Archive for the ‘People’ Category

Today as I sat waiting for my flight to leave, a young man boarded the plane wearing the pink- piggy- neck rest you see in this picture.  As he stored his belongings, he removed his jacket to reveal that he was also wearing a hot pink shirt. I’m no fashion maven but this is a combination I had never seen before.  Evidently it was uncommon to the rest of the cabin as his appearance drew several sidelong glances.

I love being around people like our flight attendant. No glances for her, she just jumped in and asked about his choice of wardrobe for the day.   She ask a direct question and got a direct answer.

After watching the news over the past several days,  I turned to my wife Diane last night and said, “The world is watching the church in action.” Thousands of believers who were themselves suffering personal loss are serving the poor in Haiti.  Many have been there for years making a difference even before the earthquake struck. The efforts of these who are God’s feet on the ground can’t be hidden. You couldn’t miss the faces of hundreds of college students and high school groups from churches across America who were in Haiti before the disaster with a mission to help the beautiful people of this impoverished country.  Hundreds if not thousands of them are among those who perished.

This is my latest watercolor.

This is a man who survived The Bataan Death March. One of the most brutal events in history.

This is a man who spent 3 1/2 years in a Japanese Prison Camp.

This is a man who weighed 85 lbs when he was finally released. He had malaria, and dysentery, and could not step over a two by four.

This is a man who was told he wouldn’t live past fifty. Two years ago, he died at 82 .

This is a man who was told he would never have children.

This is my father.

This is how he started each day. Lest we forget.

I promise I won’t, Dad.

This is a watercolor I painted of my granddaughter Kialee. The pensive look inspired me to title this painting,“Some days are better than others.” Kialee had just been told that swimming was over for the day. Unfortunately for many children around the world most days are bad days. It isn’t swimming, but food and shelter and survival that are the focus of their days. Compassion International is making better days for tens of thousands of these children. In my shows, I would often show this picture of a little girl named Taciana. I used this picture to inspire others to sponsor a child and give them hope for tomorrow. This was a face without hope.

One day a woman ran to the stage after I had shown the picture. She had sponsored Taciana many

years before and was preparing to travel half way around the world to see her. She was ecstatic as she opened a book that contained all the correspondence she and Taciana had exchanged over the years.

Her hands shook as she showed me a recent picture of Taciana.

What a difference she had made in Taciana’s day…..No, in her life. You can do the same thing. Some days are better than others. Click here to see how easy it is to make today and tomorrow a better day in a child’s life.

See pictures of my sponsored children here

Find out more about Compassion international

I spent this weekend with world class skier, mountain climber, Eric Alexander and his wife Amy. Eric was a vital part of the team that led his blind friend Erik Weihenmayer to the top of Mount Everest. His story of this adventure is one of the most inspirational I have heard. Eric is a believer who artfully shares his faith as a part of his spell binding story. While training for this assent Eric fell 150 ft down a mountain landed on a ledge about the size of a car and didn’t break a single bone in his body. He developed pulmonary edema and unless rescued soon would face death. Obviously he was rescued.

Teamwork, Persistence, Trust and Faith are the anchors of Eric and Amy’s life and the focus of his presentations. His humorous and inspiring presentation will help you clarify your personal challenges and goals and see them as more attainable. We are very excited that Eric is now part of our team. More than being a world class climber he is a world class person.

Look what he did for me and Brian Scheer

Okay! So I can dream. Isn’t photo shop wonderful! To bring Eric to your group. Call us at 615 599 8955 or email brian@kendavis.com