September 11, 2001

"America was targeted because we are the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve. I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken in Psalm 23, 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil." ~President George W. Bush, September 13, 2001

September 11, 2001

America Remembers

From a Cousin

This has been copied (with permission) from the Facebook page of one of Greg's cousins, Matt Seftick.

"Somebody should tell us right at the start of our lives that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows." ~Pope Paul VI

To my cousin, Greg Seftick, you are the one who inspired me to do great things with my life. Although I never would have made it through med school, the corps was my way of trying to be as great as you and Chris. All of this happened so fast and looking back I never took the chance to say how proud of you I am, and just how much you influenced me as a man and what I've become; a Marine.

You and Chris were the ones who gave me the courage to fight, to follow what I wanted. Even in Afghanistan on my worst days, I thought to myself, "This ain't nothing, the stuff you had to go through in E.R. was way worse, and you handled it day in and day out." That thought alone made it easier to push on.

Your passion to be free and to roam the country the way you wanted to was the most amazing thing to me. You are the smartest man I've ever known and I will forever be proud to serve in your memory, for the Seftick name. Even more, I will always be proud to call you my cousin. I love you Greg and not one day will go by without you in my thoughts and prayers.

Update #9: Visitation

This evening was the visitation for one of the greatest, most amazing, awesome, terrific, fantastic, fun, daring, cool, adventurous person, it was for my cousin, Greg Seftick. So many emotions flooded me during the evening that it's nearly impossible to put anything into words. The outpouring of love for Greg and his family was immense. He loved and was loved greatly. In the short thirty-one years of his life he packed more in than most people would in eighty years.

Greg was one of the most unique people I have ever met. He was constantly doing or planning something dangerous and adventurous. From skiing, to hiking, to rock climbing and way beyond, his life was full of never missing a chance to try something and anything new. Every time I saw him he was always full of a never-ending stories which would keep you enthralled for hours on end of his crazy adventures that most of us can only dream about, but he put into action.

Most of all I remember Greg as a wonderful example to all of his younger cousins. He was a leader by nature, he was strong, outgoing, ambitious, loving, and just totally awesome. He was my dearly loved cousin. RIP Greg.

A Time to Die

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

~I Corinthians 15:22

The past few days have been insanely hectic. My former pastor's wife had a massive heart attack Friday night and went to be with Jesus Saturday morning. This was incredibly shocking to everyone because she had no prior heart problems. She left behind a husband of many years, 8 children, 38 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son and a granddaughter.

Her husband is now an evangelist and on the road preaching most of the time. Thankfully he was home the night of her heart attack and with his wife most of the time, except when she was flown to a heart hospital and in surgery. Several of her children live in the area and were also able to be with her during this time.

Visitation was Monday and her funeral service was Tuesday. My mom is her husband's secretary, since she is still not up to par from her surgery, I stepped in and was able to do most of what Mom would usually do. I made a zillion phone calls, made food, watched little kids, and helped with the funeral dinner.

Thankfully all eight children, most of their spouses and children were able to be at the funeral service. It was one of the longest I have ever been to, it lasted well over two hours! Each of the children spoke as well as the oldest grandson. A few close friends and people that she had touched in her ministry also gave a testimony of how she impacted their lives for eternity. There was lots of music and then a dear pastor friend gave a clear presentation of the Gospel. God was honored in all that was said and done.

"When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have refuge."

~Proverbs 14:32

R.I.P Sherwood

Sunday, May 2, 2010, Sherwood "Woody" Drazich died of a broken neck. He lived a short, but amazing life of six years. He was my friend, companion, and most of all a fellow partner in crime, my cello.

No one knows what happened, only that I opened my case to play in the church orchestra on Sunday morning and he was broken. I cried many tears. Several people were standing around and no one knew anything about it. I put him back in his case and left. I got to church Sunday night, and the high school band teacher came to me and said, "Hannah, were you messing with your cello this afternoon?" My response was a resounding "No!" She said, "Well, come look at this..." I walked back to the music room and my cello case was laying on the floor, closed, but not latched shut, and I could see the strings hanging out of the case. I knelt down next to Woody and opened his case. His neck was completely broken off and the tail piece and bridge were also off. Again, no one claimed to know anything.

I took some pictures which were emailed to a repairman, and the estimated cost for reviving poor Woody is not worth the money. In other words, my dear Woody is dead forever.

We shared some good times together from the first day we met until his final hours. From running all over creation together, zillions of lessons, hours of practicing, many times of playing in church, at special events, in nursing homes, weddings, and just goofing off with friends, our times together were always filled with much enjoyment.

