Sherpa and Participant Stories

REDEFINING SUCCESS

People, Presence and Prayer

Jim Beville ’99

Financial Advisor, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC

Wood crackles and smoke snakes through camp in a cool nighttime breeze. Warmth glows across faces and stars cast an infinite speckled net in the sky above. Somewhere around a campfire, individuals become a united team.

This is 1999 graduate Jim Beville’s favorite moment on a La Vida expedition. One by one as life stories are shared after a long day of hiking, layers are pulled back and vulnerable souls begin to peek through the cracks in walls constructed by histories of unique experiences.

“There is a high level of trust when people come together, and a greater opportunity for openness and honesty,” says Beville. “It creates a deeper, more meaningful connection, and there’s a certain richness that I think is fairly unique to La Vida.”

That distinct La Vida je ne sais quois, he vividly recalls, stems from the man who made La Vida his life, Rich Obenschain: “His passion for making a significant difference in people’s lives was truly contagious and incredible,” says Beville. As a student, Beville, like so many others, was immediately drawn to the charismatic and kindhearted leader, taking any and every opportunity to work alongside him (including helping Obenschain build the Bennett Center Rock Gym that still stands today).

“It’s amazing,” says Beville, “when we put others’ needs and desires ahead of our own the impact it has and the trust that it builds.”

Beville’s South Hamilton office where he works as a financial advisor is indoors, and he doesn’t bond with clients over a fire. But he does aim to facilitate the same spirit of warmth.

“My greatest satisfaction has always come from adding value to people’s lives,” he says. “I have found that the better I understand one’s values and priorities the better advice I am able to give and the greater the fulfillment I feel.”

COMMITMENT MOVE

Finding Faith Out on a Limb

Liz (Heeren Hurley) Williams ’84

First Responder Chaplain

“The reality of La Vida begins on the last day,” says Liz (Heeren Hurley) Williams ’84. During that final Discovery class, when students internalize their quad semester spent in the outdoors, they emerge more in tune with their own strengths and with what God asks of them.

A former Discovery facilitator of 25 years, Williams identifies those steps forward as “commitment moves”—opportunities to prayerfully go out on a limb. In Discovery, an important exercise is physically practicing commitment (literally going out on a limb on the ropes course or leaning back to rappel down a rock wall). In doing so, students gain confidence for the bigger—perhaps situational or spiritual—commitment moves ahead of them.

In Williams’ own life, a memorable commitment move was becoming a chaplain for first responders in Molalla, Oregon. She and her husband, Nick, had made plans to travel the country and serve disaster relief organizations (the pair met in New Orleans supporting recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in 2005). They had even sold their home and moved into a fifth wheel camper.

But God had other plans.

When the couple was invited to serve the local police and fire departments as chaplains, they parked their camper and re-established roots in Molalla. Now in this unexpected role, Williams (along with their dog, Baxter, a valued guest at the stations) provides a different sort of disaster relief as she comes alongside people who have experienced trauma.

“Even though I feel inadequate at times, God is using us,” she says. “My husband and I both are called to serve this population and bring his presence.”

Williams often recalls “Two Fish and Five Barley Loaves,” a poetic retelling of the feeding of the 5,000. “That’s often my prayer—that God would just use what little bit I have to offer,” she says. Like she learned on the ropes course and in the wilderness, “The Lord is using every moment. Trials and tribulations produce character and maturity, and the end of one thing is the beginning of something new.”

Secret La Vida Recipes Unveiled

GORP

Contrary to popular belief, GORP didn’t start out as an acronym for “granola, oats, raisins, peanuts” or “good ol’ raisins and peanuts.” It’s an old English verb that means “to eat greedily” (as if we needed encouragement!). And it’s a backpacking staple that La Vida has down to a science. With these massive proportions— intended to outfit one La Vida patrol before their 12-day expedition—your batch is sure to last you a long time and keep hunger at bay.

In following with GORP-etiquette, Nate Hausman advises against the “mining of favorite pieces, M&Ms of course being high on that list.” If they’re your favorite, simply save them for last (or maybe add a few extras to your batch).

1 batch = 57 cups (which fit nicely into 3 gallon-sized zip lock bags) 1 bag of Cheerios or other cereal 1 large can of salted peanuts 1 large can of dry roasted peanuts 2 ¼ lbs. of raisins 1 large bag of M&M’S®

FREAKO BUTTER

Freako Butter has been in La Vida bear bags since the 90s. Its contents have never been revealed—until now. Although exact quantities will remain a mystery, the ingredients for Freako Butter are no longer a secret. It’s up to you to find the perfect balance between chocolatey M&M’S®, powdered milk, peanut butter and honey.

Want to know if your batch is up to snuff? See if you can convince Nate Hausman to give yours a try. He’s the official taste tester for every batch up at base camp.

Hausman recommends pairing Freako Butter with Stone Ground Wheat Thins, if you want to relive (or retaste) your days on the trail.

BE HERE NOW

The Tools to Grow

Monika Pfistner ’13

Owner, Treeline | hellotreeline.com

As Monika Pfistner ’13 closes her eyes and takes in the warm sunlight, she is filled with invigorating inspiration. Out in the sanctuary of her Portland, Maine, front yard, creativity pours onto paper. Pfistner begins sketching—a modern floral arrangement, a minimalist pair of earrings, a unique cheese knife—all infused with the natural aesthetic of her surroundings.

