Faces
Counselor takes it one pedal at a time
A
fter a 2009 bicycle accident left Don Peters with nearly a dozen major injuries and a likelihood of never riding again, he told his pastor he planned to kill himself. His pastor, Peters recalled, told him to make a list of the
reasons not to do it and compare that with the list of things that made him feel like dying. “He said, ‘Make the second list, read it over and then
decide, and whatever decision you make I’ll support it,’ ” Peters said. “So I made the list and it keeps growing, so I decided not to do it. Now it turns out the accident was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Peters, a member of Tierrasanta Lutheran Church in San
Diego, took his near tragedy and turned it into a ministry by using his experience to counsel others going through struggles. “Before the accident my priorities were bicycling and
then family and then keeping [work] going, and then church,” he said. “Now it’s religion and faith first, family second and anything else is a low priority. I am happier than I’ve ever been.” Peters created a PowerPoint presentation to share his
recovery with the Wounded Warrior Project, which lists as its mission to “foster the most successful, well-adjusted gen- eration of wounded service members in our nation’s history.” Peters has spoken to bicycle enthusiast veterans who have
lost all or part of their legs serving the country. His aim is to get them back on their bikes. As Peters began to heal, he tried riding in a recumbent
bicycle, which has a reclining seat. He didn’t like it so he tried using a three-wheeled bike. “I tell [the veterans] how I found a way to ride again, so let’s find a way for you to get back on a bike,” he said. Part of his motivational talk comes from a lesson he learned facing racing time trials—counting to five. When he
100 + birthdays
Don Peters of San Diego took the tragedy of a bicycle accident and turned it into a ministry of counseling others.
would get to the last mile or two of a time trial and thought he couldn’t go any farther, he would tell himself to just go five more pedals. And after five, he would go five more and five more. “Pretty soon I’d be done,” said Peters, who first raced
competitively as a teen and returned to the sport in his late 40s. It turned out that Peters’ philosophy works for more than
Wounded Warriors. For example, he helped a woman whose doctors had told her to get out of her wheelchair and use a walker. Peters counseled her to go slow and steady, first sim- ply working on standing, and eventually taking a single step. “Now I see her using
her walker all over the place,” he said. Peters hopes to keep
sharing his message with whoever needs it.
107: Hazel Nilson, First, Stone Lake, Wis. 102: Helen Brooks, St. John, Miamisburg, Ohio; J.T. Fischer, Hope, Buckholts, Texas. 100: Marlys Alm, St. John, Donnelly, Minn.; Dale Anderson, Good Shepherd, Janes-
ville, Wis.; Bessie Barnes, Christ, Millersville, Md.; Alyce Cleeremans, Grace, Monroe, Wis.; Jane Fahrenholz, Salem, West Alexandria, Ohio;
Gerda Kasler, Zion, Johnstown, Pa.; June King, Zion, Salt Lake City; Edmund Larson, First, Winthrop, Minn.; James McGinley, Zion, Montrose, Colo.; Lillian Neva, Trinity, Jamestown, N.D.; Emma Smither, First, Tulsa, Okla.; Elma Stengard, St. Paul, Ironwood, Mich.
Author bio: Favre is an assistant professor at Pierce College in Los Ange- les and a freelance theater critic.
Send stories Share your stories of ELCA Lutherans and your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to
lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.
August 2015 43
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