Posts made in September, 2013
FrankenCHALLENGE Day #2
FrankenSTART is about being the hero of your START story. If you were a superhero, what would your name be? And how would you use your superpower to make your START dream a reality? Share it on the Facebook...
Read MoreThe World’s Best Catch Player
by Jennifer Kaufman His mom often wonders if she shouldn’t have named him Joseph – after another famous believer in dreams – because for Ethan Bryan, it all started with a dream. As in, the kind you have while you’re sleeping. He woke one morning with the vivid images of playing catch for a cause with some of baseball’s finest. Once he got his thoughts on paper, he began to wonder just how he could make his dream a reality; he knew just what cause he wanted to support. As this feature goes to press, Ethan will be in the middle of what he hopes is a record-setting game of catch just outside of Kauffman Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. A long-time baseball player himself, Bryan clarifies, “These throws have nothing to do with ego. [They] are more than just for the sake of fun and community. These throws are to make a difference in the world.” Everyone that participates will be encouraged to donate at least $1 to raise money for Team Not for Sale, to fight modern-day slavery. Not for Sale is an organization with a presence in various countries around the world, using business creation, supply chain evaluation and aftercare aid, creating enterprise opportunities in vulnerable communities, offering social services to survivors and those at-risk to human trafficking and working to ensure that no one is for sale.1 Ethan had the pleasure of meeting a missionary who works in Romania near a NFS location, and will be donating 100% of money raised at today’s event in his honor. Ok, but why baseball? Bryan has always had a passion for the game. After playing most of the way through high school, he recalls with pride a coach who told him that, despite having a good deal of talent, he made the team first and foremost because of his heart. He eventually realized his size might keep him from playing in the big leagues – but that didn’t stop him from being “the best benchwarmer the team has ever seen”. He says he feels fully alive when playing a game of catch, and wants to connect that passion with another. In 2010, Jeremy Affeldt, pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, reached out to Not for Sale to see how he could make a difference. Today, Team Not for Sale has over 30 professional baseball players – in addition to other athletes around the world – using their on-field achievements to pledge monetary donations to the cause. Many of them also feel called to use their platform to further engage their fans and communities. Ethan has absolutely no indication of how many people might show up to play catch today. The Kansas City Royals are in the playoff hunt for the first time in over 10 years, forcing his game of catch to a much more obscure location to make extra room for parking. There are many hurdles that they’ll have to overcome to reach his goal of 1000 participants, but that’s not stopping him. His passion and dedication for this project has led to a bit of “who’s who” (or who-knows-whom, more accurately) and he’s even received some interest from a current player who hopes to stop by. Perhaps that dream of his that started it all might be coming true! His goals have changed a little with time, but all with the same end result in mind. In addition to today’s world record attempt, Ethan has high hopes of playing catch with the president and with any celebrities he can track down, with goals to sell autographed balls to raise more money and awareness. His current story – the quest to become the world’s greatest catch player while working to end slavery – will “end”, at least on paper, in December. It’s both exciting and terrifying though that he isn’t quite sure how it will end… or where the road will take him after his book hits the shelves. Ethan says his throwing skills may have gotten a bit rusty since high...
Read MoreFrankenCHALLENGE Introduction
We know what it feels like to be in the “in-between,” that strange place between START sessions. So FrankenSTART is here to help make that time better for all of us (because we miss those emails too)! In the upcoming days, you’ll receive special notes from your friendly community monster (call it a FrankenChallenge if you will). Today’s message? INSPIRE. We have all heard incredible stories in this community. If you’ve been inspired by someone in your START community, today let them know! Share on the START Experiment Facebook...
Read MoreFinding My Way in the Dark
by Ronei Hardin as told to Teri Modisette My name is Ronei, and this is one of the darkest hours of my life. It’s very hard for for me to say, but I’m losing my husband. This is my life now–I go to my first job and teach high school English all day. Then I go to my second job. When I’m done there, it’s back to the hospital to be with my husband, Sam. We are introverts as individuals and as a couple. What I have is special, so I’m cautious, protective of my family, and deeply private. Sam worked in the stage lighting and production industry for several popular country music and popular touring artists. He was in the middle of programming Toby Keith’s lighting exactly one week before our daughter’s high school graduation on May 25. That meant Sam would get to go with me, see our daughter graduate, and hear her commencement speech. He finished Toby Keith’s rehearsal schedule the day before graduation. When he came home, I knew something was very wrong. His whole body was a terrifying, glowing, zombie yellow–so yellow he scared his co-workers. I said, “Why didn’t you tell me about this?” He insisted that he wouldn’t go to the hospital until he watched our daughter graduate and heard her commencement speech. I was adamant that he go to the hospital immediately. Neither of us would budge, so we struck a compromise: he’d go to graduation if I could take him straight to the E.R. afterward. We went to graduation, she delivered her speech, and we left as soon as it was over. We spent the next six days in critical care. The test results said hepatocellular carcinoma: liver cancer. Sam has faced cancer twice before and kicked it in the teeth, but the doctors are very clear: the calendar is our enemy. At five months into his 12-month best-case scenario, we are regularly in and out of hospitals. I joined Round 2 of the Start Experiment because I knew it would give me a chance to be part of someone else’s story. I wanted to keep pouring into people the things I have to offer. I needed to know I wasn’t the only one walking through the darkest hour of my life. While everyone in the Experiment was talking about whether they were going to the Start Conference, I sat in the area of Vanderbilt hospital reserved for family members of those having serious surgery. There were moms crying because their kids’ lives hung in the balance. Grandchildren weeping because grandpa had had a heart attack. I was surrounded by high-level drama and to top it all off, the START Conference was literally going to happen right down the street from my second job. All that happiness and inspiration, right down the street. I sat in that waiting room and thought, “I can’t listen to this.” I was crying and thinking, “Why is this happening to me?” I put on my headphones, got my laptop, and found a corner. I was at the end of my hope. I remember telling God, “When Sam goes, please take me too.” At that point, I didn’t care anymore. At first, I didn’t have it in me to say anything about my situation, but sitting in that waiting room, I thought, “Crap. I need to say something. I have to write something to help me lay this all down and let it go.” I logged into my blog–which was full of tumbleweeds and dust bunnies at that point–and started drafting a post. Actually, it was my “Dear Jon” letter. I was scared the letter would come off as a whine letter when I was honestly trying to be funny. You see, if I can find the funny in any given situation, that’s when God shows up for me. He knows my sense of humor and that’s how He comforts and supports me. I posted the letter. Then I put the link in the Start Experiment with the headline, “Here goes nothing.” I burst into tears,...
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