ with those who are physically and spiritually broken. TLC serves the most isolated and underserved population of rural Swaziland by treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. The VanderWals explained, “Cedarville played a pivotal role in our lives as we were more than prepared for further medical training and ministry overseas. We were blessed with exceptional professors whose expertise and encouragement taught us much more than the classroom necessitated. As we reflect upon our time at Cedarville, it is evident that God used the University as a powerful instrument to continue the work He began in us.” Harry and Echo live in Swaziland with their ten-year-old triplets, Luke, Jacob, and Zebadiah, and a seven-year-old son, Zion.