2006 Miracle Yearbook

Thursday, August 25, 2005 God's been doing some crazy stuff in my life lately. It's kind of hard to deal with sometimes, but I have a complete trust in God that He will make this all end in an amazing way. I know that some day I will get to sit back with Him and look at all this and just stand in awe of what He did. It's all good, nothing to worry about. Derek Richardson Returning sophomore Derek Richardson posted the above words on his weblog mere days before he was involved in a fatal car accident that took him to be with the Lord on August 27th, 2006. A shocked and stunned student body handled thenewswith graceand respect. The following Wednesday, August 31st, Derek's funeral was held at Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville. As the student body poured into the crowded chapel to pay their condolences, the attendees were made aware of what an amazing man of God Derek really was. After the funeral, students were given two different kinds of wristbands that both kept his legacy alive and informed others of his amazing contributions. One of these wristbands read the acronym HCYDWJWDIYDKWJD? which stood for "How can you do what Jesus would do if you don't know what Jesus did?" This statement encapsulated Derek's passion for spreading the Word of 266 Memory Christ. He wrote devotions for a Christian web site, went on several missions trips, and was an instrumental leader of his church youth group. The other wristband that was handed out indicated his everlasting desire to give to others. The bright green band had "Done Vida" inscribed on it, which stood for "donate life." Through Derek's incredible organ donations, over 80 patients in need of a transplant benefited from Derek's gift, including a 24 year-old woman who can now see because of Derek's cornea donation. Another lifelong gift that Derek gave was the Derek Richardson Memorial Scholarship, a fund that will annually assist a Cedarville student for several years to come. The Richardson family, including his parents Ken and Susan, and siblings Karl and Staci, were greatly affected by the outpouring of love and comfort during their difficult time.