Sometimes I underestimate the impact that Sergio has on others. I simply forget what a lover of people he truly is. He is a great example for me. This week I tried to follow by his example.
The week started with the opportunity of travel. As always I worry about the accessibility of hotels, especially bathrooms. We were traveling out of the country, to Cancún, Mexico, and for a longer time than usual, this created another worry. Will his shoulders hold from all the travel on different terrain than what they are use to? I finally let the worry go and trusted that we would have a great time and that all of Sergio’s needs would be meet.
On our way to board the plane I allowed myself to relax enough to watch how people react to Sergio as he moved around the airport. The stares come almost immediately but so does my husband’s charm to counteract the awkwardness. Not for Sergio’s sake, but for the person staring. I continue to watch as he breaks the exchange with a” Hello how are you?” My reaction is to try and protect him from the glares, he just wants an opportunity to talk to everyone and anyone.
On our trip this happened over and over again. With each stare Sergio took as an invitation for conversation. Within a couple of days he decided to challenge me to a game of let’s make friends while at the poolside. I bravely took on the master of friendship making. This game lasted for three days. With every eye contact he used to gain a smile and with the smile came a conversation that lead to lunch or dinner. I was very quickly losing.
I had to change my strategy or be forced to throw in the white towel. I put on my game face with a smile and started to say hello to everyone I came to contact with. In time I was poolside making new friends. I was learning how a couple had just celebrated their tenth anniversary and how another couple meet on an online site. I learned how many children and grandchild some others had. The game was one that I began to enjoy and in the evening we would laugh as we counted how many new friends we has made. Disagreement came as we battled out which one of us had made the first contact. After the third day Sergio and I agreed that he had won.
I share this with you because I learned a lesson. Simple interactions led to sharing our lives. We all have a story to share. Seek to start conversations by simple smiles and genuine hellos. Thanks Sergio for challenging me in this way. I will work harder to win next time.
Let’s all set out to make a new friend this week. Challenge someone to do the same.
Hi, I am Jason and I am going to be writing this as a guest writer for The Wheels of Grace.
This is going to be the story of how adoption has changed my life to what it is now. I was taken by the state of Kansas at the age of 2. Not because my parents were bad parents, they just weren’t ready to parent a child. My biological dad has two degrees in computer science, he was a very smart man but didn’t make very smart decisions which lead him going to jail.
My mom she just wasn’t able to take care of me because she had some mental disabilities. The state didn’t let her take care of me because she was incapable of taking care of a kid on her own.
I didn’t know what was going on because I was so young.
The stuff I do remember is being put in the system and traveling from foster home to foster home. Out of all the foster homes I was put in I remember a foster home in Burlington, Colorado. The kind foster parents were Jan and Bob Churchwell. Most of their family were adopted by this lovely couple. I was going to be a part of their family until they introduced me to a family from Yuma, CO. That was the Sanchez family. They came down to see me and they did end up adopting me. But, before adopting me they had to do lots and lots of paperwork.
Whey they did adopt me I remember having to drive all the way to Denver to the court house. We had to wait a while before our case number was up. It was hard to stay still being a 4 year old boy. So we played Uno which made the time seem to go by much quicker. When it was our turn, we went into the courtroom and ended up being adopted that day.
I remember taking a picture with the Judge and then afterwards we went to Chuck E. Cheese and played.
After that we headed back to Yuma, Colorado where I still live today with my adoptive family.
Jason Sanchez was adopted at age 5 and is now 16 years old. He often jokes that he isn’t adopted. In our house we believe in talking about adoption openly. Adoption is a positive word that can change, not only the lives of kids, but the lives of their adopted families as well. Don’t forget to participate in Orphan Sunday this Sunday November 8th. You may have the chance to change someone’s life.
Where does the desire to adopt child come from? Is it because one wants to start a family or grow one? Is it because one can’t have children and this is the only way that it could happen? Or is it one feels that they can make a difference in a child’s world that is in need?
I was faced with having to answer this question. At the the age of 18 I thought that I had all the time in the world and that there was no rush. Little did I know that the path to a family was not going to come to me in the convention way. There would be nothing conventional about my path that I would be forced to take. At the age of 18 I was shot and my ability to walk was taken away from me, forever. At this crossroad in my life I struggled with the idea that I would never walk again. Anger, regret, and the nagging question in my head of why I survived to live in a wheelchair, beat at my mind like a boxer hitting a punching bag. Guilt found a way of working itself into my mind clouding my head with the thoughts that this was happening to me because of my past. I had reached a point in my life that I could not handle the situation I was in and I had to let it go. The darkness had won. I lost the will to fight.
Matthew 11:28-29
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
The Lord revealed himself to me in my darkest moment and showed me that he had path for me to follow. The first thing that he did was to open my eyes to the person who had stood by my side through all of the darkness and hard times. My best friend my angel, Norah. Then he took away all of the anger, regret, and guilt and placed love, peace, and forgiveness in its place. The night that I was shoot, I not only lost the ability to walk, I lost the ability to have children. I was saddened by this because this was truly something that I knew I would want someday. But this was not the way the Lord wanted me to experience it. The path he had for me was adoption.
