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An Interview with Missionary Nurse Tammy Reese Short By Dana Marie Martin Tammy Reese Short was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she lived until age 13. She now is involved in missions to Tanzania, East Africa, and with InterMission Ministry for missionary care. There are 12 questions to this fascinating interview with Tammy Reese Short. I was amazed by how selflessly Tammy serves the graduated high schoolers in Tanzania education-wise, sometimes from her own funds earned via nursing in the States. So, my remark to Tammy was, “So, you are essentially a self-supporting missionary!” to which she responded in the affirmative — when there are insufficient donations for high schoolers to further their education in Tanzania, Tammy donates to the mission efforts from her own nursing funds. The following questions and answers will bring you into “the know” on the above. (1) I am wondering if you were born in Zimbabwe as a TCK (third-culture kid)? Do you have a story or two about your birth and/or childhood? Tammy stated that she was not born in Zimbabwe, but that when her mom was eight months pregnant, she and her husband, Tammy’s dad, moved suddenly to Johannesburg where Tammy was born. Tammy lived in Johannesburg from birth to 13 years old, during Apartheid. She attended an English-speaking, all-white school and lived in an all-white neighborhood, as the country gave no other option. Her parents were involved with a local church during half of Tammy’s 13 years in Johannesburg and then were involved with World Bible School (WBS) the other half of their time in Johannesburg. Her parents organized seminars for those interested in WBS, and offered to baptize those who expressed an interest in baptism into Christ. (2) Describe your parents, John and Beth Reese, to me. Tammy’s dad, John, had made a commitment to do mission work with an emphasis in missions in Africa due to his heritage, having grown up in Zimbabwe. Her mom had planned to be a missionary, but had not planned on Africa. They were aligned on missionwork though. Tammy stated that her dad and mom were good parents who balanced family needs with their missionwork. Her parents are people of integrity; their life matched their words. (3) When did you return to the states from South Africa? How did culture shock affect you? Can you share a story or two illustrating the culture shock for a TCK between South Africa and the U.S.? Tammy returned to the States when she was 13 years. She had visited the States before on furloughs, which occurred every three years. She had previously attended 1st grade in Searcy, Arkansas, while her dad served as a visiting missionary for Harding University. The main difference between the cultures in South Africa and the states for Tammy was her accent. In South Africa, she was called, “The American Kid,” and in the States, “The South African Kid.” When her family moved to Austin, Texas, she joined the Girl Scouts and band (played the flute). These two groups helped Tammy make friends. (4) How did your dad’s former presidency of World Bible School affect you? Describe World Bible School. World Bible School teaches Bible through paper correspondence and the internet world-wide. Tammy’s dad worked with WBS in South Africa and then Austin, and eventually became WBS President. His work gave her a world vision of the need for evangelism. At age 16, Tammy and her family went back to sub-Saharan Africa, and worked in eight countries from Tanzania on down to recruit students for WBS. They signed up new students at gas stations, police roadblocks, and just about everywhere. There was such a positive reaction to these pamphlets, and there was a huge boost to WBS enrollment registered in Austin, Texas (100,000 people signed up in Zimbabwe alone!). It was not just Tammy’s parents involved in this mission effort, but the children, too! The kids helped to distribute pamphlets when they had breaks from living in their RV (They lived in an RV for nine months—parents and three kids.). Tammy’s mom home-schooled the Reese children during the WBS mission effort to sub-Saharan Africa. (5) How did you and your husband, Lewis, decide on serving in missionwork as a family in Tanzania? Tammy met Lewis at a World Missions workshop. Lewis had already graduated while Tammy was still in college. Lewis had just been involved with Harding University in Florence (HUF) and Avanti Italia, both programs in Italy, at the time, he had just finished Avanti Italia and was living in Nashville, raising funds to move back to Italy permanently. In 1999, Tammy was a nursing student in the School of Nursing at Harding University (where this author’s husband, Tod, was Assistant to the Dean of the School of Nursing!). Lewis got the funds to return to Italy and he was ready to go. He went. Lewis and Tammy were engaged. When Tammy had graduated from Harding University, they married in 2000 and Tammy joined him in Milan. With Lewis having grown up in Taiwan as a TCK and Tammy having grown up in South Africa as a TCK, these two TCK’s decided together to move to Italy to serve in missionwork, where they stayed for 11 years. Tammy gave birth to their three daughters there. They worked with a church in Milan, Italy, for 11 years. In 2011, Lewis and Tammy moved back to the States, specifically Memphis, Tennessee, for three years. During this time, they decided to go to Tanzania to serve as missionaries. They chose Tanzania because it was safe and close to a city where their kids could have access to services/amenities. Also, they would be just three hours away from Tammy’s brother, David Reese, and his wife, Jenna. (David and Jenna were supported by the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, Arkansas). Lewis and Tammy are aware that one of the biggest challenges for missionary families is the great geographical distance from family, so they opted to be close to family in Tanzania which helped their kids to enjoy cousin camaraderie, and allowed for adult support for Lewis and Tammy in the form of mutual encouragement and practical help. Some of the local Christians who were of the greatest help to Lewis and Tammy were originally with David and Jenna, who Lewis and Tammy inherited once David and Jenna left Tanzania. Lewis and Tammy were in Tanzania as a family serving as missionaries from 2014-2019. (6) Describe what your missionwork in Tanzania looked like. When Lewis and Tammy arrived in Tanzania in 2014, there was already a medical clinic there which had been established by Drs. Danny and Nancy Smelser from Florence, Alabama, and Fielden and Janet Allison from Searcy, Arkansas. That group started a Christian high school/boarding school called Alpha Omega Secondary School. Lewis and Tammy worked with the high school with both practical details and building relationships with the students. Lewis and Tammy collaborated with local churches, and Tammy served in medical outreach as a community nurse. Most of her nursing skills were used when people stopped