Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:26:54 AM by 'With permission from Becky Pokrandt'
My reflection of Gathering speaker Spencer West
After they announced the next speaker to be Spencer West, a man with no legs wheeled unto stage. As I sat there watching, the first thing that came to my mind was, “what happened to this guys legs?” He immediately answered my question. See when he was younger, he was at a magic show, and they asked for a volunteer for that trick where they saw someone in half, and then put them together again. He said, obviously the trick had gone very, very wrong… and that’s how he lost his legs. He was just kidding… He told us this story because he wanted us to feel comfortable. He realized that seeing someone like him for the first time was kind of awkward, and he thinks the world could use a lot more laughter.
But in all seriousness, Spencer was born with a genetic disease that caused the muscles in his leg not to grow. He was always told that he would never be able to walk by himself, that he would never sit up by himself, and that he would never be a functional member of society. He was told that there was no hope for him. But he and his family refused to believe this. It was their goal to prove to the world that he could be just like everyone else. He considered himself a normal kid, but every time he went into public, people made him feel different. People would point and stare and little kids would say, “Where’s his body? Where’s his legs? He looks crazy!” But when he was a kid, he hated being singled out. He hated how the first thing people asked him was what happened to him. No one even bothered to ask him his name first. So he decided to change up his story a bit. When people asked him, he’d say, “My friends and I were camping, and then we ran out of food…. And there was nothing else to eat.” But when he got to school, things were different, because he was bullied. One student thought it was funny to grab the back of his wheelchair abruptly, so his books would go flying, and then he would go tumbling out after them. He dreaded gym class every day, because he watched captains pick person after person, but then finally pick him… but not cause they wanted to, but because he was the only person left.
After he finished school, he moved to Arizona. He was mad because he had everything society told him he needed to be happy. He had a good job, a nice car, the latest clothes, the latest gadgets… but he wasn’t happy, and felt his life had no purpose. But then he got a phone call from his friend asking him to go help build schools with the organization of Me to We. They choose to go to Kenya, and from the moment he got there, he instantly felt peace, and clarity. While in Kenya, he got to talk to people in the community, and he even got to help build a school with his own hands. At one of the building sites, he was surrounded by Kenyan children and they were laughing and talking a mile a minute in a language that he could not understand. They asked him every question under the sun. When they finished, one girl stood up. She looked him in the eye, and said something that would change his life forever. She said, “I didn’t know that this sort of thing could happen to white people too.”
With this one statement, he realized two things. First, just by the act of volunteering, he was able to show these kids that they’re not the only ones with troubles and obstacles in their lives. And the second thing he realized was that after he’d spent so much time trying to fit in, he realized that he was different, and he was different for a reason. He was different, because he needed to show others and those kids in Kenya that it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, where you come from, or what your gender is. If you work hard with others, never give up, laugh a lot, and aren’t afraid to stand up for something you believe in, then we all have the opportunity to provide hope and opportunity for others.
After this trip, he started working for Me to We spreading his story. Because after this trip, he found his purpose. He also realized that he had been standing up for hope and opportunity his whole life, and never realized it. Every time he stood up to the bullies, every time he told his story; he was standing up for hope and possibility. Then he realized there’s so many people around us doing the same thing, that he hadn’t noticed before. Like Rosa Park’s sitting down so that so many others could stand up for the civil rights movement. But he told us that it’s not just world leaders who are standing up for change, he said it was every single one of us sitting in the superdome that night. He thanked us for all of our hard work in New Orleans, but told us that it can’t stop there. And then he did something that people his entire life told him he couldn’t do; he stood up. He had pulled himself down from his wheelchair, and stood up on his hands. He stood up for something he believes in. Then he asked us all to literally stand up. The entire Superdome was full of people standing. Imagine 37,000 Lutheran’s standing up; and standing for something they believe in. All of these were people standing up for hope and possibility in the world. Seeing all of these people united together for change really inspired me to keep volunteering, and to continue helping others around me.
At the conclusion of his speech, Spencer left us all with one quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, “If you want to be important, wonderful; If you want to be recognized, wonderful; If you want to be great, wonderful; Recognize the person who is greatest among you, and they shall be your servant.”
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 12:08:23 PM by 'With permission from Taylor DesOrmeau'
The main purpose of 37,000 Lutherans heading to New Orleans for the National Gathering was to help out the community after Hurricane Katrina four years ago. Naturally, we all thought we were going to be doing something like building houses for our service.