My favorite memory of Sherwood is the time that I was playing an offertory one Sunday in New York. The end pin wasn't quite right, so I moved to adjust it. Apparently, the music director, who was sitting right behind where I was playing, moved at the exact same time. Suddenly there was a loud CRACK!!!!!!!!!! Good old Woody had hit the music director in the head - HARD! It was hard enough to knock the strings horribly out of tune. By this time my pianist had already started playing the introduction to my song. Well, I unsuccessfully tried to tune him, but it was of no use. So, I played, or rather, I attempted to play. It was quite disturbing, but I made it through the song. What happened to the music director, you ask. He had a knot on his head for almost an entire week!

Woody will be missed forever and ever, but his memories will live on in the hearts of those who loved him.

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The Good Times!

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Sadness!

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Veterans Day

In my life I have been blessed to know many men and women who were/are in the military, people who served their country, loved their country, and wanted the best for their country. I could list soooo many, but I want to focus on five men, 3 of whom were in the military, and 2 who are currently in the military right now.

I'll start with my grandpa, Michael Drazich. I really don't know much about his military service, except that he was in the Army in WWII. He never talked about it much and whenever the topic did come up he rarely said anything. All I know is that he was in Europe fighting during that time.

The second man that I'm thinking of is my daddy, Paul Drazich. He was in the Coast Guard in the 1980s. He loves to tell stories of the things he did, and my favorite thing as a little girl was to crawl up on his lap and have him tell me stories of his time on the ships. I could probably tell all of his stories as good as can tell them! He was stationed on the Great Lakes, as well as the Atlantic Ocean, and on Governor's Island in NYC teaching electronics.

The last of the 3 men who were in the military is my friend and hero, Aaron Williams. Aaron was a Marine, and the best of the best. Of any one person I know, Aaron was the most patriotic person in the world. He was also one of the kindest, gentlest, most loving, caring, generous person I've ever known. Aaron had NO enemies, and that's saying a lot for a person, everyone loved and cared deeply for the rough and tough Marine, with a BIG heart. Soon before he was to be deployed for Iraq, Aaron was diagnosed with brain cancer, at the age of 30. All the plans and dreams that he had came crashing down around him with a diagnosis of 6 months to live. However, instead of allowing the circumstances to get him down and ruin his life, Aaron chose to fight, and fight he did, for 3 years! But finally, after touching thousands of lives, God decided that it was time to call Aaron home to Him, and on June 22, 2007.

Next comes my dear friend Ray Pfahl. He is in the Army, and pretty close to being a big brother, without actually being one! Ray is 22 and has been in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He just got back from Iraq in August. Please pray for him, because he is not saved, and as he sees more and more pain and sorrow only gets harder and harder toward God. He is still one of my good friends, and I think I'm probably the only Christian that he allows to get close to him.

Lastly, and the most recent to come into my life is Jason Hunsicker, who is in the Navy. I know that I could go on and on and on about him… :) Anyway, well he has been in the Navy since August 2007, and is stationed in Yokosuka Japan on the USS Blue Ridge, which is the flagship for the 7th fleet. Currently he is deployed somewhere in the Pacific.

I just wanted to say thank you too all of the men and women who are or have been in the military and to their families as well.

***Aaron Williams***

***Daddy (on the left)***
***Jason***

Aaron Williams (December 7, 1972 - June 22, 2007)

"To Where You Are"'

Who can say for certain

Maybe you're still here

I feel you all around me

Your memory, so clear

Deep in the stillness

I can hear you speak

You're still an inspiration

Can it be

That you are mine

Forever love and you are watching over me from up above

Fly me up to where you are

Beyond the distant star

I wish upon tonight

To see you smile

If only for awhile to know you're there

A breath away not far

To where you are

Are you gently sleeping

Here inside my dream

And isn't faith believing

All power can't be seen

As my heart holds you

Just one beat away

I cherish all you gave me everyday

Cause you are my

Forever love

Watching me from up above

And I believe
That angels breathe

And that love will live on

and never leave

Fly me up

To where you are

Beyond the distant star

I wish upon tonight

To see you smile

If only for awhile

To know you're there

A breath away not far

To where you are

I know you're there

A breath away not far

To where you are

~Josh Groban

Today is the two year anniversary of the home going of my hero, Aaron Williams. Some of you may know his story, but others of you may not yet know it, so I will at least attempt to explain the type of man he was and what he means/meant to me.

Aaron was born December 7, 1972, I think he was the 4th of 9 children, but don't hold me to that! All of his life he was a jokester! He loved to make people laugh and feel comfortable around him. Aaron was one of the few people who had no enemies!! He was a friend to everyone.