her on the street and asked for medical care, especially wound care, which the local hospital had given up on treating. Lewis now serves as the Chairman of the Board of Tanzanian Christian Services. He is an administrator for the high school and medical clinic. He works closely with local Tanzanians. Tammy is invested in the high school students who graduated from Alpha Omega and need to pursue more education or secure jobs but cannot see their way clear to do so. Presently, Tammy supports 60-70 students at the university level in Tanzania. She strives to personally connect and reconnect with those alumni. This is where she serves selflessly and humbly, more like a self-supporting missionary than being on a church payroll. When donations may fall short, Tammy picks up the difference with her nursing salary from her stateside job, which is amazing. There are a few individuals who donate generously to the student project, and Tammy stretches their money. The donations are for food, board, and tuition. Tammy feels convicted about her mission to the students, and without her investment, they may be without further education which may result in no jobs; all of this leads to no respect in their community. Tammy says that their mission in the Christian high school/boarding school is to raise up Christian leaders, so she feels like post-high school is a very important time to invest in these students, helping complete the mission goal of raising up leaders in Tanzania. You may be inspired to donate to their missionwork in Tanzania by reading the answer to question 6 above. “Short Family in Tanzania” is available on Facebook. (7) Are you employed, and if so, how do you work your employment around your missionwork in Tanzania? Tammy is employed full-time as a nurse here in the States. She chooses her employment based on how flexible her employer will be for her needed travel to/from Tanzania. If necessary, Tammy takes unpaid vacation to go to Tanzania for her missionwork. (8) What are some of your favorite foods from your childhood? Are there any connections between this food and food which you eat in Tanzania? The South African village food, specifically a porridge, is similar to food in Tanzania. Since Tammy’s mom is American, Tammy and her siblings ate American foods growing up, and/or white South African food. (9) What are some of the favorite Bible lessons you have taught on the mission field? Describe them. In her missionary effort to Italy, Tammy worked with children and women and teenagers. In Tanzania, where Tammy taught high schoolers for four years, she primarily focused on life lessons with a Bible emphasis. In Africa, many believe that if you follow God, He will bless you with wealth and success. It is important to Tammy to teach to challenge this belief, and to encourage the Africans to follow God even if they do not receive material blessings. (10) You are multi-cultural. Are you bilingual? If so, what are the languages you speak and/or write? In Johannesburg, Tammy only spoke English and was only exposed to other languages that she did not learn. Tammy speaks and writes Italian. Tammy also speaks and writes Swahili. (11) Some TCKs never return to the mission field. What makes the difference, in your estimation, to a TCK returning to the mission field and those TCKs who opt not to return? Tammy stated that being a TCK can be challenging. If an opportunity to process and heal those difficult parts arises, then the TCK can choose to do missionwork as an adult from a place of healing. If they have not processed their childhood, they might choose where to live based on comfort not mission. If a TCK never felt comfortable in America upon return from the mission field, then the first chance they get, they will head back overseas because they never found a way to be at peace with America. Some TCKs are scarred on the mission field as they live in a fish bowl and endure multiple farewells. They opt to just stay in the States where they finally got comfortable—to avoid trauma and not expose themselves to hurt again. Although it is okay to survive, the goal for a TCK is to be able to process and make peace with all of it and then to make decisions from a healthy foundation and not from trauma-reactions. Some who heal will choose to stay in the States. Some who heal will go back overseas. When a TCK has healed, there is no wrong choice about where to live. There is a camp for TCKs in Oklahoma called Global Reunion, established by John and Beth Reese and others. Lewis and Tammy are involved with missionary care with InterMission Ministry which is for adult missionaries and their TCKs. So far, Tammy has been to Ecuador, Albania, and stateside Global Reunion with InterMission. Her heart is sad for the deeply troubled missionaries and the deeply troubled TCKs who she encounters. Since Lewis is a TCK and Tammy is a TCK, this has deeply affected how they raise their children. TCKs face unique challenges, and they have tried to connect their three daughters with resources like Global Reunion that was established 20 years ago. The website for the InterMission Ministry is www.intermissionministry.org (12) Could you share the story of your baptism into Christ? Tammy wanted to be baptized at age 11 or 12 because she knew her family would be leaving South Africa soon, and she wanted to be baptized where she grew up. She verbalized her yearning to her dad. Her dad questioned her as to whether she felt a spiritual conviction or just an emotional response to leaving her childhood home. Tammy realized that it was purely emotional, so she opted not to be baptized at that point. A year later, at the Tulsa Soul-Winning Workshop, Tammy made a decision to be baptized based on spiritual conviction. Her dad baptized her. Conclusion: Tammy impressed me with her humility and her genuine love and sense of urgency for the lost who need Jesus Christ. I enjoyed spending time with her, and I was especially excited when I listened to her on question 11, as a fellow TCK. I hope that you are blessed by this interview, will connect with the Shorts’ Facebook page, perhaps donate to help Tammy with her support for high school graduates in Tanzania, and write to the Shorts to encourage them. About the Writer My name is Dana Marie (Jones) Martin. I have been a resident of Searcy, Arkansas, from 1989-1999 and 2014-present. My husband, Tod, is the Registrar of Harding University. My son, Matthew, is a technician at Searcy Water. I am an author on Substack, a volunteer at Unity Health for 12 years and counting, an independent contractor for SIMS (medical simulations) for the College of Pharmacy at Harding, and a Christian who attends and volunteers at the Cloverdale Church of Christ. My hobbies are walking Sam, aqua-walking/aqua-jogging, lifting weights, corresponding with friends and family, listening to audiobooks, and writing on Substack. I hope that you enjoy these interviews off Substack. I plan to interview more Missionaries/TCKs (Third-Culture Kids) in the future. Read the full issue below.