I was filled with the desire to open up my family and home to whatever the Lord sent my way. His plan for me was to share my life with 3 kiddos that were in search of a family. I now know that having kids doesn’t make a father, raising them does. There’s nothing in this world that comes close to the joy of me becoming a father and the happiness that has was given me. I can make a case that the worst night of my life was the beginning of the best thing that ever happened to me. My eyes were opened to the beauty that surrounded me and I was given a family and the responsibility of a father. It’s easy to think that my kids got the better of the deal but in reality I hit the jackpot.
I encourage anyone that is considering adoption to first make sure that the desire you feel is coming from the right place. This isn’t an easy path but it can be very rewarding and fulfilling one.
All I can say is that I am a better man because of my kiddos! My mission in life is to show the world what the lord has done in my life and how he has blessed me.
God alway makes a way, all we need to do is hold his hand and let him lead us.
Remember to Keep Rolling On
Don’t forget to join us for Orphan Sunday November, 8th or find a way to help a fatherless child.
Have you ever been involved in so many ministries and organizations that your calendar is full?
Your servant’s heart longs to be it’s best in all of them. Each ministry shares a part of your passion and you want to do them all justice. Many times you have promised yourself you would not say yes to one more as your heart speaks loudly. Your heart wants to keep serving.
I love to serve, love to help others, I pray that I can serve as a career. I pray that God will allow me in the future to be free to serve full time. Is having a calendar full of service to others a good problem to have ? I don’t know?
Even though I said my calendar was full I added one more to my list. My heart has longed to make a difference in the lives of orphaned children. This year I have committed to helping my church organize an event for Orphan Sunday. This event includes a 5k, speaking, helping with advertising, a meal and much more. When we feel that tug in our heart we should respond. I have experienced so many blessings from answering the tugs.
Before Sergio and I answered the call to adopt two little boys ages 4 and 5 I never understood the true meaning of the word orphan. Most of us know that an orphan is a parentless child. In my life an orphan has not been only parentless. An orphaned child is abandoned, mistreated, malnourished, beaten, and left with many scares. In my daily life it takes a different kind of love for my children to believe that I chose them until God calls me home. I promised them the kind of love that will fight for their need to grow and heal. I will help them recover from wounds created by the loss of their bio parents.
Years later we answered the adoption call again. She was 2 and I prayed that the scars would be few. Again God taught me that each child is unique not only in personality but in recovering from loss. With her I have learned compassion and communication. She has a longing to understand the hard question of why. I have learned to rely on my heavenly father to answer her tough questions. Most days I don’t understand why, but I know that I can attempt to answer any question with lots of love.
An orphan is NOT just a parentless child. An orphans is a child that needs a special kind of love that we all can give. They are our children. God’s children.
In preparation for Orphan Sunday we will be sharing our adoption story as well as other stories on adoption. Please continue to ROLL with us. Our Prayer is for you in some way to come alongside and help these children. We pray for other churches to set time aside on November 8th (this year’s Orphan Sunday) to pray for the children who are orphaned. Visit the Orphan Sunday website to find out how you and your church can help.
When life gives you the opportunity to serve keep serving. Your work will not go unnoticed. If you’ve touched one person you have made a difference. Your willingness to serve makes our world a better place. My calendar is full, but so is my heart.
This is a guest post written by Casey Schiel. Casey and Ashley grew up together during elementary, junior high and part of high school. He shares a story of how he got his first job working with Sergio at Ace Hardware.
I will never forget my first job as a teenager. I was walking up the street a few blocks to my local Alco retail store with my very first completed application in hand. A block from the store a random minivan pulled up (I think red) and asked me one very simple and to the point question. “What are you doing?”
“Applying for a job at Alco.” I said puzzlingly
Motivationally and assuredly he said, “I am a manager at the Ace Hardware store, why don’t you stop by there first”.
I didn’t think twice, I took his advice by applying right away. I became a proud part-time employee at Ace, as a janitor. My first job, my first team, my first boss Sergio Sanchez. During my short time employed, I had no idea what a lasting impact the experience would have after moving to another town.
After 10 years of numerous part-time jobs and internship experiences I can say that having a personable, knowledgeable and fun supervisor is crucial when creating an enjoyable work environment. I was very lucky to have Sergio provide that leadership, and guidance. He had an enthusiastic way about him every day I spent working at Ace Hardware.
Becoming the man I am today I have always felt timing has been very fortunate. I can’t help but believe that timing has been strongly connected by my religious beliefs, loving family, and past relationships built through simple interactions that most people would tend to forget or take advantage of. My interaction with Sergio that day walking to Alco happened for a reason and I am very grateful he pulled over to say hello.
I’d go back to those days clocking in only to appreciate Sergio even more supervising me. It was a necessary job to keep the day to day operations running and he was sure to trust me with it. Sergio conditioned this same assurance with everyone to create a uniform and successful working environment. I will never forget my first job as a teenager, thank you Sergio you were a great supervisor and a cool dude!
Thank you Casey for sharing your story! Read another guest post from one of Ashley’s classmates on how Sergio affected him as a teacher.
If you have a story to share e-mail it to ashley@thewheelsofgrace.com to have it featured on our blog.
