Catalyst for Independence

Thank you to Bill Stevens, Director of Development Activities, for writing today’s blog.

When Shepherds Home and School opened its doors in 1964, thirty-six young people with intellectual disabilities became residents and students.    Gradually Shepherds grew, the young people became teenagers, and there were individuals accepted for residency who were already in their teens.  One such young man, John, came from Ohio to live at Shepherds.  John quickly became quite an asset as he was able to take on a number of jobs on the campus.  John only lived a couple of years at Shepherds and became the first graduate.  He moved back home to work in his parent’s family bookstore.  He subsequently became quite independent and was employed by K-Mart where he worked for many years.

As Shepherds grew, it also became evident that residency and schooling for children were no longer being sought by parents.  The federal and state programs for funding special education for children with intellectual disabilities allowed parents the opportunity to keep their children at home.  Shepherds transitioned to an all-adult facility in the mid-1980s, and a large number of those first thirty-six children who came to Shepherds in 1964, plus others added in the on-going years, now made up a large adult population of residents.  They, of course, in addition to the individuals added as teens and adults, swelled the total number of those being blessed by the compassionate Christian care provided by the dedicated staff of Shepherds Ministries. Some of these individuals were able to become more independent and become part of a growing work force of residents and clients.  Their work involved contract workshops, kitchen help, housekeeping, grounds keeping, greenhouse, and various opportunities to work off campus in local businesses.  These individuals set the pattern for what was yet to come.

Dr. William Amstutz became President and CEO of Shepherds Ministries in 1998.  He had a vision that became a plan with the able assistance of some new staff and administration members.  This plan, undergirded with the Appropriate independence™ philosophy, became the Catalyst Program.  The inception and implementation of the Catalyst program was the outgrowth of the seed of possible independent living for individuals with intellectual disabilities proved out by such individuals as John.  Soon a number of residents entered the Catalyst Program and became clients who lived semi-independent lives in group homes, apartments and mobile homes off campus but in the local community mostly within walking or bike riding distance from Shepherds campus.   

I had the privilege to learn first-hand how the Catalyst Program changes and enhances lives. 

Butch came to live at Shepherds in 1975 and eventually became an important part of the Catalyst Program.

  

 

This fall, Butch left Shepherds after 37 years and moved to his own mobile home in Maranatha Village near Sebring, Florida.  As a ministry representative of Shepherds, I am privileged to travel the southeast USA presenting Shepherds to churches and individuals as a worthy consideration for their stewardship dollars.  Many of our supporters live in the Sebring area, and I am able to visit with them a couple of times every year to update them on the ministry.  On one recent visit, Butch invited me to stay overnight with him in his new “digs.”  

 I gladly accepted his invitation and was greatly impressed.  Butch has a two bedroom mobile, with a large combination living room and dining room, and a sun room or “Blessings” room where he has all his medals won in Special Olympics, and various other diplomas and awards, framed and hanging on his wall. 

His kitchen is very large and has all the modern conveniences.  Butch cooks his own meals and is an immaculate housekeeper.  

He recently joined Maranatha Baptist Church and serves as a volunteer in a number of capacities including yard work for the elderly residents of Maranatha Village.  Butch never charges for his work because he wants to just be a servant of the Lord and help others.  Butch also is the caretaker and groundskeeper for the shuffle board, bocce ball, and horseshoe pits.  Another work opportunity for Butch is being a member of the Maranatha Village Security patrol which watches over the grounds at night.   

Butch and I attended church together and many people commented on how much they have already come to appreciate him.  We stayed up late that night and I introduced him to “Duck Dynasty” on the A&E cable network.  It instantly became his new favorite show.  After a good night’s rest, I awoke to hear Butch already in the kitchen at 6:30 AM preparing our breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.  Butch commented to me several times, “Bill, you are my first overnight guest and the very first person I have cooked for in my new home!”  I could truly say as I left after breakfast that I would look forward to my next visit and his hospitality once again. Words cannot express how I felt about my experience and how I feel about Butch’s new life away from Shepherds.  He truly is living independently, serving the Lord, and able to work in various capacities for His glory.  

