Remembering Jasmine

Thank you to Cindy Weitzell, Independent Support Coordinator for the Catalyst Program, for writing today’s blog.

 

Jasmine came into the lives of the residents and staff at just four months old. She quickly became Shepherds dog. As I walked the halls, people would say “Jasmine!” and forget I was there… but that’s okay. I would have it no other way. They would bend down and pet her, and she returned love to many.

Jasmine truly became a therapy dog on Shepherds campus. She helped Nancy get up and walk again, she laid with Eddie when he was dying of cancer, and she became a pillow to those who had lost a loved one.   

It was the little things Jasmine did that brought a smile and joy into the lives of many. She liked to take a walk with the residents or chase a ball and bringing it back to them. She would do tricks for them. Jasmine loved to sit in their laps and be hugged or petted and, in return, she would give a wet kiss. While I worked in the cottages, she would play with the guys or sleep on their beds. 

She even played bocce, chasing the balls down the court! During the cold winter months she could be seen running alongside our snowshoe athletes and cross-country skiers. Jasmine became our mascot for Special Olympics as she traveled with us and nosed her way into the lives of others at the events.

In the Catalyst program, she would show up at any given home, and I could walk away knowing she would be well cared for by the clients.

The students in college found Jasmine to be a great comfort as many had left their dog at home to go to college. During those stressful days early in the school year, she became a stress relief as she let them pet and hold her.

The last few years of her life she had some health issues such as pneumonia and a herniated disk. I thought I would lose her. But God had other plans, her life as a therapy dog was not over. Residents, clients, staff, students prayed, and God restored her life that she might continue to give to others.

On Monday, November 18^th, Jasmine had a stroke and passed on. She gave 11 years of her life to serve others. Jasmine’s wagging tail, wet kisses and the sparkle of love in her eyes will not be forgotten by her friends at Shepherds.

What I've Learned At Shepherds

Blog #2 in the “Celebrating 55” series

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

My ministry experience for the past 18 years at Shepherds has taught me four important truths. I have observed, experienced, and sought to live day to day the practical applications of these truths by the living examples of my friends who call Shepherds home.

Gayle

Gary

I have learned that “the just do live by faith”, a simple but powerful faith.  My friends Gayle and R.J. remind me every time I visit with them that they exhibit that kind of faith.  After eight years of faithfully praying for my wife who has been delivered from a terrible form of cancer, they still ask me how she is doing and if we still are keeping the faith.  Our respect for one another is reciprocal.  They have given me many prayer requests over the years and by faith we have seen them all answered.

   

I have learned that praying without ceasing and that the effectual, fervent prayers of the righteous avail much.  My two friends, both named Gary, never fail to pray with me when I am able to be on campus.  They also never fail to ask for my prayer requests, give me their requests, and always want to know how their prayers are being answered.  The truth of the matter is simple -  their prayers are being answered.  I have learned just how important prayer is to our residents and clients.  Great answers to prayer have been the testimonies of Shepherds for over 55 years.  My prayer life and my faith to believe God for great things have definitely been challenged by the example of my friends.

Dan

I have learned the truth of knowing the joy of being saved and serving Jesus.  No better lesson has been taught to me than by my friend Dan C.  From the very first week of my employment when I was going through indoctrination and training in the Shepherds Way, Dan showed me the importance of those truths to him.  I always fall short of the joy he constantly expresses, and he keeps me challenged before the Lord to show it, too!  When Dan and I first met in the hallway outside of his living area, he asked me a question, “Mr. Stevens, are you saved?”  Wow, that simple question humbled me and made realize just whom I was called to serve, individuals created by God, on and for a purpose, i.e. salvation and service to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  That is Dan in a nutshell!  Dan never seems to have a problem.  He is always full of joy and has an exuberance I could only dream of showing.  I have learned that I need to be more like Dan and share my faith and serve my Lord with all joy!

Butch

I have learned from my closest friend the truth of Proverbs 18:24. “There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”  From the time we first met, Butch bonded in close friendship with me and my wife.  He came to think of us as his “foster parents’ and he, as our adopted son.  To this day, eighteen years later, we speak by phone regularly and I have the wonderful opportunity to visit my friend, brother and son two or three times a year.  Our friendship continues to grow.  I am still learning what a friend we have in Jesus, but also what friends we have gained by being a part of this wonderful ministry called Shepherds.  It is a truth, an important truth; one that I will cherish forever.  Dan C told me one more thing on that eventful day when we first met.  He said, “Mr. Stevens, when I get to heaven I will be just like you.”  That statement reminded me that Dan knew why he was at Shepherds, but that Jesus Christ is the difference for all eternity.  I am going to enjoy hearing the testimonies of my friends as they stand or sit at the feet of Jesus and tell Him all the great things that they learned and experienced by being cared for by God’s servants at Shepherds.  And do you know what?  I am going to sit or stand at the feet of Jesus, too.  I am going to tell Him as a testimony on behalf of my friends, what great and wonderful lessons they taught me.

