Our Mon General Hospital And Women's Healthcare Experience

As our daughter Sylvia came into the world, Jamie and I had the distinct privilege of a weekend getaway at hotel Mon General. While we didn’t take advantage of all of the amenities offered to us during our stay, we were really impressed with the facilities as well as the staff—they were incredible.

For starters, the staff of Women’s Health Care of Morgantown were phenomenal. Midwives Rhonda Conley and Stephanie Lowe did an incredible job of caring for Jamie throughout her delivery, and Dr. Shane Prettyman gave prompt congratulations to Jamie and myself moments after her delivery. If you are going to have a child and you live in this area, I highly recommend the team at Women’s Healthcare of Morgantown. Not only were they great during the final stages of pregnancy at the hospital, but also, Rhonda, Brook Ann, Stephanie, and the entire team at WHC were encouraging and gave solid answers to all of our questions throughout Jamie’s pregnancy. Mon General has been very wise to contract with them for delivering babies too!

And then, what can I say about the nursing staff at Mon General! Jennifer Bender, our nurse on the day of Jamie’s labor, stayed an extra two hours plus at the end of her shift to see us through to the finish. She and the rest of her team offered solid counsel and helped Jamie really get started strong with breast feeding. Kiley Everson and Stephanie Smith offered wonderful care and guidance during the rest of our stay. As mentioned briefly in a previous post, Stephanie gave me a quick tutorial on diaper duty—if only she could see me now!

Other nurses came in to help us out as well, but I did not get all of the names. One nurse even coached us through all of the details around how to place Sylvia properly in the car seat, and showed us the special tool on the back of our car seat that is used for older vehicles That tool will come in handy when we are traveling to other locales and we can’t just “click in” our seat to a base.

The housekeeping and food service staff were also phenomenal. Each one of them was highly congratulatory of myself and Jamie, and we loved that they offered healthy choices on the menu. They even prepared a special meal for us to celebrate the arrival of our child. I had a steak and Jamie had chicken cordon bleu as the main course for our meal.

While we know that every day will be a learning experience with Sylvia, the entire team at Mon General and Women’s Health Care did their best to make sure we were as prepared as possible for the road ahead. We are grateful for their support and encouragement over the 42 weeks of jamie’s pregnancy and the two days of our stay at the hospital.

WOW! Nuru International CEO Jake Harriman Introduces Former Presidents George W. Bush And Bill Clinton

July 9th at 6PM ET, West Virginia native Jake Harriman gave a speech (starting at 57:30 in the above video) as part of his graduation from the Presidential Leadership Scholars (#PLScholars) Program, and at the conclusion of his speech, he introduced Bill Clinton and George W. Bush for their remarks to the graduating class. Jake is part of the inaugural class of 60 #PLScholars, and over the last few months he and his classmates have been receiving mentorship from these two former Presidents as well as their staff and the staff of former Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush.

To be accepted as a PLScholar, Jake and his classmates had to go through a rigorous application and interview process, and were charged to identify a key leadership challenge for themselves or for the industries in which they worked. For his challenge, Jake chose to explore what he would need to do to take Nuru into increasingly fragile countries to be able to improve the livelihoods of farmers and their families, and to help make the world a little more secure and safe in the process. Jake has been coming away with a ton of insights that are helping Nuru become a better organization, and helping him to become a better leader. You can read some of those insights here.

And now as Jake graduates from the program, his classmates selected him to give the opening remarks at their graduation and to introduce these two former Presidents. There's an ancient Hebrew proverb that I've been reflecting on a lot lately, "Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men." Jake has shown himself to be skillful in leading Marines, leading Nuru, and now, he has been given this incredible opportunity to stand before two great leaders.

This is a huge moment for Jake and for Nuru, and of course, it is a moment for pride for West Virginia University, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Marine Corps, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, but I believe it is also a great moment for the amazing people of our state. Long before Jake had been part of any of those prestigious institutions, he was growing up to be leader, by the grace of God, through the influences of family and community that he was surrounded by in the Mountain State. If you grew up in West Virginia, you grew up hearing the jokes and the slams when traveling to other places. Jake represents a different West Virginia, a West Virginia that is more accurate to the truth of who we are. He grew up on a small farm, and for him and his siblings, they were learning from parents and neighbors the value of service and hard work, just like many of the rest of us from this great state. West Virginians look out for others. And when one of us does something great on a regional, national, or global stage, it is a victory for all of us. I'm incredibly proud of Jake for being a man on whom this kind of honor can be bestowed. I'm incredibly proud of our Nuru team in Kenya, in Ethiopia, and across the states who have helped bring an idea about ending extreme poverty into reality. But, right now, I am beaming with pride as a West Virginian with other fellow West Virginians as we watch one of our own rise up into the spotlight for just a moment to let the world see what our people are really like. Go Jake! Go Nuru! We are all proud of you!