One Dictionary. Two Oceans. 59 Years. By Larry Wilks It is March 1965. Larry, a Russian linguist with the Air Force, had just arrived in West Berlin, Germany. The Berlin Wall had gone up a few years earlier. All of Berlin was 110 miles inside of East Germany which was controlled by the Russians. The Wall had been built right through the middle of the city. People from the east were still being killed trying to escape communism. It was like a dark cloud hanging over the city. He right away located the church he had learned about. Not too complicated—a bus ride with one transfer and then a few blocks to walk. The church had been started by missionaries who went to Germany after WWII. There were about 50 members, mostly made up of American military families. There was also a German speaking congregation which met in the same building. When one group met in the auditorium, the other group met in the basement for bible classes, and then they would switch. Sonja arrived in Berlin that summer to attend a business college. She was from a small, quaint village about 50 miles northeast of Frankfurt. Her parents were divorced and after high school, she had come to attend a business school. Her father, step-mother, and their two children lived in Berlin. They just had a one-bedroom apartment. There was a Canadian lady living in the same apartment building, and her father rented a room from her for Sonja. The lady, Betty Roemer, had met up with a group of missionaries at Harding College and came with them to Germany after WWII. Betty was going to be gone for the summer and had learned of an American student, Elsa Pepperdine, who had just finished a semester at the Pepperdine University extension campus in Heidelberg. She wanted to come to Berlin to attend an extensive German language course for the summer. Betty invited her to stay in her apartment, telling her that a young German was renting a room from her and they would be good company for each other. Elsa was very outgoing and bounced back and forth with the young people from both congregations. One Sunday Elsa and Larry were talking and learned that they both were off the next day so they decided to spend the afternoon at a large park there in Berlin. (Some would say that was a date.) Later that afternoon they had just arrived back at the apartment when Sonja arrived from school. Elsa introduced Larry to Sonja. It was love at first sight . . . for Larry that is. Sonja does not remember that introduction. She does remember meeting him, perhaps a couple of weeks later when she went to church with Elsa. As they entered the building, Larry had squatted down on the floor, interacting with several little kids. That scene made a favorable impression on her. As the summer progressed. Larry started attending some of the German services, and on several occasions managed to sit next to her. They didn’t speak a common language. She had no interest in this American guy. Elsa started organizing the young Americans and the young Germans to occasionally go out after church services—bowling or just to go grab a bratwurst and get ice cream. On several occasions it seemed that Larry and this other American, Merlin, were vying for her attention. She had no interest in either of them at the time. After Betty returned at the end of the summer and Elsa left, Betty would frequently have some of the American young guys over for tea and desert. Larry and Merlin always seemed to be in the group. Larry had dated another German girl, Petra, about three times. It seemed like she wanted to get married. Larry didn’t, at least not to her. He had dated a girl back in the U.S. prior to his arrival in Berlin. They had written for a while after his arrival in Berlin, but she was a senior in high school and they had mutually agreed to put their relationship on hold since he would not likely be returning to the U.S. anytime soon. He stretched the truth a bit by indicating there was someone back in the States, just to back out of further dates with Petra. Some time later, the preacher’s son, who was 16, invited Larry home for lunch after church one Sunday. His mother had invited Sonja. It did not appear that this was planned, as they traveled separately on public transportation. After lunch Larry, Sonja and the four preacher’s kids, road bikes and played soft ball together. That evening they all arrived back at church together for evening services. Petra was in the building when they entered, and she unleashed a verbal attack on Sonja, telling her not to fall for Larry because he was engaged to a girl back in the States. Sonja had no idea what she was talking about, but later on, she wondered why Larry kept pursuing her attention since he was engaged. She eventually confronted him about this. He denied that he was engaged, but she was a little more wary of him. Still, at this point, Larry spoke practically no German and Sonja, no English. Not long after this, Betty invited the preacher and Larry for a quick lunch after Sunday services, as she and the preacher wanted to go into East Berlin to visit some church members there. Since they were not German, they could come and go across the border. Betty wanted Larry there because of how it might look to neighbors, having a man come into the apartment. Betty suggested to Larry and Sonja that perhaps they could go to the zoo. After lunch Sonja cleared the table, and Larry followed her into the kitchen to help with the dishes. It suddenly started to rain, so the zoo was out. So what was she to do with Larry? Well, he had brought some records so he suggested going into the living room to listen to records. Was this all part of his plan? In the course of trying to communicate, Larry had taken out his little dictionary and asked her to marry him! He would later claim that he was trying to ask her thoughts about marriage. She clearly heard in her mind, “Will you marry me?” She started crying and went into her room and closed the door. (She heard from Petra that he was engaged and now he is asking her to marry him?). The only thing that Larry knew to do was to leave. The Air Force put out a notice that they would offer a three-month German language course in January in Wiesbaden. One had to get a certification from his supervisor that learning German would be beneficial to your job. Larry applied and was accepted. Unfortunately for him, Merlin also applied and was accepted. So, the competition is still on! However, a week or so later, Larry got orders for a transfer to Japan. Dismayed, after work he went to let Merlin know that he would be leaving; therefore he saw no hope of winning out. Merlin, of course, was elated. Larry then went that evening to let Betty and Sonja know. It was obvious, at least to him, that Sonja was really sad about that news. Shortly afterward, he did ask her out on a date. They went to see a funny movie and then went to a restaurant for dessert. There was an air of sadness as each of them tried to process the situation. The language barrier was too big to be able to discuss things. It seemed to Larry, a mountain too high to climb. He escorted her home. A couple weeks later, he was leaving Berlin on the troop train. Several people from church came to the train station to see him off. He avoided direct contact with Sonja because he was heartbroken. As he boarded the train, he turned and their eyes met. It appeared she was tearing up. He had a big knot in his stomach. He didn’t even give her a goodbye kiss. She went home and cried all night. He wrote his first letter to her that night on the train, telling her how much he loved her and that he didn’t know how or when they would meet again. Still, he hoped they could. Separated by a continent and two large oceans, would there ever be a way? “Separated by a continent and two large oceans, would there ever be a way?” Sonja answered his letter, and soon they were writing to each other almost every day. It would take hours for him to translate a two-page letter. He soon wrote a friend back in Berlin to get the message to Sonja that she should buy a German-English dictionary, as he didn’t want Betty reading his love letters. Eventually, he proposed to her . . . by letter. He didn’t get her answer for a month, as the mail took two weeks to travel from Japan to Germany and then two weeks back. SHE SAID YES! He decided to call her. He told the base operator that she needed to cut him off a $50. That was pretty expensive in those days, for what ended up being about a ten-minute call. They still couldn’t understand each other very well. They both understood, “Ich liebe dich” (I love you). She cried during most of that call. Though he really liked his job, he loved her more. He could have gotten a re-up bonus of almost $12,000 and a guaranteed reassignment back to Berlin, but at that time, if you married a foreign national you lost your security clearance. He would forfeit the bonus and would be reassigned to a different job. He didn’t feel that he could get a good job in Germany, not speaking the language, and felt it best to stay in the U.S. when he got out. He instructed her to go to the American Consulate to apply for a visa to come to the U.S. She did and soon learned that since she was planning to live in the U.S., she would require a “no preference immigrant visa” and would be assigned to the quota system. It was a long, complicated process. It ended up taking ten months to get the visa. Engagement Rings: since