If you are interested in the Catalyst Program for yourself or a loved one, please contact Tracy Lackey at 262-878-5620 ext. 4352.

A Special Kind of Person

The first principle of our philosophy of Appropriate Independence is Created on Purpose, For Purpose. This belief naturally leads to some pretty serious questions like, “What is my purpose?” and “How do I find my purpose?”

At Shepherds, we look at each person, whether a client, resident, student or staff, and seek out his or her spiritual gifts, talents and abilities. Then we encourage each person to use these gifts in service to others.

For some of us, this might involve using our ability to read to lead story time at the local elementary school. Or using our understanding of nutrition to create healthy and well-balanced menus for the residents’ meals. Or using our gift of hospitality to welcome volunteers to campus.

We all seem to be very content with our roles because we fit so well. It’s why our residents and students with intellectual disabilities grow and thrive. And it’s why our staff members retire after thirty years, rather than quit after six months.

That being said, I want you to meet an amazing group of people - our Living Skills Instructors (LSIs). These

men and women have a combination of talents, abilities and characteristics that I believe are unique to people who do what they do. They have a distinctive set of gifts that make them fit in our ministry with irreplaceable purpose.

They work directly with our residents, helping with tasks like bathing, personal hygiene, dressing and housekeeping. 

They serve food, and feed the residents if necessary.

They handle the scary stuff, like shaving, med passing, and helping in the bathroom.

They create a home for the people of Shepherds with their care and commitment and loving direction.

They also teach God’s love to our residents every day through their words and actions.

Up in the Findley Center, which houses HR, IT, the Business Office and the Development Office, we’re a bit in awe of the LSIs. I hear many conversations that go something like this, “Tony is having a tough day, but Dan was able to comfort him,” or “Praise God that Mark was around to help Brian,” or “I didn’t know what to do when Faith got sick, but Kaitlin rushed right over.” We’ve all come to the conclusion that it takes a very special kind of person to be an LSI. Here’s our unofficial list of qualifications for the job: 

“Must be loving, caring, calm, patient, organized, and firm when needed. Must put self aside and focus completely on the care, comfort and security of other human beings. Must deal with potentially embarrassing and humiliating situations, but have the grace, empathy and respect to maintain the dignity of the client at all times. Must remain clear-thinking and level-headed in all situations, no exceptions. Must love God and have a desire to share Jesus with people who have intellectual disabilities.”

To sum it up, LSIs are the front line, ground zero people who put the “hands-on ministry” in Shepherds Ministries.

These important people were honored at a banquet last Wednesday. Their Case Managers and Supervisors planned and executed a special event to show each one of them just how much they are appreciated at Shepherds.

They played Family Feud with answers submitted by other staff and residents. 

Raffle tickets were given to the winners so they could select prizes donated from area businesses.The prizes were so generous! A teeth whitening from a local dentist, a hanging plant from Milaegers, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks and Culvers gift cards, The Salon Within package and four non-consecutive days of wearing jeans to work!

There was lots of warm fellowship and relaxed laughter.

The homemade food was plentiful and delicious. The lasagna and chicken casserole were particular favorites.

Stories, memories and advice were shared between long-term staff and the newbies.

And the evening wouldn’t have been complete without a Code Black weather emergency. Several of the LSIs neglected their own safety to check on the residents who were in the care of volunteers - the college staff who donated their time to help the residents during the banquet so the LSIs could have a much-deserved break. (See this story tomorrow in the Shepherds College blog, Time to Fly.)

I forgot to mention one more important attribute of the LSIs as a whole – they’re so humble! They’re not rewarded by the paycheck or the party, they are blessed by “the love and affection of the residents, all the hugs and kisses. And we get to be involved in a ministry that is so passionate about helping others while teaching them to reach their full potential as an individual in Christ.”

Thank you LSIs! Your selfless service inspires us all.

