Three days of healing....

Meet the winners of the first HELP ME HELP HER campaign, Elysia, Doris, Melissa, Michelle and Tracey!  Five amazing women with gut retching stories and the desire to heal and move beyond their fears.

It was a very disturbing news story back in May out of OR that prompted me to start this campaign.  A woman called 911 asking for help as a man was beating down her door and was told SORRY, due to budget cuts help is not coming.  As a woman I know that I am all I have, I am it, the police are not coming in time to save me.  I wanted to offer women across this country an opportunity to learn how to protect themselves and their family, all by themselves if needed. I wanted to offer a life changing weekend trip to WSA all expenses paid.

Many of you that are reading this post were the reason I was able to pull this extended weekend off. All the funds for this cause were donated from friends, family, past students and complete strangers.  The generosity was overwhelming and I will be forever grateful, THANK YOU.

We began our time together at a beautiful place, spectacular Lake Tahoe. Lunch at the Lone Eagle was the beginning of our bonding.  Having read all of their submission letters I knew that we had a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time.  I had to take it slow so that these women would trust me on this journey together.  I had originally thought this would be the place to read their letters and tell their stories but it was not private enough to do so.  Of course it would not be complete without a little sugar!

Time to head to the WSA classroom.  Time to put it all out there, there was not nearly enough tissue to go around.  Not a dry eye in the room as the gals told their stories and why they needed this time with WSA.  Let the bonding begin!  I decided to teach a pepper spray class and keep it simple.  Joey Walker, my self defense instructor gave the ladies an hour of his expertise on how to survive it you must with only the tools you carry everyday....your body.

Let's learn how to get the choke hold on!  I forgot to tell the ladies that Joey does not mince words or sugar coat the safety message.  We ended our first day together with a powerful message from Kirin, a local woman and friend with a tragic story.  A woman who is healing and ready to share her story to help others.  Again, lots of tears but all good.  I think our first day together was perfect.

Day 2, a full day of classroom instruction then a fun night at Harrah's enjoying a show.  As I headed to the classroom that morning I prayed for strength, I knew that I needed to be the rock, keep it together, Vicki needed to show up in all her strength.  At this point I figured that Sunday day three would be the toughest day, the day we would be at the range shooting guns.  WRONG, day two was by far the hardest.  These gals had to face their fears of firearms.  While the guns were sitting on the table from the time they walked in, it was the moment that they had to begin to handle them that I knew what we were really facing.

One of the gals lost her brother to a suicide 11 years ago, he choose to use a firearm to take his life. It was time for me to ask her to take the gun and learn how to load and unload it.  I can not describe the emotion, it was intense, I wanted to hit the ground in a fetal position.  That strength that I prayed for earlier that morning showed up.  I have never been more proud than when she was able to take that gun from my hand, this process took a long time, I waited in silence and gave her all the time she needed.  When she held that gun for the first time I knew that she was thinking about her brother and his last moments.  As she cried and learned how to load and unload that gun I knew we were well on our way to healing.

I was ready to keep pushing on and cramming in some more gun training when the ladies let me know they were done, enough for one day.  Time to lighten the mood.  What better way than a quick safety hour and stunning Elysia.  Yep, she wanted to know what it felt like to be stunned.  Had to laugh when she said she felt like kicking me!  LOL   We took a few hours off then headed out for a little night life!

A good time was had by all.  Cat, Christy and Kyla, I thank you for all your help, support and encouragement during this weekend.  Christy, I love you and couldn't have pulled this off without your help, thank you.  You are always the quiet one in the background.  Ladies, together we will do this again.  I have the BEST WSA team.  Most of my instructors were not present this weekend but know they were all there in spirit.

Day 3, let's go shoot some guns!  A full circle day for sure.  We started out very slow and controlled.  A typical ladies intro. class, starting with the .22 and ending with a .357.  WOW, not only did we finish with a "BANG", we also made some rather large up close and personal holes in our target.  HOLY MOLY, they wanted more, the ladies were ready to keep going.  We did some point and shooting, some moving drills and even some one handed shooting!

Five students and three instructors insured that everyone got the attention they deserved.  I remember looking at Melissa and saying, "are you going to cry" to which she replied, "F**K No". Their smiles said it all, we had climbed and conquered the mountain....together!

Our time was winding down, off to dinner we went.  Christy had arranged a private dining experience at an exclusive resort.  We were all so exhausted that the thought of one more event was almost too much.  We were tired, drained emotionally and dirty, but press on we did.

My dear friends Betsy and Tracey joined us and filmed our last few hours together.  As the women began to open up about what the weekend meant to them I realized that they received EXACTLY what they needed.  Again, lots of tears but this time they were far more joyful and happy tears!  It's been a few days now and I have had some time to process and reflect.  Here is just a little about what these beautiful women taught me!

Melissa-
My dear sweet friend.  You are the helper, the comforter the one who makes everyone feel loved.  Thanks for putting it all out there and smiling through it all.  I was very proud of you for allowing yourself to be vulnerable yet strong.  I know that this weekend will take some time to set in but when it does....watch out.  Melissa is not messing around!

Tracey-
I think your strength comes from deep inside.  You have a quiet gentle sense about you yet the mom side is right there ready to come out and defend if needed.  I truly enjoyed your humor and willingness to press on.  Thanks for sharing your story and allowing yourself to heal.  Pass on the gift, others can learn from you Tracey. You are stronger than you know!

Michelle-
You made me feel your emotion though no words were spoken.  You dug deep to find that inner strength, the strength that you always knew you had but just needed to unleash.  When you took that gun out of my hand you trusted and allowed me to do my part.  Thank you for being your brothers sister.  He was with you this weekend, you know he was.  Your babies need you to protect them, now you can, with more than a bat.

Elysia-
I learned from you that the human spirit can endure an awful lot. Your submission letter had me on edge from the beginning and I thought how does she do it.  After meeting you I know how you do it.  You have an unshakable faith that radiates from you.  It's OK to let your guard down, you are rough and tough yet funny and sensitive too.  Thanks for being stunned and not kicking me in the process.

Doris-
From you I learned to never quit, never give up.  You are one of the most amazing 80 year olds I know.  You have a beautiful soul, you take it all in and when you speak it is almost always filled with wisdom.  Thank you for just being you and keeping up with us all. Go back to Kentucky and carry what you learned.




Thank you ladies, I am forever changed.  I will treasure our time and carry it in my ♥ with me forever!

Blessings-

Vicki