I'm not quite sure of his entire timeline, but I do know that he joined the Marines (sometime when I was pretty little), and HE LOVED HIS COUNTRY! My favorite thing in the world used to be to tease Aaron about being a "Jar Head" in which he would always reply "I'd rather be a jar head than a squid like your dad!"

My mom is Aaron's dad's secretary, I remember the day that the office got the discharge papers from the military for Aaron. I can remember wondering who was going to have to hand those papers to Aaron, I wasn't there when that happened, but I can only imagine the look on Aaron's face when he was given those papers. I know that was one of the hardest things for him over the entire duration of his sickness.

In 2004, shortly after completing special forces training in the Air Force, Aaron was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and told that he had 6 months to live! Thankfully, God gave him to us for 3 more years. Those were years full of sorrow and tears, but also full of laughter and joy.

Throughout those 3 years Aaron had his ups and downs. He had to have surgery and something went wrong when they put his scull back together so his head was sunken in! That didn't bother Aaron, he used to make jokes about his head. He often would forget things, yet another thing that didn't drag him "down in the dumps" he made jokes about that too.

There was never a time when you were with Aaron that you weren't laughing. I have so many memories stored up inside that would take forever to write.

Probably one of my favorites is a phone call I got from him about a month before he died. He was driving to his home in PA after spending several times in IN with his family. I had asked him when I saw him at church the day before to stop by the office on his way out of town to say good bye, he had assured me that he would. Well, he forgot. I really wasn't surprised, or hurt because I knew that most of his short term memory was gone. Several hours later, I was at home when I got a phone call. It was this guy who had a strong Kentucky accent claiming that he had just moved to the Warsaw area and he had a teenage son who went to school with some friend of mine and this son had a huge crush on me and he wanted to take piano lessons from me. I was freaked out! I had NEVER had anything like that happen to me in my life. We spoke for about 5 minutes about how I taught piano lessons and what I required, etc. I finally got him off the phone and immediately called Mom. She calmed me down, and then said not to worry about it. A few minutes later my phone rang again. It was Aaron, laughing hysterically! He had made that whole thing up and had figured that I would figure out his fake accent like I always had before. He had seriously called to say that he had forgotten to say goodbye, so he was calling to say bye. That was the last time I had a coherent conversation with Aaron. From that time on he went down hill REALLY fast, it was about a month after that that he died.

The following month or so was very difficult on Aaron. It included a trip to Mexico, grasping at last straws, hoping that maybe something would work. Finally it was obvious that he was not going to make it. So he came back to Indiana to die.

I remember going to see him soon after he came back. I went into his parents home, and was SHOCKED!! Aaron had always been a strong, physically fit, healthy, big Marine, in fact that is why doctors think he lived as long as he did, because he kept himself healthy. Anyways, he was sitting on a recliner, and he looked awful! He was pale, and weak, and his memory was shot. He didn't even remember a lot of his family members. My family walked in together, Aaron thought my dad was one of his brothers, but other than that he remembered the rest of our names. We spent a few minutes talking, then he some how remembered the whole piano lesson thing! That was amazing, even his family was surprised that he remembered that story. The two of us went back and forth about it for a few minutes, before deciding that I would bring a keyboard in and teach him how to play! :P On the outside I was laughing with Aaron, but on the inside my heart was breaking. I finally had to leave so I gave him a hug (which was the last hug I ever got from him) and went for a walk, I hated seeing him that way!

I think that was on a Friday or Saturday. The following Wednesday we got a phone call from his mom, Aaron wanted to see my family. We went over, and he was in bed, which is where he had been for several days. By this time, he couldn't talk, and he kept his eyes closed for the most part. The only response he would give to someone was to open his eyes, or briefly squeeze a hand. When I walked in the room, death was almost a tangible feeling. My family each took a turn holding Aaron's hand and talking to him for a few minutes. My turn was last. I walked to his side and gently picked up his hand, it was so pale and weak, and clammy. I just stood there for a few minutes, the realization that this was probably the last time I would ever see him on this earth alive was sinking in, and my tears flowed. I told him who I was and he slightly squeezed my hand. After just standing there for a few minutes, I told him that he was my hero and that he was my favorite Jar Head and he always would be, he opened his eyes and squeezed my hand. That squeeze continued for almost 5 minutes, and there was no way I was letting go! That was the last time I saw him alive.

At approximately 12:30 AM on June 22, 2007 Aaron Andrew Williams went home to be with his Lord. He had fought a good fight, he had touched so many lives, and now it was time for him to go home. In his short life, Aaron touched more people than most people who live to 90 touch. He was amazing!

