While completing field interviews in rural Mali, I met a young man with disabilities who was living in his parents’ home. As a child he contracted a disease which left him unable to walk. As my colleagues and I began to interact with him, he excitedly showed us a complex system of wires and old batteries that he had assembled. When he touched two of the wires together, several small lights illuminated across an old wooden board. A wide smile flashed across his face as he showed us this amazingly complex system he had designed from the simplest of materials.

As the conversation continued, we were informed that this young man had almost never left his parents’ home. When we asked the reasons for this, his mother immediately discussed the stigmatization and dangers he would face in the community. She explained that some may attribute his impairment to demonic forces and as a result their family would be the targets of extreme discrimination. (more…)

This fall, Stephanie Fieger Klein ’02 made Messiah College history by securing the role of Harpier in the Broadway production of “Macbeth.” For Klein, the road to Broadway has been both challenging and rewarding as she has spent her time since graduation exploring the world of theatre in New York City and regionally, ultimately in pursuit of realizing her Broadway dream.  Now, as Klein takes the famous stage as the daunting creature Harpier, there is no doubt that her once distant dream has become a remarkable reality.

Arts appreciation

Brought up in a home that always prized the arts, Klein found herself interested in theatre from very early on.  What originally assisted in making the transition from awe-inspired audience member to captivating stage presence was Klein’s visit to her first Broadway-sized show, “Phantom of the Opera,” at age 13.  As she phrased it, “The music, sheer grandiosity, and incredible focus hit me hard, and I knew I had to be a part of it in some way.”  Klein first stepped onto the stage and into the shoes of her first role as Little Eva in “The King and I” in high school and discovered that she had found her niche.

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I couldn’t believe it. After months of anticipation and expectation, my field hockey team and I were leaving in the morning to travel to Argentina on a mission trip. Anxiousness and worry crept inside me, and I was beginning to doubt that the trip was a good idea. All of the teams coordinated through Messiah’s sports ministry effort—AROMA, a Revolution of Missional Athletes—teams that night to go on a prayer walk to prepare our hearts and minds for what we were about to encounter. The whole time I was praying but still felt uneasy about the trip. When we arrived at our destination by the creek, we sang as a group and a girl from the volleyball team shared Luke 17:6; “He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” This verse caught a hold of me and I prayed, “God, I feel as though my faith about this trip is the size of the mustard seed, but here it is if you would like to use it.”

God works in amazing ways. Upon our arrival, our team was treated as celebrities and served Argentina’s specialty meal that includes lots of meat. We had several opportunities to not only teach young girls field hockey skills but also have fun with them. Even with the language barrier, we were able to connect with the children while playing the sport we love. (more…)