At Thursday’s meeting of the Carmi Rotary club Scott Kiser, director of residential care at the Baptist Children’s home was the guest speaker.
Photo credit: Kenneth Dwain Harrelson
Scott told the club he had been thinking a lot lately about suffering, and about people’s ability to deal with that suffering. He informed the club that he had two heroes in mind that he thought illustrated his topic.
The first was David, from the Bible. Scott stated that he had recently started reading a book by Malcom Gladwell, called: David and Goliath, Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. In this book, the author explains that there are three groups within each army: the infantry, the artillery, and the cavalry. He goes on to explain that Goliath was in the infantry, and was in fact, probably not that good of a soldier. The Bible makes it sound as if he had vision problems, and it states that someone had to bring him his shield and sword. On the other hand, David can be thought of as serving in the artillery. He came to the battle with a sling, which gave him an advantage over Goliath. Never the less, David has earned everyone’s awe and respect because he was the only person there willing to step up and fight. He did so because he had courage and more importantly – faith.
Scott’s second “hero” is his own son, Gabriel. Scott gave several examples of Gabe’s willingness to put his faith first, whether that is helping other children at the Children’s Home, or stepping forward every Sunday when the pastor puts out the alter call for prayers. He sees that Gabe has the faith, and that faith helps him deal with other’s sufferings in a way adults might not even be able to do.
Scott concluded his talk be inviting the Rotarians and the rest of Carmi and the surrounding area to the Children’s Home’s annual Fall Festival. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, September 17th. Scott promises lots of food and fun at this year’s festival.
In club business, Cindy Conley told the group that she had been contacted by the Evansville Otter’s ticket office with a special deal for the playoffs. Any group of ten people can get special tickets for only ten dollars each. The ticket includes admission to the game, a hot dog or hamburger, chips, and a drink. The Rotarians are planning to go on Tuesday night next week, and anyone wishing to join the group can contact Cindy for further information.
Tom Logan won the 50/50 drawing but did not claim the growing cash prize. Morris McCall was named as the day’s phantom.
The Carmi Rotary club meets every Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church in Carmi. Anyone wishing to learn more about this worldwide civic club is more than welcome to attend a meeting or speak with any Carmi Rotarian.
