Sam Waters, resident at Mountain View Terrace, is often found wandering throughout the grounds taking beautiful photos of flowers, insects, and landscapes with his professional digital camera.
“Once you have kids, you want to save memories of your kids, so you get a camera and take pictures,” says Sam. “As my love for photography grew, I went from older digital cameras to the professional camera I have today.” In August, one of Sam’s photos even won the Judge’s Favorite Award from Viewbug, a photography community and photo sharing site.
W
hen asked about living at Mountain View Terrace, Sam happily exclaimed, "It’s beautiful here! One of the reasons we moved out here was 'Location. Location. Location.' It’s remote in a gorgeous country setting, and our apartment overlooks the trees on the top
floor. It’s very peaceful.” Sam also has a love for helping others.
He was in the Air Force for four years and worked as a Linguist at the NSA for three of those years in Washington D.C. While he was living here, he attended a church that had a deaf ministry. Tis is where he took an interest in sign language. “I took classes at the church and received college credits towards my certification, but I saw a great need to serve these deaf individuals, so I wanted to take it further,” Sam remembers. He went back to school in Missouri to work towards a degree in vocational counseling. While there, he interned at a facility near the college that worked with children who were deaf, blind, and developmentally disabled.
After Sam moved to Pennsylvania, he discovered another need while attending his church. After a devastating tragedy in his close family opened his eyes to the need for affordable counseling, Sam and his wife, Jill, decided they wanted to make a difference. “Twelve years ago, my wife and I approached our church about starting a free counseling ministry. I had since received my Master’s Degree in Counseling and Personnel Services, and I felt as if God was calling me into this type of service.” Still Waters Ministry is located out of Conestoga Mennonite Church, and they currently offer virtual counseling services to those who need it. In addition, this ministry also offers safe housing for women in domestic violence situations.
Sam is the epitome of compassion and community. When asked what these guiding values mean to him, Sam explained, “Still Waters Ministry is focused on community, and the motivation behind it was compassion. Likewise, if you’re a compassionate person, you need a community to share it with.”
At Mountain View Terrace, Sam has found his community. When he heard one of his neighbors needed to be driven to the bank once a week, of course, he graciously volunteered.
Landis.org | FLOURISH | Fall 2021 • 19
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