Inspired (A handful of people who brighten the world)

Tonight I am happy, encouraged and challenged by a few people I know...

I'm just so inspired by our friends, Lloyd and Marianne. They are older than we are, of the grandparently age, and they are smart and sharp and soft and good and kind and bright and giving and fresh and out of the box and faithful and bold and surprising and extremely well-read. We sat down with them yesterday evening and four hours raced by like nothing.

I want to grow up to be like them. I want to love God and people and the world the way they do. I want to dare and dream and avoid dull ruts the way they do. I am utterly inspired, called forward and lifted by what I see in them.

I'm also inspired by my sister and her group of friends. Tanya has volunteered at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center for 10 years. Byron and Heather and I accompanied her to her Friday afternoon ride and watched as a nine year old boy, who is severely physically impaired but has been riding since he was 2, completed his 45 minute lesson. It was so lovely to see the 4 women (2 volunteers, 1 trainer and 1 therapist) work together with gentle, skilled, loving, attentive expertise, giving their entire mental and physical presence to his success. The horse, Gigi, was no less brilliant. It was a breath-taking display of compassion, commitment and competence tied beautifully into team-work. Seriously, it could make you cry.

Byron asked why Tanya and the therapist don't trade sides of the horse during the lesson so as to give each other's shoulders some relief from the heavy work of assisting the rider. Tanya said that they can't because they both only have one good shoulder each. Their work has taken a toll on their bodies.

I want to be selfless like these ladies.

I find it so comforting to know that there are amazing people doing amazing things, not particularly recognized or applauded, but just getting on with it.

Find out more about Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center here .

Ordinary Hero

Yesterday a guy named Steve Peifer was honored by CNN for his work to help school kids in Kenya. CNN did this cool awards show for heroes, (and mentioned that we didn't need another award show where people who are pulling in $20,000,000 receive fake gold statues.

Steve and his family moved to Kenya at about the same time that our family left Kenya. He is a college entrance counselor at Rift Valley Academy, (where Byron attended many moons ago.)

On the side, if you like, Steve has figured out how to feed about 11,000 Kenyan school kids one meal every day so that they have the energy to go to school and learn. He also sets up computer labs for them.

I cried as I told Byron about the award but I was mystified by my own tears...

...I think they came from the same place in my heart that is weary of seeing beautiful, famous, outrageously rich people honored for what they do (out of their excess funding) for Africa. (OK, I KNOW it's good they use their celeb power to raise awareness, but I would not classify them as heroes.)

Steve and his wife are normal folks. He gave up a good job in the States and they have planted themselves in the African soil where they make far less and give far more.

I am so happy for them to have received this award.

PS All the recipients of the awards were normal every-day hero-type folk. I also really liked hearing about the Catholic sister who works to rehabilitate girls who were kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, and the doctor who gives his time and talent to kids in Ethiopia.