By Mike Tenbusch | March 25, 2022
Over the last year, I have seen a profound difference get made in the world when somebody says four simple words in earnest. I shouldn’t be surprised by the impact, because these four words gave rise to International Samaritan 27 years ago.
What do you think those four words are?
Here are some things they are not:
- Coffee and donuts, please.
- What’s on TV tonight?
- I should exercise more.
- Want fries with that?
- Let’s go roller skating.
- How’s your bracket doing?
Those are all good options, but they are not world changing. The four words that I have seen change the world are…
How can I help?
A friend of International Samaritan named Kathleen wrote those four words to me in response to a blog last year about the challenges that girls face working in the dumps in Ethiopia. Her question forced us to ask those girls what would help the most, and their answer was self-defense training. Thirty girls are now becoming Taekwondo experts, which Kathleen made possible by asking the question and then providing the support to pay for their uniforms and a trainer.
Sarah, one of the students from U of M who traveled with us to Ethiopia right before the pandemic, asked that same question about a month ago. She had some extra time in school and wanted to support our mission. Now she’s leading a group of women locally who are helping to find ways for the mothers of our scholars to bring the jewelry they make in Ethiopia to the market here in the U.S.
In quite the same way, a group of students from St. John’s Jesuit High School in Toledo were so appalled by the conditions they experienced at a garbage dump in Guatemala in 1994 that they wrote the mayor of Guatemala City and asked, “How can we help?” His answer was that the community needs housing, and a gift from Karen and Bill Pulte enabled a group of students to return to that dump the following summer. They not only built that housing; they gave life to what we now call International Samaritan.
If you’re looking to enhance your journey on earth, ask one or two people you love the most what their purpose or passion is—and then say those four beautiful words to them after you hear their response.
How can I help?
Your support of their efforts will change the world. I know, because I keep seeing it happen here.
You’ve Got Me Head Over Heels
By Mike Tenbusch | July 09, 2021 Please accept my apology for not writing you in over a month. I’ve missed you! As much as I enjoy sharing these reflections every couple of weeks, I had to step away for a bit to meet with supporters of our mission around the nation...
Women Fighting For Life
By Mike Tenbusch | May 28, 2021 Just before the pandemic was declared last year in March, a team of students from University of Michigan’s campus chapter of International Samaritan served on our organization’s first service immersion trip to the garbage dump community...
The Power of a Good Book and Good Friends
By Mike Tenbusch | May 18, 2021 This week, I’d like to share with you a little bit of what our mission feels like when we say we are walking hand-in-hand with people in garbage dump communities, along with those with a calling to help, to break the chains of poverty...