The owner of Treeline, a wood and floral design business, feels beckoned outdoors to find originality. “To be able to step back is really where my creativity can grow and thrive,” she says. Each piece wears its own natural trademarks—“a flower has been growing in one direction and twists one way or knots in the wood dictate what shapes are going to come out of it.”

Beyond a bandsaw and drill press, one of Pfistner’s most important tools is running, a practice she picked up as a La Vida participant and sherpa. On those infamous 10 miles, students reflect on their trip and consider lessons to bring home. Even a decade after her first La Vida expedition, Pfistner follows the same mental route when she winds along trails on a run, she says, “to pause, to be unplugged, to reflect, to debrief a big experience and to move forward into new things.”

Two summers ago, that “new thing” involved a big adventure and an extended escape from the daily grind. Pfistner and her husband, Daniel ’13, put their backpacking skills to use for a journey about 2,190 miles longer than the La Vida run—the Appalachian Trail. The 100-day trek was a leap of faith for the couple, who traded in comfort for a challenge that brought clarity and a healthy reminder to slow down.

“It’s so important to step back from our increasingly digital age and fast-paced environments,” says Pfistner, “to be in creation, being present, celebrating God’s presence and stepping outside of our comfort zones in order to get there. At La Vida’s core, those are the tools to grow in your personal and spiritual life.”

Finding the Wilderness Within

Wilderness experiences teach us to see the world anew. But even when the Adirondacks and White Mountains seem far away, wonder comes from within. Here’s how to tap into it:

Keep a gratitude journal Wonder is born out of admiration. Every day, write three unique things you’re grateful for in a journal, making sure not to repeat something you’ve written before. Quickly, you’ll realize you’ll never run out of things to write down, even on hard days.

Take long walks without headphones Next time you go for a long walk by yourself, leave the headphones at home and look for things you’ve never seen before—like the wreath of forsythia on your neighbor’s front door or an orange cat sunbathing on a windowsill.

Do something unexpected New experiences draw us into the present and create an environment that allows us to grow. So, try something new. Learn to ballroom dance. Go to an interfaith event. Befriend someone of a different generation. Become pen pals with someone who is incarcerated. Do a technology fast.

Slow time down with a good book Put some of the hours you spend watching TV and checking social media into reading a good book. Not only does reading have the effect of slowing down time, it also transports you to another world and into another person’s head for a change.

CHALLENGE BY CHOICE

A FRAME for Living Well

Navid Mahooti ’96, M.D., M.P.H. Mass General/North Shore Center for Outpatient Care Team Physician, Gordon College Athletics

They say when a silversmith sees his reflection in his handiwork, that’s when he knows the piece is refined and pure. Two weeks on a La Vida expedition are not unlike a refining fire for a traveler, who encounters transformational challenges and circumstances: Can I make it through fasting? How can I carry this 50-pound pack up a mountain? What is God teaching me? How do I respect my peers and the nature around us?

Like silver, the traveler emerges from the fire stronger, shaped by the experience. For Dr. Navid Mahooti ’96, two weeks of La Vida’s refining fire opened his mind to the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

It’s a concept the sports medicine and wellness specialist encapsulates with the acronym FRAME—Food, Rest, Activity, Meaning, Environment. “My passion is helping people to live better, fuller lives,” says Mahooti. That means encouraging patients to get outdoors, eat well and make healthy lifestyle goals. “All five components tie into the undergirding pillars of wellness,” he says. “If one or more of these pillars are neglected or out of balance, it can affect our sense of well-being, and even manifest as an acute or chronic illness.”

As patients describes their concerns, Mahooti listens carefully with a goal not just to treat symptoms but to uncover the root of the problem and, when appropriate, incorporate FRAME into the treatment plan. The elements are primarily preventive but have the potential to reverse physical ailments like joint pain, high blood pressure and even type 2 diabetes.

For Mahooti, healthy habits include fasting, omitting processed foods, resting by journaling (a habit picked up from La Vida), exercising, feeding his spiritual life and being involved in mentoring relationships.

The key to FRAME is not just two weeks of discipline—but an entire lifestyle. In other words, less of a refining fire and more of an ever-present ember. “A person who thoughtfully contemplates and implements the concepts of FRAME,” says Mahooti, “will likely be better equipped to fulfill their calling and purpose in life.”

What to Pack for Your Next Adventure

Your next adventure may be a physical journey, a new milestone or a change in lifestyle or community. Whatever it may be, you aren’t starting this adventure empty handed, especially when you’re outfitted with these six virtues.

FLEXIBILITY

Flexibility stems from willingness to change, to compromise, to bend easily without breaking. Adventures of any kind are more enjoyable when you let go of the need to be in control and the need to be right.

COURAGE

There comes a time in every adventure when you have to confront the things you fear—when you have to choose between what’s right and what’s easy. You are courageous when you are scared but take action anyway.

ENDURANCE

Endurance is the ability to exert oneself for a long period of time, even when the end isn’t in sight. It’s not a question of how close you are to finishing, but an affirmation of what you have to gain when the struggle is over.

TRUST

In a new situation, when you lack control or know-how or strong communal ties, it’s easy to drop into a state of self-sufficiency. You may feel especially vulnerable, and yet this is the time when you need people the most.

HONESTY

Honesty is the bedrock of healthy relationships, romantic and platonic. It means you don’t hide your emotions from yourself or from others, and that you get comfortable with constructive criticism.

HOPE

Hope is a desire for something to happen. It is a lens that helps you imagine each next step toward redemption. It teaches you to see opportunity where others see failure.