·       How this person inspired others in their time and place:  Noah was a very incredible man. Noah inspired his family to follow God. When God spoke to him that there was going to be a flood he had to convince his family to help him build an ark.

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero:

Noah was a God fearing man. He followed God’s law and did anything he was told. He must have also been very patient to be building an ark for 100 years. Noah was very persistent with his faith in God.

·      Events that sparked their mission:

The most important event that sparked Noah’s mission was when God spoke to him. God told him that the people on earth were wicked and evil and wanted then destroyed. In order for Noah and his family to build an ark.

·      Passions: Noah had an extreme passion for spirituality and loved God with all his heart. He was determined to obey God’s rules no matter who tried to stop him. He was also very determined to get his family to believe in the coming of the flood so they would not parish like everyone else.

·      Struggles: Noah was made a mockery by so many people, including his friends. He tried to get so many people to help him build the ark but they only laughed at him. One of his biggest struggles was that he was building an ark and he wasn’t even an architect.

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life: Noah is a huge inspiration in my life. He showed me that if you listen to God and do what he tells you, you too will be saved from imminent danger. He also showed me no matter what anyone else saysyou have to do what you believe in.

Modern Christian Hero:  Pastor Don Baier

·      How this person inspired others in their time and place: Pastor Don Baier is one of the most spiritual and inspiring men I have ever met. He loves God with all of his heart; he would do anything God told him to do. Even when things don’t go the way he planned, he still never stops loving God.

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero: Pastor Don’s son died of cancer a couple of months ago. Now, this news was extremely tragic and heartbreaking, but he never ever stopped serving the Lord. In about two weeks he was back preaching at church.

·      What event in his life changed him: I think the main thing that changed Pastor Don’s life was the passing of his son. After that happened I really believe that he became more passionate about spreading the gospel. It gave him desire to reach out to more people. He saw how short and quick life could be and realized you are nothing without God and wanted to lead more people to God.

·      Passions: Pastor Don was so passionate about leading people to God. That was his main desire, all he wanted out of life was to dedicate his life to Christ and have people come to the lord. He is also very passionate about his sermons and making sure people use them in their lives.

·      Struggles: Pastor Don struggled with making sense out of losing his son.  The church family prayed for his son to recover from cancer for many months.  I’m sure, especially being a pastor that he knew God was able to heal him and make him well.  He had to surrender to God’s will and accept God’s decision to call his son to heaven. 

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life:  My pastor inspires me to always submit to the will of God.  Even in the face of the most horrible tragedy, he never lost faith in God.  Sometimes when bad things happen in life, we can question God’s will.  Pastor Don has taught me to always trust in God’s plan.

Sports Hero:  Lance Armstrong

·      How this person inspired others in their time and place: Lance Armstrong is an amazing and persistent hero and sportsman. In 1996, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his brain and lungs. As devastating as this news was, he never gave up cycling.  From 1999 to 2007, he went on to win the Tour de France 7 years in a row!  Today, he inspired cancer patients around the world not to give up on their hopes and dreams

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero: Lance Armstrong had a tremendous will power and determination to fight cancer.  Despite his terrible prognosis from doctors, he never gave up hope.  He was determined to come back and regain his strength and stay persistent in his passion for cycling. 

·      Events that sparked their mission:  Because of his personal tragedy of being diagnosed with cancer, Lance Armstrong set out on a personal mission to get better, regain his strength and win the Tour de France race, not only once but seven times!  He also set out to increase cancer awareness and to raise money to fund cancer research and also help cancer patients through his Lance Armstrong “Live Strong” foundation. 

·      Passions:  Lance Armstrong is very passionate about being an inspiration to others who also have cancer.  He is also persistent in his fundraising efforts to support cancer research and to help increase cancer awareness programs.  I am also sure he is passionate in his love of cycling!

·      Struggles:  I think the biggest struggle Lance Armstrong faced was being diagnosed with testicular cancer.  I am sure he was devastated, especially being an athlete and being so young.  There were probably days when he felt so bad and so sick that he probably wanted to give up; but he never did and he kept pushing himself to get better.

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life:  Lance Armstrong inspires me to never give up in the face of defeat, whether it is a health condition or other personal struggle.  I should always continue to follow my hopes and dreams and never let anything make me give up. 

Movie Hero: Mulan

·      How this person inspired others in their time and place: She was so inspirational; her amazing act of selflessness encouraged other young women to defend their village. She also encouraged and inspired her fellow servicemen to work even harder to protect their country. Eventually she saved the village and was honored immensely.

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero: Mulan was an amazing young lady. She was so kind and so selfless. She did what very few girls would ever do; she pretended to be a man to defend her country so her father, who was sick wouldn’t have to.

·      Events that sparked their mission: The Huns invaded Mulan’s village. All the men in the village were called to come and fight against the invasion. Mulan’s father was too sick and elderly to fight, so she masqueraded as a man to save her father and protect her family and her village.

·      Passions: Mulan was very passionate about being treated equal to men. She found it unjust and unfair that she could not fight in the battle. She was outraged that her father would have to go and fight even though he was sick and elderly. She also wanted to defend her family’s honor from being shamed for not having someone from her family to fight in the battle.

·      Struggles: Mulan ultimately struggled with the fact that she wanted to fight in the battle but couldn’t because she was not a man. She also had an extremely hard time with her family accepting the fact that she was going to masquerade as a man and go away from home and fight against the invasion.