Gary

Ruthie Jo

The 55th Anniversary Open House

Blog #1 in the “Celebrating 55” series

Last week, we were all bustling around campus, making sure everything was in place for our 55^th Anniversary Open House.

Walkie-talkies for the tour guides were charging, the Domestics and Maintenance teams were polishing and straightening and tweaking, and the tour speakers were making last minute edits to their speeches to ensure they held guests at their stops for no more than five minutes.

The grounds crew was placing temporary signage at all the tour stops, the Shepherds Kitchen staff cut and mixed and sautéed as they prepared the hors d’oeuvres, and other staff moved their cars to the back lots to make parking room for our visitors.

I was ordering balloons to decorate the stage and stocking up batteries for the digital camera, Joy was fielding early visitors at the door, and Becci and Mary were desperately trying to get the beautiful posters of our clients to stay adhered to our slick gym walls.

The Horticulture students picked tomatoes from the Shepherds College Gardens, the Culinary Arts students chopped those tomatoes and turned them into a luscious topping for bruschetta to serve our visitors, and the residents were humming with excitement at the chance to welcome the guests into their homes.

It was a beautiful day. God blessed us with comfortable temperatures, a mild breeze and sunny skies – the perfect day to showcase His work at Shepherds Ministries.

Eventually, with lots of prayer and persistence, everything got done, and we waited for our first visitors in the lobby of the Findley Center. There was a little bit of tension at the uncertainty an Open House naturally elicits. Would we have two guests, or two hundred guests? We really didn’t know. We could only wait to see if anyone walked in the door at 4:30. 

At 4:10, our first four visitors arrived. Whew! We had people to take on a tour. Becci showed our guests into the Welcome Center to watch a video while they waited for the first tour to begin.

It was exciting to watch all the visitors arrive. People wanted to know about Shepherds! They wanted to see our campus! They wanted to meet our clients! Young and old came through the front doors with interest in their eyes. Men, women and children.  A priest, potential students and former staff. Community friends, church friends and our friends from Southern Center. About 75 guests in all went on tours from 4:30 to 7:00.

I was assigned photography duty and elected to walk along with a group whose dynamic intrigued me – two potential college students and their families, a couple - Dan and Verna - who were part of the original Sunday School class that started Shepherds, and another couple -Nate and Katie - just starting out on the ground floor of a ministry with a support structure similar to Shepherds – Christian individuals, foundations and churches.

At the first stop, Dr. Amstutz took people through the history of Shepherds, summarizing each decade on the History Wall in the Findley Lobby. Our visitor Dan turned toward me and said, “55 years ago I was standing in this spot, only it was an empty field, and I was up to my ankles in mud wondering what on earth we were doing.”

 

We left the Findley Center and walked to The Harbor, the men’s unit at the north end of the Wood Center. What a welcome we received! Mary Wright, the speaker, explained group home living while Gary shook hands, the other men smiled, and fresh baked cookies were offered to all the guests.  

Our next stop was in the North Commons of Shepherds College. Some of the college students were eating dinner while Tracy Terrill talked about Shepherds College and its cutting edge program designed to educate and train young adults with intellectual disabilities for a life of Appropriate Independence.

As we headed down the hallway, we ran into Mrs. Luchterhand, the instructor for Ai Academy. She explained the goal of this new college program and had Ellie and Matthew, two of her students, greet the visitors.

Then it was off to the Vocational Training area where our guests met Leslie Leith, Lead Instructor of Horticulture, who showed them a PowerPoint presentation of the Horticulture Program, and Chef Brett McCarthy, Lead Instructor of Culinary Arts, who talked about the Culinary Arts program. He and his 3^rd year student Josh served bruschetta, fresh and warm from the oven, to the guests.

Taking our snacks with us, we walked down the hall and around the corner to Tracy Lackey and her Catalyst clients. They showed us a PowerPoint presentation that included images of our independent living clients in their homes in the community.

We left the Wood Center for our next stop – Lamb Cottage. Andrea Humphrey explained the programs we have available to our clients on a short-term basis. As she talked, life in the cottage went on as usual. Ladies played games around a table, staff comforted one resident, while others watched television and rocked slowly in rocking chairs.

After leaving this cozy scene, we headed to the Miter Building to hear Gloria Dahlberg talk about the Day Services Center and all the activities it offers for our older or less mobile clients. Sweet Cathy was giving away butterfly magnets that the clients had made for the visitors. 