she would be leaving her country to marry this foreigner, Larry felt it would be important to her to at least have an engagement ring to show her friends and family. The custom in Germany was to have matching wedding bands. When you were engaged, both wore the rings on the left hand. Then, during the wedding ceremony you switched them to the right hand. Larry sent pictures of some rings, and Sonja picked out the one she wanted. Rings were purchased, and he went to the base post office to mail hers. He asked if there was a way to learn what customs charges, if any, would be, and if they could be paid on the front end. He was informed that jewelry could not be sent from Japan to Germany. The only way he could do that was if he had an individual on the other end who had a military APO address, and the declared value was no more than $25.00. The only person he could think of who had an APO address was Merlin. Sonja had written that he had gotten engaged to the daughter of a Pan American Airlines pilot. So, Larry sent the ring with a little money to buy roses along with a letter of instructions to present, by proxy, the engagement ring to Sonja. OUCH! Merlin was a true friend. So one day Merlin appears at Sonja’s door with flowers and a small package. She was taken back at first until he explained that it was from Larry. She thanked him and retreated to her room and “got herself officially engaged.” Finally, Sonja got the notice from the American Consulate that her visa was ready to be picked up. There was a lady from church whose daughter had married an American, and they lived in Huntsville, AL. She wanted to go visit her daughter and take a lot of things to her. She told Sonja that it would be a lot cheaper to have excess luggage on the ship than on the plane and suggested they get a cabin together and travel by ship to New York. Her daughter had a friend in New York who was a travel agent. She made travel reservations for Sonja to fly from New York to Oklahoma City where Larry had settled after his discharge and for her to fly to Huntsville. The travel agent could meet them at the pier and take them to the airport. The date was set. The ship should arrive on Saturday morning, November 4, 1967, in New York, and Sonja should arrive a 6:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City. Generally, mail from Germany to Oklahoma City took about ten days. On this occasion, after the ship left Bremerhaven, Germany, it made one stop in France and Sonja mailed a postcard indicating that she was on the way. Surprise! The postcard didn’t arrive until the morning Sonja was to arrive that evening, so Larry knew she was on the way. He had his apartment spic and span, had flowers in the apartment, and bought roses to take to the airport. Larry arrived at the airport early and checked the arrival screen. Her flight should be on time. Her plane finally landed and people began getting off the plane. Eventually the crew got off the plane and reported that no one else was on the plane. He went to the ticket counter and learned there was no way to check passenger lists to see if perhaps she was rerouted to another flight. Their only suggestion was to meet all the planes coming in from the northeast. He would meet flights, and if there was enough time, he would drive back to his apartment to wait for a phone call. He did that a couple of times. Around midnight, he was told there would be no more arrivals until the next morning. He went home and lay across the bed, still fully clothed, wondering what happened. Did the ship sink? Did she miss her flight? Where and how could he call New York to see if the ship came in? At about 2 a.m., the phone rang. He rushed into the living room to pick up the phone. A lady with a German accent on the other end said, “Mr. Larry Vilks?” “Did the ship sink? Did she miss her flight? Where and how would he call New York to see if the ship came in?” “Yes” “There has been a mishap.” “What? What kind of mishap?” Every possible mishap flashed through his mind, even though it must have been only a few seconds before she continued. She explained that as the ship was pulling into the harbor, Sonja was in line at the ship’s bank to exchange her German marks into dollars. When she opened her purse, she realized that someone had stolen all her money. The airline ticket had not been paid for yet! Her travel companion, by canceling her flight to Huntsville, had enough money for both of them to go by bus to Huntsville, so that was the plan. She delivered them to the bus station. They would call when they got to Huntsville. He thanked the woman and hung up the phone but immediately picked it back up. Too late, it had disconnected. Where in Huntsville? He needed a name and a phone number. When the call finally came, Sonja was on the line, but Larry had a hard time understanding her. She then passed the phone to her friend’s daughter. He got the address and phone number and told her he would leave right away to pick her up. He drove all night and arrived about 10 a.m. It was a happy reunion but still awkward since they had a real communication problem. After lunch, they headed west. He could hardly stay awake but was determined to make it at least to his parent’s house in Arkansas. They arrived about 2 a.m. and got them out of bed. They didn’t have a phone so his parents had no idea what had happened. Sonja said they stared at her like she was from outer space. Larry got in bed with his younger brother and fell asleep right away. Sonja shared a bed with Larry’s younger sister but did not sleep a wink. She needed to go to the bathroom but none was in sight. Larry had failed to tell her they had an outhouse. At 6 a.m. Larry’s mother got his sister up to get ready for school. Sonja also got up and decided to follow her. Okay. There was no indoor bathroom. Larry’s mother started breakfast—sausage, eggs, biscuits and gravy. A typical German breakfast would be rye bread with cheese and cold cuts but never a heavy cooked meal. Sonja could not eat it. Larry’s mother couldn’t understand a thing Sonja said, so she headed toward the bedroom to wake up Larry, over Sonja’s objection since she knew how tired he was. After lunch they left for Oklahoma City and arrived about 6 p.m. The summer before Sonja left, there was a group of college students from Oklahoma Christian College touring churches in Germany. An older couple, Morris and Dorothy Fowler, was touring with them. When they learned that Sonja was going to Oklahoma City, they invited her to stay with them until the wedding. The Fowlers had contacted Larry when they got home to report they had met Sonja and told him of their invitation. Then Larry started attending the same church they did, and they quickly became close friends. Larry dropped Sonja off at their house and told Sonja he would pick her up when he got off work to show her where they would be living. The Fowlers soon learned that Larry didn’t have much money for a wedding and knew that Sonja’s money had been stolen. Sonja wanted a church wedding. The date was set for November 18th. The Fowlers and other friends put a nice wedding together for them, providing flowers, wedding cake, and a nice reception. Morris Fowler walked her down the aisle. The college kids who had met Sonja in Germany, sang at the wedding, two songs which were in German. Larry’s parents, a brother, and a sister came from Arkansas; some cousins who lived close by came, along with several people from work and church. Though fairly simple, it was a beautiful wedding. A few days before the wedding Sonja’s extra luggage arrived by REA EXPRESS, C.O.D. Then they went to the grocery store to buy groceries for the next two weeks. By the day of the wedding Larry had only $5.00 and two weeks until pay day. After the wedding as they walked toward their Volkswagen Bug, which had been thoroughly decorated, Morris Fowler handed Larry $25.00 in case they might want to get a hotel for the night. GOD IS GOOD. For the first few months they really had to work hard on the language issue. Within six months Sonja’s English had improved greatly as she learned how to pronounce all those words she had been writing. Both knew that they needed to put God first, and if they would do that, everything would work out. They have two framed needle points hanging in their house. One was a wedding gift to Sonja’s grandmother when she got married in 1902. It reads, “Wenn trubsal einkerht nicht versage es kommen wieder bess’re tage” (When trouble comes your way, don’t despair, better days are ahead). The other was a gift from an antique dealer. He had no clue what it said, but it looked similar to the one he had seen on their wall. It reads, “Ich und mein Haus werden dem Herrn dienen” (I and my house will serve the Lord.) This was just the beginning of a life full of adventures in their 59 years of marriage. Larry and Sonja have two daughters, ten grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and another one on the way. Four of their grandchildren married spouses from four different countries. One son-in-law was born in Italy, and one of their granddaughters was born in Mexico. That makes eight different countries of birth starting with Larry and Sonja and moving on down the line. And they all blame Larry and Sonja for starting all of this craziness. “Both knew that they needed to put God first, and if they would do that, everything would work out.” Read the full issue below.

