Isaak Everett Brunkow, the second child of Douglas and Kristine Brunkow, was born September 4th, 2000. For the first few months of his life, he was so chubby, and cuddly, and cute, his mother couldn’t bear to put clothes on him!
From the very start, he became very attached to his sister one and a half years older than him, Isabella. She, in turn, was delighted to have a new playmate! Four, happy years went by until on March 3, 2005, much prayed for, much waited for, baby sister Sophia came along. Now, they had a real baby to play house with!
More years went by while the children did homeschool. One weekend in May 2015, when Isaak was a Sophomore, some friends who had sent their daughter to Weimar Academy invited Isaak and his family to come listen to a concert Sabbath afternoon at the academy. It was graduation weekend.
After the concert, three boys were baptized and they gave their testimonies. At vespers, Chad Bernard, the principal, asked them if they would invite those who had an influence on their decision for Christ to come join them on stage. Pretty soon, half the school was on stage and “Mr. Chad” said something that Isaak’s parents never forgot. He said, “It takes more than just one person to influence someone for Christ, it takes a whole group.” It was then God impressed Isaak’s parents that they needed to send both Isabella and Isaak to the academy.
God provided and opened doors so that by the end of July they were accepted. Deseret Thrift Store in Sacramento furnished skirts for Isabella but what a struggle they had to find uniform pants for Isaak! His waist size was 26 with 34-inch length. With a belt he managed to make 28-34s work.
With his new uniform, Isaak started school where he made lots of new friends. One day Isaak said, “It is nice to have friends that are boys now!” Before, his sister’s friends were all the friends he had, and he had spent most of the time with Faith, Alexis, Nadia, Olivia, and Rachel.
But the academy had its downsides too. Trying to please five teachers was a lot harder than just one, but he managed. Today, Isaak stands a quarter through his senior year. He has learned the do’s and don’ts of academy life and now he is ready to help others along the path he has already trod. His dream is to be a mission pilot in Indonesia, and God willing, he will reach the ultimate mark: Heaven.
*Sister Sophia is Isaak’s kid sister, an 11-year old who enjoys reading, writing, cooking, crocheting and skiing. She plans to attend Weimar Academy in 2018.