Down the hall, Bryan Edwards was coaching the Shepherds Enterprises employees as they bagged accessories for Andis hair clippers. 

Our last stop was the Bolthouse Center.  Dr. Kinkade presented the vision for the future of Shepherds Ministries in an inspiring presentation to our guests. 

Following the tour, each guest had the opportunity to visit information tables, read about giving and volunteer opportunities, meet staff, students and residents, and talk together as they gathered around the food tables. 

It was a tired, but animated bunch of people at the end of the day! Dan and Verna exclaimed about how much the ministry has developed over the years, and Nate and Katie listened attentively, mentally taking notes for their own ministry journey. 

It hit me in that moment, after several minutes of listening to the interaction between the young and the old, between the tested and tried and the nervous and new, just how much Shepherds Ministries has gained, and just how much it has to offer others, after all these years. 

55 years of experience caring for people with intellectual disabilities.

55 years of making mistakes, learning from them, fixing them and “perfecting” the process.

55 years and hundreds of staff members, each dedicating their own talents, wisdom and abilities to the service of a people we love.

55 years of praying and listening, of discerning God’s will and obeying.

55 years of building loyal friendships with people who have given hands and feet and heart to this important ministry.

55 years.

 

Thank you, our dear friends – for your prayers of support, for the untold hours of volunteer work on our campus, for the millions of Campbell’s Labels, for your words of advice and encouragement, for including us in your wills, for your generous donations both big and small, and for the gifts of quilts and clothing and vehicles and…it goes on and on. God has used you to impact the lives of people with intellectual disabilities for 55 years.  

And He still has wondrous plans in store for the years ahead…

55 and Growing

The beginning of the “Celebrating 55” series

To prepare for this blog, I began researching what the world was like for people with intellectual disabilities pre-1958, the year Shepherds arrived on the scene.

I came across words like, “idiocy, allowed to die of exposure, asylums, eugenic sterilization, eliminating the possibility of people with intellectual disabilities, imbeciles, removed from society, euthanasia, defective, source of sorrow to their parents” and now my heart hurts and the taco salad I ate for lunch isn’t sitting too well in my stomach.

Maybe looking back isn’t such a good idea…

But looking back is what enables a person to see the growth - the awareness that grows from the ignorance, the love that grows from the fear, the light that grows to illuminate the darkness.

It was into this darkness created by fear and ignorance that God chose to begin a good work. He was taking back a place in His world for His children with intellectual disabilities. 

LeJeune

He was moving in a mighty way…

In the 1950’s, the ARC was formed to lobby on behalf of children with disabilities. The United States had legislation in place that allowed higher functioning children with intellectual disabilities to be educated. Lejeune discovered the genetic cause of Down syndrome which helped erase some of the stigma attached to children with Trisomy 21. Awareness of the inhumane conditions in institutions grew and became an international concern, leading to movements like “normalization.” 

And God placed a vision in the hearts and minds of a Sunday school class to provide love, care and compassion to children with intellectual disabilities and their families. 

Hmmm… the latter seems kind of small on the international scale doesn’t it? How does a modest-sized group of people impact a world where the norm regarding intellectual disabilities involved using words like “moron” in polite society? A world where human value was measured by IQ, productivity and finances? A world where the “defectives” were locked up and hidden away, or worse?

How did this class have the confidence to believe that they could make even a tiny, little dent in a belief system that defined approximately 200 million people across the globe as “embarrassments to humanity?”

You already know the answer, don’t you?

They placed their faith in God, and He took their willing hearts, their talents and abilities, their earnest desire to serve Him, and He blessed it and called it good. We called it Shepherds Ministries.  

Shepherds celebrates 55 years of service to people with intellectual disabilities this year.

It’s been quite a journey.

Worldwide, we’ve seen schools swing open their doors to educate children with intellectual disabilities. We’ve heard the call to end the “R” word. We’ve watched as people with intellectual disabilities starred in popular television shows. We cheered as people with disabilities fought for rights and won. 

And on our campus in Union Grove, WI, we’ve loved, supported and encouraged the people God placed in our care.

We’ve built homes, workshops and schools as God provided the funds.

We’ve developed programs as God showed us the need.

We’ve taught our philosophy of Appropriate Independence to volunteers, youth groups and churches.

With God’s help, we have brought compassion and dignity to hundreds of people on our campus, and untold numbers of people around the world.

Through all the building and growing and serving, we’ve learned so much about people with intellectual disabilities, and it’s what we’ve learned that I want to share with you in a series of blogs I’ll simply call “Celebrating 55.”

Because, as we now know, with learning comes growth - the kind of growth that draws us out of the darkness of ignorance and fear and into a place filled with awareness and understanding; a place where all people can find acceptance, respect and purpose.