By Laiken Crossen Two years ago, I applied to nursing school. At the time, if someone had asked me why I wanted to become a nurse, I honestly wouldn’t have had a great answer. On the first day of nursing school, our instructor told us to write down our “why.” She explained that there would be days when we wanted to give up, and she wanted to be able to remind us of why we started. I remember thinking, I don’t really have a why. I had reasons. I thought about my husband and my girls. I wanted to make them proud. In my mind, that was my why. But the truth was, I didn’t really know my why yet. What I did know was that the medical field had always been a part of my life. Both of my grandmothers worked in the medical field, and they truly raised me in it. Some of my earliest memories include helping with wellness and flu clinics, screenings, and working alongside them in different settings—from factories to the clinic to the hospital. When I say, “The medical field is all I know,” I mean that literally. It has always been part of my life. Then there was another piece of my story that I didn’t understand until later. Before applying to nursing school, I found a mother/daughter book that my mom had left behind. While reading it, I discovered something I had never known; my mom had wanted to be a nurse. In my mind, I had always thought she simply wanted to be a mom. There was another connection, too. I graduated from the same nursing program my mom’s mom had attended. When I look at all of those pieces now, I realize nursing wasn’t something that suddenly appeared in my life two years ago. It had been woven into my story for much longer than I realized. But I still didn’t understand my why. Not yet. The Moment Everything Became Clear The last week of nursing school was one I will never forget. The week before I took my finals, I left a job I had for eight years. It was a huge change—leaving something so familiar after so many years. Earlier that week, I finished my finals and schoolwork. I was exhausted. I had spent two years pouring everything I had into nursing school. That same night, I received a phone call that a close family member was in crisis and attempting to end his/her life. I went to that loved one. In that moment, I wasn’t thinking about nursing school. I wasn’t thinking about exams, clinicals, or everything I had learned. I was family. I was scared. I was overwhelmed. I remember thinking, I have no idea what I’m doing. I didn’t feel like a nurse in that moment. I didn’t feel prepared. I certainly didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing. I was simply trying to help someone I love survive. Later, we were told that whoever was with this individual knew what she was doing. My first thought was, Yeah, yeah. They’re just saying that. But as time passed, I began looking at that night differently. That family member had reached a place and believed he/she didn’t have a “why” anymore. That loved one believed it was time to end his/her life. I started thinking about my own “why.” “If this journey taught me anything, it’s that life doesn’t always make sense while we’re living it. We don’t have to understand every step of the process; we just have to trust the One guiding it.” Maybe this was it. Maybe God had sent me to nursing school so I would be prepared for that exact moment. Maybe all those long days, long nights, tears, prayers, missed family activities, exams, and moments when I wanted to give up had been preparing me for something I never could have anticipated. I didn’t feel prepared that night. But maybe I was. The very next day after that life-changing night, I started a completely new job in a completely new role. So, within days, I had gone from leaving an eight-year job, to finishing nursing school, to walking through one of the most frightening nights of my life with someone I love, and then starting an entirely new chapter. I went from one of the most familiar seasons of my life into something entirely new—while carrying the weight of what had happened the night before. It was a lot to carry. A little over a month later, I took the NCLEX. I took it the day after the 15-year anniversary of losing my mom to suicide. It was one of the hardest seasons of my life. But somehow, I kept going. For years, I thought I needed to know exactly why I was becoming a nurse. I thought my “why” needed to be something I could explain in one sentence. Instead, I think my why was something I had to live before I could understand it. My mom wanted to be a nurse. My grandmother attended the same nursing program I did. My grandmothers raised me around the medical field. I spent my childhood surrounded by healthcare. I entered nursing school without really knowing why. I thought my why was simply my husband and my girls. Then, on one of the hardest nights of my life, I found myself using what I had learned to help save someone I love. Suddenly, all those pieces that never seemed connected started to make sense. I don’t believe I was prepared for that night because I was fearless or because I knew exactly what to do. I believe I was prepared because God had been preparing me long before I realized it. Maybe my mom’s dream found its way to me. Maybe my grandmother’s path and mine crossing in the same nursing program wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe the medical field being all I had ever known wasn’t just something familiar—it was preparation. And maybe the reason I couldn’t see my why at the beginning was because it hadn’t happened yet. Now, I wish I could go back and tell that version of myself: You don’t know your why yet. But keep going. One day, you’ll understand. The journey wasn’t easy. There were tears. Long days. Long nights. Missed family activities. Prayers. Crying to God. Doubting myself. To my husband and my sweet girls, who sacrificed time with me, cheered me on through the tears, and believed in me when I couldn’t: we made it. When my girls used to ask, “Mama, are you almost done studying?” I can finally say: Mama is done. To my entire village—my family, friends, instructors, classmates, and coworkers who prayed for me and kept me grounded—thank you. You carried me to the finish line. If this journey taught me anything, it’s that life doesn’t always make sense while we’re living it. We don’t have to understand every step of the process; we just have to trust the One guiding it. Maybe the tears, the long nights, the sacrifices, the changes, and even the hardest moments were all part of something I couldn’t see yet. And maybe, in a way, my mom’s dream became part of my story, too. I started nursing school searching for a reason. I finished it knowing my purpose. Maybe this was my why all along. I am officially a nurse. Read the full issue below.

