American Faces #67 - There is hope!

American Faces No. 67

What does hope, healing, and the face of determination look like? It looks like Abigail Nielsen my American Faces #67 subject. She appeared earlier in my series during the onset of the Covid lockdown. She appears again now not because she is my daughter, but because she has endured one of the hardest trials of her young twenty-something life. She has endured divorce and dismay in 2021. Oh, but that is just the beginning of the story! It just gets better. I have watched her navigate this unwanted path with a determination that often leaves me, as her dad, breathless. She has taken so many steps forward with grace when there are tears in her eyes and the unknown is all she sees in front of her. Abigail finds peace these days in that unknown, her family, her calico cat Gertrude, and in a reborn and growing trust in her Savior. Sanctuary is also found in the apartment she has etched out in the loft of my studio as of late July, 2021. The apartment is genuinely her and quaintly appointed to reflect her clean, simple decorating style. The excruciating changes in her life rekindled a passion for adventure and an excitement to reclaim those joy-inducing loves that life had forced to be put on hold. There are so many smiles of even joy on her face. She carries a love for her fellow human that is palpable as you look into her eyes. Her heart may have weathered a battering and gained some battle scars, but that doesn’t stop her from caring for others who navigate a similar path. If you asked her, she would tell you her capacity to love, empathize and encourage has only increased.

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Letting go of what lies behind is never easy, but pressing on without malice for the one who hurt her has brought her incomparable freedom. Maybe it is how she embraces the unknown that truly is remarkable. Abigail and my son Isaac will be embarking on a multiple month adventure to the south and west, navigating lands in a 2011 Honda Pilot and sleeping in the comforts of an A-liner camper. They call themselves the Daring Dawdlers.

This journey will help her say goodbye to 2021 and all it handed her and say hello to 2022, the year of the Grand Unknown.

There were three phrases I said to Abigail when divorce was thrust upon her. I believe we all need to believe these:

You are Loved. You are cherished. You are worthy to be loved.

My hope is that as you read about Abigail’s journey you see a woman defined not by divorce, but as one who emerged from heartbreak with grace, joy, continuously-increasing faith, and an unshakeable identity in Christ.

Here are a few links to check out:

Hope Reclaimed

https://hopereclaimedministries.com/

The Daring Dawdlers:

Website: The Daring Dawdlers

IG @daring_dawdlers

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaringDawdlers

American Faces #66 - What joy looks like.

American Faces No. 66

Do you ever wonder what Joy looks like? I saw it. Not in the face of a child, but in the face of an 83 year-old guy in University of Minnesota apparel playing harmonica for my family’s goats at the Minnesota State Fair. I recognized him for some reason, like we had crossed paths somewhere before. In fact we had, at a concert in Maple Grove, Minnesota, in August of 2020 where he was dancing and clapping to Shania Twain’s song, “Man! I feel like a woman!” He seemed a bit off his rocker to me. But that’s what joy looked like, Andy Whitman style.

Through these two encounters with Andy, American Faces No. 66, I quickly came to see this man genuinely loves life. He said it’s something his mom instilled in him, along with a love for music and a passion for learning… and sharing joy.

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Andy shares his joy for music at senior living facilities where his guitar, harmonica and voice – in harmony with his lovely wife, Carol – lift the spirits of residents as they sing along to songs from decades past, all while Andy dances with an energy and grace that defies his 83 years.

Andy has shared his joy for life traveling on mission trips around the world, where he’s been known to give harmonicas away. He actively volunteers for Meals on Wheels, and freely gives smiles away to all who cross his path.

And has expressed joy throughout his life’s journey. He’s raced sailboats competitively, worked in the insurance industry, earned a law degree and a PhD, works as a Professor of Insurance at the UM Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis, and has even served as firefighter.

What does joy look like? Joy looks like a man who smiles and sings to residents at a senior home. It looks like a man playing harmonica to goats at the State Fair. It looks like a man dancing with his wife at some big band concert. Joy looks like Andy Whitman – a man who invites everyone he meets to live, laugh, love and learn. He calls it the “4-L’s Club.”

May we all look a whole lot more like Andy. I think his 4-L’s Club has plenty of room.

American Faces #65 - The Mini-donut man?

American Faces No. 65

I thought this American Faces 65 featuring Daniel Wohlfert was going to be a simple story about a guy who owns a mini-donut business in my hometown of Rogers, MN. I was wrong.

My interest was piqued when I met Daniel at our NorthRidge Fellowship church block party and I saw the Combat War Veteran (Iraq) sticker on the truck towing his snazzy The MinneDonut Company trailer.

But I discovered that was really just the sugar on the mini-donut story.

I learned Daniel’s early life was impossibly difficult. His mom died of Leukemia when he was seven and left him in the care of an alcoholic, abusive father. At 18 he left and found a new home in the Air Force as a C-5 Loadmaster. Then Daniel experienced war. On his first mission to the Middle East he saw battle for the first time. Peering through the cargo compartment window as a lookout for the rocket-propelled grenades that would kill him and his crew left Daniel with the effects of PTSD.

And then Daniel and his crew were tasked with escorting home the remains of eight Special Operations soldiers. Staring at those caskets in his cargo hold, Daniel realized those young men were soldiers just like him, and alive just a few hours prior, until experiencing the battle that took their lives. That’s hard stuff to get your head around, and can change you.

But all that wasn’t Daniel’s only story.

After leaving the Air Force, Daniel’s path took a number of turns. He worked in the veterinary pharmaceutical industry where he did well until a corporate restructuring left him jobless for 10 months. He found a job with a company providing precise measurement for product safety and quality, but realized it wasn’t the place for him. It was at that job, however, where he discovered Lil’ Orbits, a Minnesota company making high-quality mini-donut machines.

Which brings us back to the mini-donut trailer, where I met him.

I learned that Daniel started The MinneDonut Company in 2017 as a side hustle and a means to create more financial stability for his family. His mini-donut business has grown steadily since then. I think it’s a winner – because dough, sugar and grease, formed into a little magical ring, is sure to attract 99% of humanity, just by its smell.

But that is still not the whole story, really.

What amazes me about Daniel’s story is that it’s not about a boy who almost gave up on life at seven. And it’s not about a young man who stared the horrors of war in the face. It’s not even about a man who discovered the magical money-making powers of mini-donuts, when he could have just given up.

This is a story of a man who refuses to be defined by his past, or any particular part of his story. He keeps moving, he looks for open doors and he steps through them.

So, in closing, here’s my bit of wisdom: I first judged Daniel as simply the “MinneDonut Company guy” who also served in the military. But Daniel Wohlfert’s story, like the previous 64 American Faces stories I’ve done, has taught me that human beings are fascinating and walk very interesting paths, with all kinds of twists and turns. Some of those paths are similar to our own, but most we can hardly imagine. Take time to listen to someone’s story. It’s worth the time. It might just change your life!

Check out his MinneDonut Company: https://www.theminnedonutcompany.com/