Caring for Creation

I grew up about 15 minutes away from Shepherds, but never set foot on campus until I interviewed here in May of 2007. Following my interview, the HR Director gave me a tour. I was amazed by the size of the campus, the number of buildings and, most of all, the beauty of each cottage, home, walkway and garden. After working in a basement office with no windows for over six years, the thought of spending my days in surroundings so glorious with light, color and scent just about brought me to my knees in gratitude.

Do you know the saying that goes, “You can tell the measure of a man by the shine of his shoes?”

I don’t whole-heartedly buy into this statement – I’ve known some honorable and respectable men in dusty construction boots or worn sneakers – but if the saying went, “You can tell how much Shepherds cares for their clients by how much care they put into their grounds,” well, I’d say the saying was a bull’s-eye.

The environment of Shepherds truly reflects the heart of Shepherds.

Today, I’d like to introduce you to Owen Lackey, the man responsible - along with his team, Gerald, Jessica and Seth - for maintaining our beautiful facilities. Here is Owen’s story of his call to Shepherds Ministries:

Walking in the woods has always been a magnet to my imagination. As a youngster, the proximity of a woodlot and a clear path into it would always raise my curiosity to an uncontrollable urge to see what was at the other end of the path. Whether it is a gap in the trees, a break in the rocks, or a path in the tall grass, God has always been able to take me to see the next wonder simply by showing me the opening.  

As a young man I was beset by many of the typical problems and issues that faced the youth of the 60s and 70s. As a family, we were unprepared to face these trials. Losses and struggles, and the resulting changes in our lives took their toll on all four of us kids. As the oldest sibling, I was expected to shoulder my load in the care of the others. However, I was not able to face that responsibility without a continuous searching for some sense of stability. When stability never came, I set out searching for it.

The opportunity to flee into this search first expressed itself in the chance to go to college. My interests in the outdoors and years of enjoyment on my Uncle’s farm attracted me to the Agriculture school at Purdue University. I soon selected a course of study that would feed my interests and my needs through the access to peaceful tranquility in the gardens and arboreta of the world. While college life is anything but stable, it presented itself as orderly and structured to my aimless life. The choice of Horticulture as a career was an inviting, soothing path to explore without concern or burden.

This path led me to the opportunity for God to make Himself real to me. My freshman summer on my Uncle’s farm brought hard work and new work experiences, but it also brought my introduction to Jesus Christ. My salvation wasn’t a spectacular event, but a simple recognition of my need, my Savior’s capacity to meet that need, and His overwhelming ability to love me with absolute conviction and eternal sincerity.

                I completed my course of studies at Purdue, with some anxiousness to pursue what God wanted for me. I couldn’t see how Horticulture could be of any use to God. In an effort to place myself as a useful tool in God’s hands, I went to Bible College, enrolling in Faith Baptist Bible College after graduating from Purdue. I felt I was being dragged from the woods and into the realm of suits and ties, but that was where God wanted me.

                The next five years brought many uplifting events and disappointments, but even the hard things were confirming. Hard work to pay for school, long hours in study and physical labor, sitting out semesters to raise money; these were countered by the joy of meeting my wife Tracy and entering married life with her, the peace of being in the center of God’s will for me, and the starting of my own family. Graduation for Tracy and I came in the same year, 1981, just six months after our marriage.

                We settled into a period of our lives where God strengthened our bond, our abilities and trained our eyes to see how He wanted us to live our lives. We were active in a small church, paying off our school bills and looking for His will. “Wait thou only upon God,” became an important scriptural guide for us.

In the summer of 1985, a friend contacted us about an opportunity. He was the college placement officer at Faith Baptist Bible College, and his wife was the babysitter for our infant and 3-year-old baby girls. He wanted to know if I was interested in a job opportunity at Shepherds Home and School. They needed a groundskeeper and greenhouse instructor. He knew I had Horticulture training and the obvious Bible College requirements, but he wondered if I had any experience with people with intellectual disabilities. I answered him, “Is 26 years enough?”