Happy Birthday West Virginia

Yesterday, my home state celebrated its 151st birthday. West Virginia was born during the height of the civil war on June 20, 1863, and many believe its formation helped turn the tide of the war toward the union. Being born during a time of heavy conflict must have been hard on the folks who were here, but the 35th state presses onward. It is the only state created by Presidential Proclamation, so we, the people of West Virginia owe much to President Lincoln.

As I write this I'm sitting in the home of two other West Virginians who are currently living in Colorado (another beautiful state). It's fun to reflect on the fact that John Denver wrote songs about Colorado and West Virginia as I'm sitting here too!

I love my state. I love watching the cardinal (our state bird) when it flies among the sugar maple (our state tree) and the rhododendron (our state flower). In fact Jamie and I have a rhododendron that flowers each spring in front of our home.

My family has called West Virginia home for as long as we have had a family history. Long before our state became a state, we have called this our home, and perhaps that is why my parents instilled such a deep love for this place in my heart.

I can remember taking trips as a kid to places like Cooper's Rock in Morgantown or traveling through Pipestem near Princeton. In high school, college, and beyond, many were the trips toward Elkins, Davis, Thomas, and places like Blackwater Falls, Canaan Valley, and Hawks Nest. And nearer to home, I can remember many days of riding my bike along the Ohio River, or going fishing at Mountwood Park with my dad, my uncle, and my cousins. We used to picnic on Sunday afternoons and all of us kids would rush off into the woods to explore, or into the creeks to catch crawfish.

And the people of our state, while we have an array of challenges before us, we also have an attitude of never giving up. Our state motto, montani simper liberi (mountaineers are always free), is one that I have often taken to speak toward not just our love of freedom, but of our willingness to persevere in adversity.

And so as our beautiful state grows another year older, I'm hopeful of her future, and I look forward to savoring many more moments walking along her forest paths, fishing in her rivers, and working hard toward an ever brighter future among these beautiful hills. Happy birthday West Virginia!

Friday Morning Appalachian Mist

Early this morning Jamie and I found ourselves driving from Lake Floyd to Morgantown to get started with our day. I feel like there is something magical about early morning drives like this. There are not too many cars on the road, and after the weather we have experienced over the last few days, there is a mist that shrouds the day in a kind of mystery and beauty.

I'm sure other places throughout Appalachia reflect a similar ambiance, but to me there is nothing quite like watching the fog slowly rise from these West Virginia Hills early in the morning. If you have driven these or other roads in the early morning hours, you know exactly what I mean. It's as though the whole rest of the world is at rest, and the Creator of the Universe has invited you to have a personal viewing of his latest masterpiece.

These times, in my opinion, are some of the best times for reflection and for eliciting a sense of gratitude. Often people spend tons of money to have a glimpse of something like this early morning splendor. They go on vacations or pay for the 'ultimate' experience. Personally, I love the fact that we are given the opportunity to appreciate little treasures like this, and really, the opportunity is there every day.

Wherever you are today, if you are driving or on foot, I pray you are able to soak in a moment of the majesty of the created world, even if you are not so fortunate as I am and you are not able to look upon these West Virginia hills.

New Year’s Dinner At Russ & Flora’s

Among my extended family, we don’t have a lot of ‘family traditions’ per se, but there are some things we have always shared time for on an informal basis. Those things include telling jokes, going fishing, playing games, and watching and talking about WV Mountaineer sports. It seems like it doesn’t really matter how long it has been since we have gotten together, but we can always make time for these things.

But there has also been one “sort of” extended family tradition. My Uncle Russell and Aunt Flora have always had a New Years Day dinner that they prepped and then invited my folks, my brother, my sister, and me over to enjoy with them. To my recollection, I’ve only missed this meal a couple of times. Last year, I missed it because Jamie and I were on our way to enjoy our free Orange Bowl tickets. In 2006, I missed it because I was serving at a conference held in Amsterdam (one of my favorite cities) for GCM’s European churches. Outside of those occasions, I can’t really remember missing New Year’s Day at Russ & Floras.

