Something beautiful has been unfolding in Wabash, Indiana, and it began in the quiet faithfulness of two men who simply kept saying yes. Through our weekly Thursday Hesed Roundtable calls, a few years ago, Mike Scamihorn and Rich Getz began gathering a small circle of men committed to practicing the S.A.L.V.E. relational skills together. Week by week, a men’s Hesed Community took root. And the fruit has been tender, practical, and deeply life-giving.
Two years ago, when Rich lost his nephew after a long and courageous battle with cancer, the men didn’t rush in with words. They showed up with their hands and their hearts. While his nephew’s mother had been caring for him in his final months, a half-finished chicken coop sat waiting. The men quietly stepped in and completed it for her. No spotlight or fanfare. Just love made visible through presence and service. A small act, carrying extraordinary weight.
That same spirit is now opening new doors. Rich, who lives with a genetic eye disease called choroideremia, has begun gathering men regularly and is exploring how to invite others who share the experience of vision loss and isolation. What is emerging is a growing space of connection, belonging, and hope, where no one has to walk alone and everyone has a place to be seen.
At the same time, the 3-5 groups Mike Scamihorn facilitates continue to serve as steady lifelines of connection. Two meet mostly face-to-face, with online options when life makes gathering difficult. Two others gather entirely online, stretching across the miles, from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Clarksville, Tennessee, Danville, Illinois, Gardner, Kansas, and all the way to Shaw Island off the coast of Washington State. Different places. One shared table.
On Mondays after lunch, a handful of men from all four groups set aside an hour to pray together. They come with a shared conviction that we “have not because we ask not.” So, they ask. They intercede for their families and friends. They invite Jesus to change them, to widen their vision, and to show them who in their everyday circles might need a relationship rooted in Hesed love.
One of the most meaningful gatherings happened during the summer when Rick Thebo, a dear ‘hesed friend’ here in Kansas City, stopped in Wabash to visit. They combined the face-to face groups, shared a meal, revisited ‘shalom stories,’ and prayed into the future together. In a powerful moment, Mike Scamihorn held ashes from a past 3-5 group bonfire hosted by our Hesed Coach, Mike Miller, a gathering where both Mike Scamihorn and Rich once sat together.
Mike Scamihorn told the story of Naaman the leper, who took soil from Israel after his healing as a reminder of what God had done. Then he placed those ashes into each man’s hands as a living invitation: Pay attention. Ask Jesus who He is calling you toward. And be willing to start again.
Since then, possibilities have been stirring. Conversations are emerging. New groups are forming. Rich’s growing men’s gathering is already exploring how to welcome others who feel isolated by blindness into healthy, relational connection.
And even as this story is being written, Jesus continues to meet people right in the middle of real life. Just recently, one of the men from the online group found himself overwhelmed emotionally. The group paused. They listened. They validated. They prayed. By the end of that call, he wasn’t alone anymore. Neither in his feelings nor in his faith.
God truly is doing a new thing in Wabash, and far beyond it. Stay tuned. There is more to celebrate. These men are growing, loving well, and learning, day by day, what it looks like to embody Hesed in the ordinary places of everyday life. These men believe we don’t have to be afraid or alone, and we never walk this road without love.