                As an oldest sibling I was blessed by the entry to my family of a baby sister when I was just three. MariAnne became a delight to us two boys as she was always beaming with a big smile and a real desire to keep up with us in whatever endeavor small boys might pursue. It wasn’t until we realized she could not talk with us as a three-year-old that we saw that she was “different.” We soon became harshly aware of her differing abilities as we became her translators, her defenders and the only kids on the block willing to play with her. When Mom died, MariAnne was a very dependent 12-year-old girl in remedial classes, living in a world at the time that wanted to isolate and hide her.

                Growing up with MariAnne had indeed given me experience with an individual with a different mental ability. My first contact with Shepherds brought an invitation to come to Union Grove, Wisconsin to see what God would have us do regarding an involvement with this ministry. 

The rest of the details in our coming are important, but they pale in comparison to the strength of God’s calling to come to His work.  God prepared me with abilities in horticulture, teaching and an understanding of the hardships facing an adult with disabilities. His call provided me with the ability to apply those preparations as a tool in His hands, to meet people’s needs.

God prepares a path for me, though the route before seems gray.

-          He clears the snags and brush aside to show an open way. 

The path may narrow and way grow dim as trials hide the trail.

-          But God will lead his scout along a tread that will not fail.

As thorns and stings and sharpened stones can make the pathway pain,

-          God fills my pack with sustaining grace to stay the path toward gain.

We walk our paths as God directs to the places that He wills.

-       With patient love He blazes the way to eternal joy fulfilled.

-ONL

Thank you, Owen, for bringing beauty to our days through your exceptional work.

Shepherds Through My Eyes

I created this blog site a while ago… and then stared at it for weeks without writing a word. Waiting. 

Waiting for what? I don’t really know – the story that perfectly illustrated the Shepherds Ministries philosophy; the big story that would wow you with the greatness of God; the emotional story that would move you to give, to serve, to pray; the powerful story from Dr. Amstutz himself that would impress the socks off of you. You know, that story.

Well, that story hasn’t come to me yet. I sit at my computer praying “God, give me Your Words to tell this amazing story! What do You want me to say?” And I keep hearing, “Write about what you know,” only it sounds like the voice of my college writing instructor, not God.

I’ve heard it so often now that I’m starting to think it is God, stirring up memories so I stop stressing over the perfect story and start writing the story of Shepherds that I know because I’ve experienced it.

So here goes:

I’m Susan Griffis, the Marketing Director for Shepherds. I sit quietly at a cluttered desk in a little corner of a big office in the Findley Center and thank God every day for calling me to Shepherds. 

I came to Shepherds because my husband prayed for a new job for me, one that would take me out of a toxic work environment that was emotionally suffocating me. He prayed, “God, find a job for her that is perfectly suited to her gifts and abilities,” and God responded by having the HR Director at Shepherds leave a message on my answering machine. It said, “Susan, you don’t know me, but I’m calling because I have a job opening that may be perfectly suited to your gifts and abilities.”

I came to Shepherds with the intention of working hard, becoming an indispensable employee and a tireless co-worker, but one who kept a safe distance from everyone. After my last position, I was drained and broken. I didn’t need friends anymore; I didn’t want to get involved. I just needed God and my family and a regular paycheck.

Now, if you’ve ever worked with people with intellectual disabilities, you already know what happens next.

You know that, at Shepherds, people like Gary walk up to your desk to give you gifts of bruised apples, flowers picked from the carefully landscaped gardens, and cold coffee he brewed himself from his cottage across campus.

You know that people like Butch tell you that he plans to ask your husband’s permission to hold your hand at the Special Olympics basketball game.

You can hear people like Gayle boss you around in her deep, lisping voice, telling you what she wants you to buy for her birthday, where she wants you to hang her photo in your office, and what time she wants you to come over to her apartment for donuts on Saturday. And guess what? You get to bring the donuts. 

You get to know people like Faith who ask you to write your prayer requests on colored index cards so she remembers to pray for you every day.  And Terry who sings you old hymns in the hallway. And Daniela who nestles her head in your shoulder as she hugs you.

You shake hands with another Gary at the start of every work day after he walks into your office to say “Good morning,” and brace yourself against the wall as Miranda barrels at you for a loving tackle.

 

Are you getting a feel for Shepherds yet? There is no “keeping your distance” on this campus. 