I can remember as a little kid, we had two tables in Flora’s kitchen One was for the grown ups (or near grown ups), and the other was for us kids. I also remember others being able to visit during the meal as well. For instance, my best friend in the whole world, Willie, has sat at the table with his family on multiple occasions, and my friends Curtis and Derek (and my then girlfriend Jamie) joined us after attending a conference (and a bowl game) in North Carolina. Of course, there were the usual New Year’s activities of watching college football and talking about the Mountaineers, my Aunt Flora’s delicious rolls, and, always, lots and lots of laughter.

This year, it was much of the same (minus the rolls). Flora had to work a good bit of the day, but a few of us kids (especially my cousin Pam), decided we would do what we could to keep the tradition alive. We ordered pizzas and still sat around the same table, watched football, and laughed a lot. Jamie and I drove down on New Year’s Morning, picked up my dad, and we were able to hang out until right around 6PM. Jamie had to be at work at 530AM, so as great as the company was, we really needed to make our way back along Route 50 and I79 from Parkersburg to Morgantown.

As a family, we have been blessed beyond what we realize many times. Sitting in that kitchen yesterday with my cousins, I couldn’t help but think about how much love had been in our midst our entire lives. Of course none of us see each other as much as we would like, and that is always the case with family and others we care about deeply.

I can’t help but think that this may be a little bit of what heaven will be like. Lots of laughter, love, and wonderful stories with God sitting in the middle of it all, laughing and smiling with all of the rest of us.

Do you have any annual family traditions or gathering times with extended family or friends? If so, I hope you treasure those times, and if you do not have any traditions like this, maybe it is time to start them! 

The Nuru International Club At Fairmont Senior High School

Monday afternoon, I had the privilege of connecting with some incredible students at a high school in Fairmont, WV. Last year, students at this school, led a first time initiative on their campus and a first time initiative for any group anywhere. They organized an entire week of activities on their campus to raise funds and awareness for Nuru’s work. The video above tells a little bit of the story of their exploits.

So Monday evening I found out that the Nuru club that started on their campus last year had grown from about 6 dedicated people to 15 folks. They are planning to blow the goals from last year out of the water, and coming up with all kinds of crazy cool ideas to inspire others to join in this work.

Any time with around people who are getting engaged with this issue, I get fired up. Especially when it is young people. This problem is so huge that it is going to require all hands on deck, and I believe that part of the key to ending extreme poverty is having people get a vision for taking action, and dedicating their careers toward making a lasting impact toward improving our world.

I think many students at Fairmont Senior High School are well on their way, and it is my hope that other schools will continue to build on their success, and help bring lasting change to the people of Kuria, Kenya and beyond. 

The Vintage Barber Shop

As part of my friend Derek’s pre-marriage festivities, he committed his groomsmen to making a trip to his favorite barber shop in Charleston, a place called The Vintage Barber Shop. It was like a walk down memory lane, at least for me. I remember going with my dad as a little boy to sit in the barber’s chair, get my hair cut, and listen to a wide variety of stories ranging from football to politics.

Derek first discovered the shop when the business was featured in the local paper. The owner is a fellow West Virginian from around the Clarksburg area named Justin Amos. Derek first visited the space in 2011, and fell in love with the space as well as the quality haircut and shave he received each time he visited.

The shop is adorned with equipment (including barber’s chairs) from a long gone era. I remember sitting in a barber chair very similar to the one’s in the shop as a small boy when I would visit Buck’s Barber Shop in South Parkersburg with my dad. This trip was a little different than my trips from yesteryear because this was the first time I had visited a barber shop for a shave.

It was quite an experience. Each one of Derek’s groomsmen received a shave in preparation for the wedding ceremony. As stressful as it may sound to have a stranger take a razor to one’s neck and face, the whole experience was actually relaxing. I think we all went under the knife with the understanding that we weren’t the first to be shaved by Justin, and Derek had survived and returned for multiple visits.  That being said, it was extremely relaxing to have a hot towel placed on my face in an effort to prepare my face for the blade.

Those who know me know I don’t often get hair-cuts (though, since 2008, I have significantly increased my frequency), but this shave was a really cool experience. It’s not one that I’m likely to repeat with regularity, but I would definitely recommend it to any guy who has not had a shave given by another person before. And if you happen to be reading this as a person living in the greater Charleston, WV area, I recommend checking out The Vintage Barber Shop and giving it a try. While we were there, we even ran into Larry Groce as he was getting a quick trim before heading to a Mount Stage event in Bristol, VA/TN.