We loaded the buses Thursday morning ready to do just that. We rode for about an hour and arrived at the Oak Alley Plantation. Waiting to do something to help somebody out, we shopped in the gift shop and went on a tour in a house of what life was like 150 years ago in that area. Next, we traveled to the Destrehan Plantation and had several guides showing us what life was like on a plantation. Both plantations were very entertaining and taught us a lot. Confused and a little bit disappointed, we headed back to our hotel. We were all ready to fix up a house like one of the devastated homes we saw on the bus tour we went on the day before, but all we did was tour a plantation. From this, we learned that service can come in many different ways. It doesn''t always have to be something you can see. We supported these plantations economically as well as lifting up the educators spirits by showing that we do care. It took us all a little while to figure this out ourselves, but luckily, Pastor Lauren had planned for us to stay an extra day and do some repairs on damaged homes.
During the week, we had a great time. Every night all 37,000 of us packed into the Superdome to sing songs and listen to speakers. We also got to enjoy the city of New Orleans by shopping in the French Quarter, visiting the aquarium, and best of all, eating all of the local food we could. The whole group tried something new; there was alligator, shrimp, gumbo, and lots of other foods in New Orleans. We even convinced Pastor Lauren to try an oyster, which was very entertaining for the group to watch. Besides seafood in New Orleans, jazz is huge part of the culture there, so we even got to listen to a Jazz Band. The experience was one we will never forget.
Our final day, Monday, we went to work. We did many things including tiling, dry walling, working on ceilings, and even taking one for the team by helping out the ice cream man and purchasing some treats. We got to take a look at some of these abandoned homes, and could still see the water line 10 feet above the ground on many houses. The owners of the houses we worked on also greeted us and shared their story. They were very appreciative of what we had done for them. One of the owners said they were still the only people to come back home on their block since the hurricane. Most tourist attractions may be back in the city, but the houses still have a ton of work left to do. This is what we all thought we would be doing as service, but it was just one of the ways we helped out. As one of our bible verses for the day, Romans 12:1-8, says, "we all have different gifts from God and we should use our talents to serve Christ," whether it be educating others, leading a group, giving money, or putting down tile.
All in all, everybody was able to make a huge difference in New Orleans. It was an enjoyable and education journey that we are all proud to say that we were a part of.
Comments
After they announced the next speaker to be Spencer West, a man with no legs wheeled unto stage. As I sat there watching, the first thing that came to my mind was, “what happened to this guys legs?” He immediately answered my question. See when he was younger, he was at a magic show, and they asked for a volunteer for that trick where they saw someone in half, and then put them together again. He said, obviously the trick had gone very, very wrong… and that’s how he lost his legs. He was just kidding… He told us this story because he wanted us to feel comfortable. He realized that seeing someone like him for the first time was kind of awkward, and he thinks the world could use a lot more laughter.
But in all seriousness, Spencer was born with a genetic disease that caused the muscles in his leg not to grow. He was always told that he would never be able to walk by himself, that he would never sit up by himself, and that he would never be a functional member of society. He was told that there was no hope for him. But he and his family refused to believe this. It was their goal to prove to the world that he could be just like everyone else. He considered himself a normal kid, but every time he went into public, people made him feel different. People would point and stare and little kids would say, “Where’s his body? Where’s his legs? He looks crazy!” But when he was a kid, he hated being singled out. He hated how the first thing people asked him was what happened to him. No one even bothered to ask him his name first. So he decided to change up his story a bit. When people asked him, he’d say, “My friends and I were camping, and then we ran out of food…. And there was nothing else to eat.” But when he got to school, things were different, because he was bullied. One student thought it was funny to grab the back of his wheelchair abruptly, so his books would go flying, and then he would go tumbling out after them. He dreaded gym class every day, because he watched captains pick person after person, but then finally pick him… but not cause they wanted to, but because he was the only person left.
After he finished school, he moved to Arizona. He was mad because he had everything society told him he needed to be happy. He had a good job, a nice car, the latest clothes, the latest gadgets… but he wasn’t happy, and felt his life had no purpose. But then he got a phone call from his friend asking him to go help build schools with the organization of Me to We. They choose to go to Kenya, and from the moment he got there, he instantly felt peace, and clarity. While in Kenya, he got to talk to people in the community, and he even got to help build a school with his own hands. At one of the building sites, he was surrounded by Kenyan children and they were laughing and talking a mile a minute in a language that he could not understand. They asked him every question under the sun. When they finished, one girl stood up. She looked him in the eye, and said something that would change his life forever. She said, “I didn’t know that this sort of thing could happen to white people too.”