At his funeral so many people came who loved Aaron. Some had met him, others had not, but all were drawn together because in some way Aaron had shown them love, and in return all loved him. I really don't remember much about the viewing and funeral. I do know that he was the first and only dead person that I've ever touched. :) The funeral procession from the church to the cemetery was almost a mile long!

Aaron's life brought so much glory to God, and when it was time for him to go, there was no fear in his heart about dying. He was very peaceful. The tears that I shed were not that he was going to Heaven, but that he was in so much pain, and also that I would be losing a dear, dear friend, and my hero.

I feel so blessed that I knew Aaron for the first 16 years of my life. His memory will live on in my heart forever!

What a craaaazy week!!!

This has been one of the most INSANE weeks of my life!! I'm not even sure where to start, so I guess I'll start at the beginning:
Monday: I had to work in the morning with Wes on the PowerPoint. At times it seems like he wants miracles worked, but I love him to death, and have a hard time telling him that it won't work. I guess I will just have to try to work miracles...lol! In the afternoon I had more advanced training with Rainbow. I had a chiropractor appointment and then a dumb half hour session that is held every Monday night at the chiro's for new patients called "How to stay young for the first 100 years" it was interesting and BORING!

Tuesday: I had a demo at a chiropractors home at 11:00 on Tuesday. I was a little unsure of myself, so I had asked for somebody to go with me on the show. Rob, who is actually the guy who hired me, was assigned to go with me. What was going to happen was he was going to do the show and I was supposed to take notes and pay close attention...pretty much first hand training. We met at the office at 10:30 and got everything together before heading out about quarter til 11. We get to their house and he comes out looking very disheveled. Apparently the doc had no idea about the appointment and his wife was still in bed cuz she wasn't feeling well! Company policy is that both the husband and wife have to be present in order for us to show the machine. UGH! Soooo....we went back to the office. I had some errands to run and then there was more advanced training at 1:00. That went well then I had to work for Wes later in the day.

Wednesday: My demo from Tuesday got rescheduled for Wednesday at 11:00. So once again Rob and I hit the road on our way to the show. This time however the results were quite different. :) Both doc and Mrs. were awake and ready to let us show them the Rainbow. Rob did a great demonstration and had both of them convinced that they needed/wanted a system. However, doc had to open his office at 12:30 so he had to leave, thus we did not get a sale!! :( T'was sad....if there had been 1/2 hour more for us to demo we could have sold them one soooo easily! :( Oh well I guess... There is always training for the Rainbow at 1 that is optional to attend, so I went to that and then had a chiro appointment, and then worked for Wes. Then the day began to get REALLY exciting, let me explain:
My best friend's mom had died the beginning of December. They are missionaries to Italy and she had been buried over there. Faith had just begun her second year of college at Northland Baptist Bible College in WI when Mrs. Pieri was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She got so sick that Faith went home to be with her. Within about three months Mrs. Pieri went home to be with Jesus. Faith did not go back to school, but instead stayed home and helped her family through the hard time. Joseph, who is the Pieri's son (they have 2 children) graduated from high school this year. So the Pieri's came back this summer so Faith and Joseph could both go to Northland, and they had a memorial service on Friday.
So.... we were planning on leaving Thursday morning to drive to Antigo, WI which is where the memorial service was to be held. Well, mom came up with the idea of leaving late Wednesday night so that we could get through Chicago at a decent hour. All well and good, but I still had a LOT of work that I needed to do for Wes, and I had not even begun to pack, on top of that I was exhausted. I finally completely lost it, and just cried for a LOOOOOOONG time!! I was totally overwhelmed! Mom came into my room and held me and let me cry for a while, then she ended up doing most of my packing, cuz I couldn't even think about packing at the time! LOL! We left around 9:00 for Zion, IL which is where the hotel that mom booked for us for the night was. I convinced dad to let me drive through Chicago which was FUN!! We hit some construction, and traffic, but it really wasn't that bad! :) The hotel was really nice and since we didn't have to drive the whole way on Thursday we got to sleep in a little bit! :)
Thursday: We drove through Milwaukee and right outside of it is Menonomee Falls, which is where Falls Baptist Church is, and part of the church is Baptist College of Ministry where several kids from our church have gone to school. Right now two guys from my church are on their singing tour group this summer. They happened to actually be around the entire week, so we got to swing by and see them. :) It was nice. None of us had ever been there before, so we got a tour of the church and classrooms. We also stopped at the Wings as Eagles airplane hangar in Oshkosh, WI. Dad and Mom are going to be putting in an alarm system in August while Samuel is up there for flight camp, so dad needed to check a few things out. I think around 4:00 on Thursday we pulled into Antigo, WI which is where we spent the rest of our time. Probably around 6 or 7 the Pieri's came over and spent the entire evening with us! It was really nice to see them again (the last time we saw them was when they brought Faith to the U.S. for college 2 years ago), but it was hard without Mrs. Pieri.

