A stranger is a person that you see on the street, on the bus or in a coffee shop. Unfortunately you don’t get the chance to really get to know them, and its easy to just overlook a person and judge them for who and what you think they might be. 
Though these strangers look foreign to you, they are familiar to other people and like any other person they are impacting other people’s lives.
The really cool thing about being on the road is that instead of staying in ritzy hotels, we get billeted out and stay in people’s homes. At first it may be a bit awkward but slowly and surely you find common ground. It’s amazing the things that you learn about these people, and it’s funny because they start off as complete strangers.
Just recently our team had the privilege of staying with a family in Rosenort, MB. Right off the bat we were greeted with big hugs and showered with warm smiles. They were a part of the Hero Holiday trip that went to Mexico this past Christmas. By just talking to the family they really show a bit of insight into how they truly care about helping others. Constantly showing us videos of their experience from Mexico, they would talk about their vision of bringing their entire community to a developing country, to get the experience of seeing poverty and realizing the power we have to cause change.
Now, this is only one experience. Can you imagine moving from house to house and getting the privilege of meeting people just as amazing as this family? I am still shocked that I get to experience getting to know families just like this one. All the billets we have stayed with have been so unique and amazing and have offered us with the utmost hospitality. The fact that people are willing to take us in without even knowing us and providing us with shelter and food is incredible. All the people we have been privileged to stay with have shown me the true meaning of loving others (strangers) as your own.
-Laura, SOL Student
p.s. This is an amazing shirt that the mom from Rosenort bought for JP. They have incredible fashion sense down in Rosenort…wow!
Hey everybody!
Just for those who are wondering (because I get asked about 200 times daily) my name is actually Hammer and I do indeed have two of the best parents ever. DJ thought I was insane (inside joke - see The Whole Nine Yards) when I told him how excited I […]
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It’s a beautiful evening for driving, as the sun is setting over the tree tops of northern Michigan and we cruise west on US Highway 2. Team 2 is a little under half way through the two thousand and some odd kilometer trip from our home base in Hamilton, ON to the prairie province of […]
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The past couple weeks have been really busy touring all the high school/ Jr high doing our Think Day presentations. Besides staying in amazing billets, we have been visiting some tourist hot spots like Peggy’s Cove, Hopewell rocks, grand falls and old Montreal. I was amazed on how beautiful Peggy’s Cove […]
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Hello World,
We have embarked on our tour through Eastern Canada. We actually left a few weeks ago now, but wanted to catch you up on how things have been going. Bryan, one of the School of Leadership students on our team, offered his daily journal to give you all an inside glimpse into a typical […]
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Breaking Boundaries; a line that roots to many different causes of conflict. What are boundaries? Sometimes they guidelines set up to protect us from harmful situations. Other times and the context I am talking about, they are things that are built up within society preventing us from things that could actually be a positive experience. […]
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They are only the elite, specially selected few.
They parade across our stage brandishing their weapons of choice. These are no ordinary instruments of torture, unusually, they are in the form of a broom, hockey stick, and a severed pool noodle. These ‘creme of the crop’ are showing us their rock and roll moves like never before (literally, I don’t think any of them have ever done this before!). They head bang as in the days of their youth, and while doing so there are generally three items that come spilling from their pockets.
Keys, pens, and paperclips.
Once in a while there will be an unlucky individual who flings their glasses inadvertently across that glossy hardwood floor not caring a bit, because they need to rock harder than their students did. They will let nothing stand in the way of their ETERNAL GLORY! For that is what they will receive if they can rock harder than a bunch of high school wussies!
These are the teachers who have bravely sacrificed eyesight and dignity alike to participate in our “school of Rock” and no matter how many teachers we see on stage we are always shocked at how well they perform!
Canada has some of the most amazing teachers, many of which end up on our stage and its their students who choose them because they know that these are the teachers who know how to have fun. These are the teachers who are trusted and liked by their students. They are the elite only because of the dedication to their students, dedication that is clearly seen when they rock out no holds bar to make sure their students get a laugh! we congratulate you teachers who are chosen for our air band rock off because you are the teachers who care for their students. We did not preselect you, you were chosen by the students you teach. In fact its almost as if you selected yourselves. How you ask? By being there for your students, approachable, and friendly. You selected yourselves when you decided to love kids and not just teach them. Our country is full of teachers and administrators
who love their students, who only want the best for them and their futures. A lot of the time you are the elite, the specially selected few, who will humbly rock out with us, and for some reason you are always carrying in those magnanimous pockets of yours:
Keys, Pens, and Paperclips
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Published by absolute March 29th, 2009
in Team 2, Road Team Blogs and Student Zone.
The essence of music comes from the dew dripping off of a rainbow, wetting the unicorn’s hooves, deep within the clarity of the sun. It blinds every heart to pursue the truth of new beginnings. Now let me ask you a question: did that make any sense to you? It makes life changing sense…hope your […]
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Published by absolute December 3rd, 2008
in Team 2 and Student Zone.
Since we started this year’s tour and the new class for our school of leadership started, we have been reading books alongside the students on our teams. One of these books was called Disposable People and while reading it I started to think about my role in supporting the process of disposing of people. We […]
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Published by nettie November 17th, 2008
in Team 2, Road Team Blogs and Student Zone.
So we have been on the road for just about two months, and let me tell you it has been quite the experience. We have had an incredible time so far!
Canada is about a million times more beautiful than I could have ever expected and the funny thing is that I live in Canada. […]
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