But that’s only one dimension of this ministry. Do I believe that God called me here because my gifts and abilities were perfectly suited to the job? Yes. And I believe that about every staff member I’ve met.

Do you know Ruth? This woman works directly with the residents and absolutely glows with the love of God. She’s patient, compassionate and focused – just what people with intellectual disabilities need in their daily lives.

How about Mary with her passion for finding the strengths in everybody? How encouraging she is to clients and staff alike!

Chris, with his quiet confidence and warm demeanor, brings assurance to nervous parents visiting the college for the first time.

And women like Sherry, Ashley, Tracy, Kim, Nella and Renae, with their kind-hearted natures, can make all our clients, whether on or off campus, feel the warmth of family and home.

Our nursing staff is the perfect mixture of sympathy and no-nonsense because, you know, sometimes our residents need medical attention, but sometimes they just want a cute Band-Aid or a nap in the sick room.

We have visionaries like Dr. Kinkade, Brian, Tracy and Andrea who see where God is leading the ministry in the future, and people like Dr. Amstutz and Muriel who remind us of the important work God has done in the past.

I want you to meet all these people in this blog, as well as Michele and Joy and Nancy and Allan and Matt and Charles and Dan and… you get the picture. Each person has their own unique God story and I pray that He gives me the right words to tell them.

And that’s another aspect of Shepherds you need to be aware of – God works here.

He has a desk right by mine and shares His stories and ideas with me. He also has a desk in Linda’s office so He can reassure her as she’s paying the bills. He walks with Becci on her tours so our visitors feel His presence. He puts His arm around Dr. Amstutz to guide and support him as he makes daily decisions for the ministry. He pours His energy into the Living Skills Instructors and Residential Life Staff as they work one-on-one with the residents and students. He leads volunteers, all with hearts to give of their time and talents, directly to our door. He holds out a pen to our donors and encourages them to write the checks that purchase the food, pay the bills, hire the support staff, and build the programs that uphold the ministry and enrich the lives of those we serve.

God is the reason we are all drawn together as a Shepherds family – residents, clients, students, staff, Board, donors, prayer warriors and volunteers. He hand-picked each one of us for this time, this place and this purpose – to show the world that all human beings, including those with intellectual disabilities, were created on and for purpose; that we all must find this purpose and use it to His glory.

Shepherds does this through our philosophy of Appropriate Independence™. I defined it for you on the About Shepherds Ministries page so I’ll just tell you a brief story that illustrates it instead.

There once was a little boy born with severe disabilities. He could do nothing – not talk, not sit up, not feed himself – nothing. But he could smile. In his five years on earth, he smiled at everyone, and he smiled in almost all circumstances. He smiled so much that people were drawn closer to him.  These people asked themselves, “If this little boy can find such joy in life when he can do nothing for himself, why is my joy not equal to or greater since I can walk and dance and talk and sing? Where does this amazing joy come from?” In asking this question and seeking the answer, they found the Source of all True Joy – God.

Now imagine if this little boy could no longer smile; if his parents told him, “No, no honey. Life is so tiring for you already. Don’t waste what little energy you have by smiling all the time.” Or imagine if he was locked up in a room all day, as happens to people with intellectual disabilities in some developing countries, where others couldn’t see his beautiful smile. What would happen then?

His ability to bring joy to others and to serve God with his gift would be lost.

At Shepherds, we find and encourage the abilities in our people – whether it’s planting a flower, cooking a meal, picking out an outfit, riding a bike, or reading a book. We train our people to develop their abilities and then use these abilities to serve others and please God. This is Appropriate Independence simplified. 

This is the Shepherds of my experience. It’s a place of healing and compassion. It’s a ministry of potential, dignity and relationships. And it’s a people of ability, joy and passion bringing glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As you read each story, I pray you’ll develop a love for the people of Shepherds Ministries, a desire to see purpose and dignity brought to people with intellectual disabilities throughout the world, and an awe of the Mighty God who leads us all in His Kingdom-building work.

Please check back often as we share His work at Shepherds with you.