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CROSSWORD Across 1. DONATIONS 3. ANSWERS 5. SHARE 7. NURSE Down 1. DIFFERENCE 2. INSTINCT 4. HEART 6. LETTER RIDDLES 1. Piggy bank 2. Raincheck 3. Brain storm 4. Beforehand 5. Timetable

By Race Smith Race Smith always knew when to help a neighbor, a stranger, a coworker. So when his stepfather couldn’t donate a kidney to save his own brother, Race listened to the same voice that had guided him for forty years — and gave a kidney to a man he had never met. Part One - The Voice People ask me, “What made you decide to donate a kidney?” Where do I start? This adventure started long before the first blood test, long before I even considered organ donation, actually. This started almost 40 years ago, when I was in my 20s, when I accepted Christ as my Savior. I have always been a courteous, giving person, and I’ve been blessed with different ways to give. I have a background in a wide variety of mechanical crafts, so I’ve used those skills to help repair heaters, and cars, and buildings, and church busses, and a lot of other things. I’ve often said, “I’ve fixed everything from sewing machines to Jet Dragsters to locomotives,” and I have. Sometimes I even got paid for it, but many times I didn’t. Nor did I expect to. I offered the help. Those skills provided me with jobs that paid enough. Sometimes just enough to get by, and sometimes more. But always enough to share a little here and there with those in need. It might be a good tip for a server or the pizza guy. Or it might be a tank of gas for a stranger that was a little short on cash, but still needed to get to work. I never know when the urge to help will hit me. When that little voice in my head will speak up and say “help them” or “be generous”. I know some people don’t have that voice in their head. I have two. One is my voice. It’s my inner dialogue, my narrator that tells me things like, “Remember that is hot and don’t put your hand there,” or “Hey, look! A Ferrari!” and every time I see a rabbit, it says, “Bunny!” Then there’s the other voice, the one that says, “Help that neighbor with their car.” or “Give a good tip to this person.” I never know when that voice is going to speak up, or what it’ll tell me. There have been a couple times I haven’t listened to that voice when it tried to warn me. Those times resulted in disaster. One of those times the voice said, “Get out of the car.” and I didn’t listen. I crashed that car after it had a mechanical failure. Another time it said, “Bring that fire extinguisher with you,” and I argued with it. I didn’t bring that extinguisher, and just a few hours later, I watched a friend get burned after crashing that Jet Dragster I mentioned earlier. He survived, but I could have had the fire out a lot sooner than the safety crew, and maybe he could have kept his nose. “I know some people don’t have that voice in their head. I have two.” So now, I listen and comply. About six years ago, a coworker needed a kidney, and I prayed for him and his family. And the voice spoke up and said, “Offer.” So I went to him and offered to get tested. He assured me that he had a donor, and it was covered. I told him if anything changed to let me know. He’s been back to work for several years now and is doing great. The seed had been planted; it just needed time to grow. Part Two - The Surgery And The Reason Why I didn’t think about kidney donation for a couple years. Then one day, while talking to my mom on the phone, the subject came up again. She told me that Dave, her husband, just found out his blood sugar was too high so he couldn’t donate a kidney to his brother, Gary. I had never met Gary. I didn’t even know there was a Gary, but I immediately said, “I’ll do it.” Followed by, “I’m probably not a match, but they have a program called Paired Donation that we could use.” A paired donation is where one person donates “for” someone, rather than “to” someone. Because I offered to donate for Gary, he would get on the list for a kidney . . . if I passed the test, and they test a lot of different things. I made a few overnight trips to the Miami Transplant Institute to get poked and prodded and tested and inspected. At 59 years old, I had to run on a treadmill until my heart rate was higher than it had been in 20 years! Then I immediately got to do it again because the first machine malfunctioned and didn’t record the images they took. Good times. Through all this testing I found out two things about myself. One, that I’m very healthy, and two, that I don’t like treadmills. After countless vials of blood and a few scans here and there, we finally had a surgery date, February 12th. My wife and I packed our bags for a two-week trip to South Florida, minus the fun. There would be no lazy days at the beach for us. My surgery was in the morning and Gary’s was that evening. I never officially met my recipient before surgery. They took my kidney out and walked it to the next room and installed it while it was still warm. Gary’s new kidney had to catch a plane into Miami from Indiana. I was discharged the next day, and Gary went home a few days later. “I’ll admit that I was nervous about the surgery, but it was such a tremendous blessing— in more ways than one.” ~ Tammy Smith We stayed with Gary and his wife. I still don’t know why they wanted two men recovering from surgery in the house at the same time, but we managed. Initial recovery was not pleasant. My energy dropped off quickly from the loss of a kidney. Meanwhile, Gary perked up in a hurry. It was good to see him do that. It helped me get through it. I knew I had done the right thing. My wife and I went to a church service at Gary’s church. Everyone came to thank me for helping him. They told stories of Gary and what a good man he is. Again, I knew I did the right thing. Another question I get is, “Did it hurt?” Yes. Yes it did, but it wasn’t unbearable. I joke that it hurt bad enough that I’ll never do it again, but not so bad that I regret it. It took a couple months to get my energy back. It took a little longer to feel normal. At this writing, it’s been just shy of four months since the surgery. I’ve been back to work for two months. The two months I had off were covered by my short-term disability insurance. There are also plans that assisted greatly with lost wages and travel costs. My experience with them was amazing. They made up 100% of my lost wages. Paired Donation won’t be a financial burden, if you go down that path. I hope you do look into it. We lose too many good people due to lack of donors. So how does this tie into me coming to Christ? Well, I’ve learned that the voice that isn’t mine is the Holy Spirit. I firmly believe that. God guides us through life and puts us in the path of others, or puts others in our path, so that we can fulfill His plan. Listen to your inner voice and make positive impacts on friends, neighbors, your mom’s brother-in-law, or even complete strangers. It’s His plan; help execute it. “It hurt bad enough that I’ll never do it again, but not so bad that I regret it.” Race Smith and Gary Porter What Is Paired Donation? A willing donor who isn’t a match for their own loved one instead gives a kidney to a stranger who is a match. In exchange, their loved one moves up the list to receive a kidney through the same chain. It’s how Race—without ever being a match for Gary—was still able to help save his life. Read the full issue below.

