by Mike Tenbusch | Nov 1, 2019 | Letters from the President
A year ago this morning, I walked in for my first day on the job at International Samaritan. When I mention this fact to friends, old-school Catholics are quick to tell me, “Ahh, All Saints Day, that’s a good day to start your new job.” For those of you who are not...
by Mike Tenbusch | Oct 18, 2019 | Letters from the President
This past Friday morning, I was with Dan Weingartz, one of our board members at International Samaritan, on a tour of a medical clinic we helped to renovate in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. Just as we were finishing our tour, Selam Terefe, our inspirational...
by Mike Tenbusch | Oct 4, 2019 | Letters from the President
“Lift your head, Isabelita.” “You can do it!” “Come on, Titi! We need you to lift your head…” I stood in awe, watching my wife, her sister and their aunt encouraging the matriarch of their family to lift her head off the pillow of her bed in an intensive care...
by Mike Tenbusch | Sep 20, 2019 | Letters from the President
I’ve written before about the best job I ever had, but the worst job is a whole different story. The worst job I’ve ever had has been the work of finding a job. Twice in my life, I’ve lost a job. Both times came as a complete surprise, not only to me but also to my...
by Mike Tenbusch | Sep 4, 2019 | Letters from the President
If you haven’t done so already, take two minutes to check out the performance of the Detroit Youth Choir on America’s Got Talent last week. Just click on the picture below for almost instant joy: I don’t know any of the young people in this choir, but I’ve spent most...
by Mike Tenbusch | Aug 21, 2019 | Letters from the President
I recently returned from a week visiting with our scholars and partners in Nicaragua and what stunned me more than anything else about Nicaragua was the silence. Since the death of more than 300 protestors in the streets last year, it feels like half the nation has...
by Mike Tenbusch | Aug 10, 2019 | Letters from the President
My heart aches for the times we live in. The atrocities committed in Dayton and El Paso this past weekend don’t seem like isolated events. They seem like the inevitable result of living in a world consumed with glorifying oneself on social media, with demonizing...
by International Samaritan | Jul 16, 2019 | Letters from the President
Last week, a 15-year-old girl named Coco became the youngest person ever to win three matches at Wimbledon, including an awe-inspiring comeback after being down 6-3 and 5-2 in the second match. The thrill of that victory, and the beautiful bond so evident between her...
by International Samaritan | Jul 16, 2019 | Uncategorized
This story is from and written from the perspective of Selam Terefe, our program director in Ethiopia. The first thing we noticed when we walked into Ebo’s one room house are the drawings posted on the clay walls: Some were drawn with pencil, others with pen, but they...
by International Samaritan | Jul 2, 2019 | Letters from the President
One of my strengths is that I never see a glass as half full; I see it as mostly full almost all the time. My natural optimism helps me in my work, but I’ve learned that it can also hurt me. Sometimes the glass can actually be half empty—or even completely...