With this one statement, he realized two things. First, just by the act of volunteering, he was able to show these kids that they’re not the only ones with troubles and obstacles in their lives. And the second thing he realized was that after he’d spent so much time trying to fit in, he realized that he was different, and he was different for a reason. He was different, because he needed to show others and those kids in Kenya that it doesn’t matter what color your skin is, where you come from, or what your gender is. If you work hard with others, never give up, laugh a lot, and aren’t afraid to stand up for something you believe in, then we all have the opportunity to provide hope and opportunity for others.
After this trip, he started working for Me to We spreading his story. Because after this trip, he found his purpose. He also realized that he had been standing up for hope and opportunity his whole life, and never realized it. Every time he stood up to the bullies, every time he told his story; he was standing up for hope and possibility. Then he realized there’s so many people around us doing the same thing, that he hadn’t noticed before. Like Rosa Park’s sitting down so that so many others could stand up for the civil rights movement. But he told us that it’s not just world leaders who are standing up for change, he said it was every single one of us sitting in the superdome that night. He thanked us for all of our hard work in New Orleans, but told us that it can’t stop there. And then he did something that people his entire life told him he couldn’t do; he stood up. He had pulled himself down from his wheelchair, and stood up on his hands. He stood up for something he believes in. Then he asked us all to literally stand up. The entire Superdome was full of people standing. Imagine 37,000 Lutheran’s standing up; and standing for something they believe in. All of these were people standing up for hope and possibility in the world. Seeing all of these people united together for change really inspired me to keep volunteering, and to continue helping others around me.
At the conclusion of his speech, Spencer left us all with one quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, “If you want to be important, wonderful; If you want to be recognized, wonderful; If you want to be great, wonderful; Recognize the person who is greatest among you, and they shall be your servant.”
We loaded the buses Thursday morning ready to do just that. We rode for about an hour and arrived at the Oak Alley Plantation. Waiting to do something to help somebody out, we shopped in the gift shop and went on a tour in a house of what life was like 150 years ago in that area. Next, we traveled to the Destrehan Plantation and had several guides showing us what life was like on a plantation. Both plantations were very entertaining and taught us a lot. Confused and a little bit disappointed, we headed back to our hotel. We were all ready to fix up a house like one of the devastated homes we saw on the bus tour we went on the day before, but all we did was tour a plantation. From this, we learned that service can come in many different ways. It doesn''t always have to be something you can see. We supported these plantations economically as well as lifting up the educators spirits by showing that we do care. It took us all a little while to figure this out ourselves, but luckily, Pastor Lauren had planned for us to stay an extra day and do some repairs on damaged homes.
During the week, we had a great time. Every night all 37,000 of us packed into the Superdome to sing songs and listen to speakers. We also got to enjoy the city of New Orleans by shopping in the French Quarter, visiting the aquarium, and best of all, eating all of the local food we could. The whole group tried something new; there was alligator, shrimp, gumbo, and lots of other foods in New Orleans. We even convinced Pastor Lauren to try an oyster, which was very entertaining for the group to watch. Besides seafood in New Orleans, jazz is huge part of the culture there, so we even got to listen to a Jazz Band. The experience was one we will never forget.
Our final day, Monday, we went to work. We did many things including tiling, dry walling, working on ceilings, and even taking one for the team by helping out the ice cream man and purchasing some treats. We got to take a look at some of these abandoned homes, and could still see the water line 10 feet above the ground on many houses. The owners of the houses we worked on also greeted us and shared their story. They were very appreciative of what we had done for them. One of the owners said they were still the only people to come back home on their block since the hurricane. Most tourist attractions may be back in the city, but the houses still have a ton of work left to do. This is what we all thought we would be doing as service, but it was just one of the ways we helped out. As one of our bible verses for the day, Romans 12:1-8, says, "we all have different gifts from God and we should use our talents to serve Christ," whether it be educating others, leading a group, giving money, or putting down tile.
All in all, everybody was able to make a huge difference in New Orleans. It was an enjoyable and education journey that we are all proud to say that we were a part of.