By Jennifer Webb Photos by Searcy Living Photography Hannah Barber knew she wanted to be a police officer from an early age. She grew up watching her dad, who started in the Air Force as a military police officer before serving as an Arkansas State Trooper, a Lonoke County Deputy, an assistant chief at Beebe, and on the Arkansas Drug Task Force. “I grew up in a police department. It just came as second nature; it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.” - Officer Hannah Barber, Searcy Police Department When she turned 20, she applied to all the local departments, and Searcy promptly called her back. They needed officers, and female officers in particular. She started at the police academy in Camden, but it was shut down due to COVID, so she finished her training at Central Academy, near Camp Robinson. She turned 21 while in the academy. She hit the streets as a patrol officer, and it was every bit the adrenaline rush she thought it would be. No two days were the same. But as time went on and motherhood changed her personal life, what had once been exciting started to feel more nerve-wracking. She always expected the worst, but it made the good experiences even more memorable. “The best thing about patrol is the love and support of the community. They give back to us and do all they can to make sure we are taken care of and help when needed. Having a good community really helps and makes the job worthwhile.” - Officer Hannah Barber, Searcy Police Department She went back on patrol for two months after returning from FMLA leave after she and her husband, Darrell, added their son, Brantley, to the family, but it wasn’t the same. She felt burnt out. She had three other kids at home—Eli, Olivia, and a stepdaughter Caia. Chief Hernandez realized she needed a change . . . and he gave her one. She reluctantly agreed to give a new position a trial run. Westside Elementary needed a new SRO (School Resource Officer), and she was the person for the job. She had initially been intimidated by the position. How would she ever memorize all the kids’ names? How would she build connections with them? They had loved Detective Boedecker, their previous SRO, who had sustained an injury. Could she gain their trust and build connections? It was a total change of pace and environment. The kids welcomed her with open arms (sometimes literally—with many hugs from little arms). By the end of the first week, she was hooked. The staff was amazing and very supportive of her coming. Perhaps best of all was that she was able to have her two oldest kids, Eli and Olivia, with her on the car rides to and from school. They all started the same week. “I get a lot of hugs and fist bumps. They get lots of stickers, and I keep candy in my office. It’s been great to get to watch my kids make new friends, and to have them hang out in my office after school.” - Officer Hannah Barber, Searcy Police Department, SRO for Westside Elementary School When school is not in session, Officer Hannah returns to patrolling the streets of Searcy. She recently completed continuing education for the D.A.R.E. program, aimed at helping kids make good choices. She looks forward to implementing the program at her school and perhaps at the middle school next year. Read the full issue below.

Through the Habitat for Humanity ReStore By Jennifer Webb My husband stopped at a thrift store one day on his way home from work; it was a more pleasant way to wait for the traffic jam to clear. He found an everyday treasure. It was a table, gently used. It didn’t have the legs attached, but after a brief inspection, he found them lying on the floor and determined that he could get hardware to fix it easily. We needed a bigger dining table, so I was delighted when he brought it home. But time went by, and it didn’t fit our space or our needs anymore. “We need to donate this table,” I told him. “ I did briefly consider selling it on Facebook Marketplace but decided in favor of donating it instead. We dropped it off at Habitat for Humanity ReStore. (I would discover a surprise later, when I went back to shop.) I knew the table would turn into a lot more than just a table at the Habitat store. John Wells - Affiliate Administrator, Victor Cisneros - Donations Logistics Coordinator, Rick Eichhorn - Executive Director The ReStore is probably the most visible part of Habitat. Most people know that they build houses for people. What many people don’t realize is that they do not GIVE away houses. There is work and money involved for the family that gets the house. It starts with an online application process. They accept applications from low to middle-income families, especially those struggling to find affordable housing. After an applicant is selected, they have to commit to putting in a certain number of “sweat equity” hours. Some of those can be worked at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, or by friends and family, but a good portion has to be done by the applicant. Habitat has a lot of moving parts that come together once an applicant is selected. They work with a variety of lenders to lend the amount of money needed to provide affordable housing for a family. They classify “affordable” as no more than one third of your monthly income going toward housing. The houses they build are usually simple, yet functional. They gather donations from area businesses, and often, applicants are asked if they have any resources, as well. (Do you know anyone who does plumbing, electricity, etc. ?) They also take some of their funding from the sales they get from the Habitat store and use it to build a house at a reduced cost (but not free). Local businesses and contractors regularly work with Habitat, but you don’t have to be a skilled laborer to volunteer. People from all walks of life come and volunteer their labor to work on the house. Often, you get skilled tradesmen working alongside college kids, gently instructing and teaching along the way. Volunteers come from all walks of life—families, young adults, older adults, singles—anyone who is willing to donate time and effort. Along the way is where the real magic happens—the connections that the people make with each other and especially for the applicant who is chosen for the Habitat House. Many applicants are single moms. They may not know anyone except for their co-workers. They may not have family nearby, but during the building process, they start meeting and talking to people. It forms an organic support system that they may not have had before. They might meet someone willing to watch the kids, or they may start talking careers, and a seed of “maybe I should take a leap and go get the education I need to get a better-paying job” gets planted. The other thing the applicants have to do to fulfill their end of the contract is take classes on how to care for their new home. If you grew up mowing the grass and fixing the sink, it’s not that hard. But if you’ve never done it before, you might find yourself looking at a task with no idea where to start. Once the applicants move into the house with their families, they often have a better support system in place. They are not crippled by rent they can barely afford, and with that comes life-changing stability. Their money is now building ownership in something. Now they can breathe under the weight of their mortgage and start looking at ways to better their lives and their children’s lives. The Habitat ReStore itself is worked by volunteers, many of whom love Habitat’s mission and want to give back. It provides a great place to shop for affordable pieces of furniture, fixtures, and household items, and partially funds projects that make a life-changing difference. When I went back to shop at the Habitat store, I was surprised to see a price tag of only $40 on my thrifted table. I smiled and ran my hands over the piece that had once sat in my home, knowing that it would go on to bring people together—both for whomever purchased it and whomever benefited from its purchase. "Along the way, is where the real magic happens - the connections that the people make with each other, and especially for the applicant who is chosen for the Habitat House." Read the full issue below.