Friday: The memorial service wasn't until 2:00 so we were able to sleep in, which was WONDERFUL!! Around 10:30 we left so the cleaning people could clean our room. My family ran some errands, but I stayed at the hotel working on the work for Wes. It was nice to get some things accomplished. :) Originally the plans were that we wouldn't see the Pieri's until the service, but plans changed and we ended up meeting them and some of the other family at a restaurant for lunch. It was really nice. The memorial service went really well. There were so many people who were able to give testimony to her VERY close walk with God. There was a lot of praise and glory given to God, and all in all it went really well. Friday evening Bro. Pieri's brother from Michigan stayed in the same hotel that we were in, so the Pieri's came over again and stayed until around 10:00. That was our good-byes to them...it was sad. :( However, they are supposed to be coming to IN sometime in July, so we will get to see them again!! :) :) :) YAY!Saturday: We got up earlier than the 2 days before, but it still wasn't too bad. We were packed and on the road about 8:30. No excitement on the trip home. We got back safe and sound about 6ish.

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*****Falls Baptist Church*****

*****Mom at Wings as Eagles*****

*****This was on the floor*****

*****Sorry this is up side down, but its cool*****

*****I'll admit it was tempting*****

*****Me and my bro******

*****Faith and Joseph Pieri*****

*****Bro. Pieri*****

*****Joseph at the funeral dinner*****

*****I was sitting on Angela's lap cuz she decided to sit in my chair!! :-*****

*****Me and Faith...best friends*****

*****Angela and Sasha, they are sisters who were adopted from the Ukraine*****

*****Chicago=traffic*****

*****This cop kinda startled me cuz I thought he was a taxi and then all of a sudden I saw THE cop!!*****

*****This truck had a really funny license plate considering one of my nicknames!!LOL!!*****

*****U.S. Cellular Field, formerly Wrigley Field, where the White Sox play...GOOOO SOX!!!*****

Memorial Day

Aaron Williams - My hero!

As I sit here on my great-grandma's couch in her sun room in the heart of Michigan I'm thinking about how blessed I am that I live in America, the "Land of the free and home of the brave." I was SO blessed to be born in the United States, a privilege that billions of people do not have. The only reason, besides God, that I'm living in the freest country in the world is because of the brave men and women throughout the centuries who have stood for freedom, and truly believed in their country and everything she stands for and were and are willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING so that I, as an American, can sit in comfort, sipping coffee, and writing this post. These are the truest Americans, the ones of whom we should be VERY proud. My grandfather served in the Army in World War II, along with his brothers. My dad was in the Coast Guard for seven years in the late 70s and early 80s. I have other family who were in various branches of the military, all doing their best to serve and protect and defend the country that they love.
I also have friends who were and are currently defending my country. I'm thinking of one in particular who is in Iraq right now as I write, before that he was in Afghanistan. Ray is young, only 20 or 21, why in the world is he willing to his life on the line? While Ray was in Afghanistan, his father, Raymond, a Lieutenant Colonel (I think) was in Iraq. Their family sacrificed a LOT!
I have other friends who have also been in the Mid-East, Seth in the Navy, and Paul and Steve in the National Guard. Paul and Steve had families back home, yet they were willing to go to a foreign land and fight an enemy that they may not have heard of before September 11, 2001.
One soldier that I didn't know, David Fribley, a graduate of Warsaw High School in 1996. He was content with his job until the terrorist attacks of September 11, it was then that he decided to join the Marines so that he could fight for his country!
On March 23, 2003 David was killed in Iraq, only three days after the conflict began. He was the first soldier from Indiana to die, and one of the first to die in the nation.
There were hundreds of people at his funeral, and even more who lined the road on the way to the cemetery. Some of Warsaw's biggest corporations stopped operation in honor of David and the employees lined the streets. The schools bused students to the funeral procession route, and all were waving flags, and most were weeping. We were all sad, yes, but VERY proud.
In a letter to one of his friends David wrote:
“The greatest gift one can give to another is the gift of service. I do not know who said this but I’ve heard this saying before. The following is my gift to you; may I honor you and our fellow countrymen and women. I will earn the privilege to wear Eagle, Globe and Anchor for all those that cannot. With all the strength of my fellow Marines, we shall always provide you with the comforting feeling of safety that you have each day.”

I simply want to say a great big THANK YOU! to the men and women in the United States military! They are the ones who give us hope in these time!