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life:  Mulan was such a courageous young woman she inspires me to fight for things I think are unfair. She really connects with me because there use to be so many things in my life that were unfair and I always wanted to do something about it but never did because I was afraid of  the outcome. Mulan really inspires me to not back out or give in to something I think is unfair.

Historical Hero:  Rosa Parks

·      How this person inspired others in their time and place:  Rosa parks was a hero to many. One day in December 1955 Rosa parks was instructed by bus driver James F. Blake to give up her seat to a white passenger. Parks refused and was thereby arrested on the spot. Parks got everyone riled up and furious about the matter and started the Montgomery bus boycott.

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero: Rosa parks had a tremendous amount of bravery and courage. Not only did she stand up for what she believed in but she encouraged others to engage in civil disobedience.

·      Events that sparked their mission: Not a lot of people know this but in 1943 Rosa parks had her first encounter with bus driver James F. Blake. This encounter was not the one that started the Montgomery bus boycott, but I think it set her on a mission to end discrimination. What happened on this horrible day was she got on the bus using the front door. The bus driver rudely instructed her to get off the bus and use the back door. She politely obeyed and got off the bus to use the back door, but before she could get back on he drove away and left her in the rain.

·      Passions: Rosa a parks was extremely passionate about civil rights. She believed all people regardless of color should be treated with respect and dignity. Rosa parks also believed that she could make a difference in the way people judged people who were difference.

·      Struggles: Rosa parks faced a variety of different struggles. Imagine living in a time where you were considered inferior because of the color skin. Even worse the laws of our nation supported the unfair treatment of African American people. As African American women in the 1950s Rosa parks undoubtedly faced the many obstacles of discrimination and racism.

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life: The first time I heard about the Rosa parks story I was inspired. I was amazed at what she did to fight for what she believed in and what she thought was right even though all the odds were pointing against her. This challenges me to stand up for what I believe in when faced with obstacles. That is why Rosa Parks is my history hero.

Military Hero:  Grandma Hadia Yassa

·      How this person inspired others in their time and place:  My grandmother was an inspiration to all of the other soldiers in her unit that were deployed during the military operation known as “Desert Storm” in the early 1990s.  My grandmother was a Major in the United States Army and as a medical doctor, she was deployed to Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia to prepare troops that were being sent to Kuwait during the First Iraqi War.  She was so brave, as she had to leave her family and home, and go stay in a tent in the middle of a very deserted military base.  Her peer that also had to go, some much younger in age than she was, looked to her as a guide and role model. 

·      Characteristics that made this person a hero:  My grandmother never complained about having to leave her family for six months and be far apart from where they lived.  She was proud that she was serving her country and trying to fight for freedom in another land.  She was also not afraid of being further deployed to the Middle East where the war was taking place, if she had to.

·      Events that sparked their mission:  The events that sparked my grandmother’s deployment to Fort A.P. Hill was the beginning of the First Iraqi War.  The U.S. president at the time, George H.W. Bush, sent military troops to Kuwait to protect it against the invasion by Iraq that took place on August 2, 1990.  Our country was outraged by Iraq’s hostile and threatening attack on one of our allies.

·      Passions:  Some of my grandmother’s passions are a strong belief in freedom, loyalty to our country, and a faith in God.  She believes that people should serve their country in any way they can, especially since we live in a country that protects us from harm and respects our individual rights.

·      Struggles:  One of the biggest struggles my grandmother faced as a military officer was having to move so many times.  I guess this is part of being in the military.  This made it very hard on my mom and uncle, and especially my grandfather, who had to pick up and start new lives every two to three years.  It was also very difficult for her to leave her family for six months when she was deployed to Fort A.P. Hill.

·      How this person inspires you and connects with your life:  My grandmother inspires me to be brave in the face of difficult circumstances.  She also taught me the importance of patriotism and how we should all care about our country, and always be ready to fight for justice.

Summary

These are 10 questions I would like to ask my heroes:

1.     What were you like as a child?

2.     What kinds of grades did you get when you were my age?

3.     What were your favorite activities as a child?

4.     How many siblings did you have?

5.     What is your favorite food?

6.     Who in your life has qualities of hero?

7.     What do you view a hero as?

8.     What is your favorite holiday?

9.     What would you say is the biggest problem in our society?

10.  If you were stranded on a deserted island, and could only take one thing, what would it be?

Characteristics that my six heroes have in common are, there are all brave. Another one is that they are all selfless. They are also very noble in their causes and in there actions. Lastly, they bettered their community and effected people’s lives in a positive way.

Despite these similarities all of my heroes have very different personalities and different lives. They lived in different time’s periods and different environments. They all have different characteristics that make them heroes.

If I had to choose two heroes as my favorite would have to be Noah and Rosa Parks. The reason I chose Noah was because he listened to God and saved man-kind from being destroyed. Noah was the most selfless and obedient man I have ever heard of, as crazy as it might have sounded he listened to God and believed his every word and did everything he was told.

References

Academy of Achievement, “Rosa Parks Biography:  Pioneer of Civil Rights”.  Retrieved from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1, 5 September 2011.

Baier, Donald.  Pastor, Seminole Baptist Temple.

Lance Armstrong.  LanceArmstrong.com. Retrieved from http://www.lancearmstrong.com/, 5 September 2011.

Mulan, 1998, Disney Animated Film.

The Old Testament Bible, Genesis.

Yassa, Hadia.  Major, Retired, United States Army.