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CROSSWORD Across 3. AWAY 5. GREATEST 7. PEOPLE 8. DRUG Down 1. CAKE 2. FIRE 4. PAIRED 6. PEACE RIDDLES 1. I BELIEVE 2. SUNGLASSES 3. MOONLIGHT

Dr. Phil Hart’s Antique Stearman Airplane By Jennifer Webb Dr. Phil Hart noticed that it was quiet at the airport on a perfect spring day. Maybe he should do it now? His three-year project of rebuilding a PT-17 1942 Stearman biplane was complete. He’d had two FAA inspectors out, and he’d gotten his airworthiness certificate. He is a certified A&P Mechanic with Inspection Authorization. The first flight would be fine. Probably. He had a whole list of people who wanted to come out and see its first flight, but that idea made him a bit nervous. Should he just do it now? Today? He had started the engine before and was fairly certain all the bugs were out, at least from what he could tell on the ground. The very first time he started it, there was a significant oil leak. He watched the oil pressure rapidly drop and quickly shut it off before it could do any damage. That was fixed now. He took a breath and decided that yes, today was the day! He pulled the plane out of the hangar and climbed into the second seat of the cockpit, where the pilot sits to solo a Stearman biplane. The 275 hp Jacobs engine roared to life. Oil pressure was good­—steady and holding. He taxied out to the runway and performed all his normal systems checks. Everything was good. It was time to fly! Though it was his first flight in this particular Stearman, he knew this feeling all too well, and he had missed it. This was his second Stearman project. He had instant regret at selling his first one, a yellow navy version of the same airplane. It was good to be back in the cockpit and to feel the control stick in his hand. The extra horsepower in the engine gave him a boost, and the plane leapt into the air, almost as if it had longed to be back in the sky as much as Phil had. He could feel the wind and hear it whipping past the flight wires that connected both sets of wings. Better test the smoke system too— he’d always wanted one of those, and it was a feature that his first Stearman didn’t have. It worked perfectly. The first flight went without a hitch. He noted a few minor corrections and adjustments that needed to be made. When he landed, he felt both joy and relief. He would have to explain to his friends that they missed the first flight, but he was glad that he had followed Joe Faith’s advice and just gone ahead and flown it first with no one else around. If someone had been around, they would have seen what comes to mind as a classic biplane. (Stearmans have been featured in movies such as “Second Hand Lions” and “Pearl Harbor.”) This particular one was the Army version, and like most Stearmans, had been used to train soldiers to fly in World War II. Learning to fly in a taildragger biplane was notoriously difficult. The yellow Navy versions, like his first Stearman, were known as “Yellow Peril.” Taildragger airplanes are notorious for “ground looping,” where the tail of the airplane spins around. It’s an “uncontrolled rotation of an aircraft while on the ground” (dictionary definition). For the pilot—and instructor, if it’s a student pilot­—it also means heart-pounding terror and potentially wrecking your plane on the ground. Now, pilots have to get a special tailwheel endorsement to fly aircraft that have two wheels in the front and one smaller one on the tail of the airplane. In the 40s, that was just what you learned to fly in. George H. W. Bush learned to fly in a Navy Stearman, very similar to Dr. Hart’s first project. Back in the hangar, Phil remembered his journey in rebuilding this airplane. He had known about it for some time. It was sitting in the back of a hangar at Millington, TN. The previous owner would get excited and work on it for a few months, then lose enthusiasm and take a break. That continued for 17 years. “Let me know if you ever decide you want to sell that project,” Dr. Hart told him. The plane was in pieces. Every part that could be taken off was off. But the fuselage (the main body of the aircraft) already had all the rust and corrosion removed and had been painted; it was just dusty. Dr. Phil Hart got a call two weeks later. “Well, the wife and I talked about it, and we decided it’s time to sell that airplane.” Dr. Hart didn’t even try to negotiate the price. It took him three trips with a 16-foot trailer to bring it all back, but he got every piece. Boeing mass-produced around 10,000 Stearman aircraft in the 40s for the military, but after World War II, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation sold many of them as military surplus. Most Stearmans were refitted as crop dusters, but between the chemicals and leaving fabric-covered airplanes out in the weather, this took its toll. There are currently estimated to be around 1,000 in flyable condition in the United States. His wife, Sherry, was not surprised that the project consumed him. It had taken him nine years to rebuild his first one. This one took a bit over three years. Though she does not care for flying in the Stearman, she and Phil have had their share of aviation adventures, flying and traveling in another aircraft that he owned with a partner. Their son, Adam Hart, is also a pilot. Dr. Hart did much of the work in the shop at his house. He had to build one more wing, but the others were already done. The frame for the wings is mostly wood, with some metal pieces to reinforce it. He covered each one with Dacron polyester and shrunk it to fit with an iron. He reinforced all the edges with a special tape and painted it in the original colors with polyurethane paint. The fabric was a huge upgrade from the original cotton. If kept indoors and maintained well, the taunt fabric covering can last over 30 years. It was painstaking work, and he was happy to be done with it, but as he worked, memories of his yellow Stearman came to mind. He had taken it to several airshows and might have performed some acrobatics in it while flying alone. Taking people up for the first time in a biplane is always a thrill. There is a mirror situated in the front seat where the pilot can see their faces from the back seat. All he usually sees is teeth from their smiles as he takes them up for the first time. (Since he is a dentist by trade, he did not mind looking at teeth.) He looks forward to doing all those things with his new Stearman as well, as soon as he gets a few more hours on the engine. Read the full issue below.