Speichinger 1
Lauren Speichinger
Lora Hobbs
REL 370
16 April 2015
As a woman who grew up in Jasper County, Missouri, Michelle has been a devout follower of
Christianity throughout her life. She has kept close relationships in her life, when I came to her house, I met her husband, daughter, and son before we began the interview. This gave me a feeling that family is of a high importance to her. She told me how she grew up with a Methodist father and a Southern
Baptist mother who sent her to Sunday school at a Pentecostal church. Michelle grew up with all of these different denominations and received different views of the Christian faith, and her faith stayed strong through it all. She told me that her denomination changed again when she married her husband,
Alan, and became Catholic because she vowed to become so and raise her children so to follow in her husband’s faith and footsteps.
Since their marriage, they have moved and lived in several different areas of the United States.
That kind of experience really would make it hard to settle down, and she told me that, too. Though they stayed in the same places for several years, there were some cities where they just did not become involved with the church and sort of dropped from it. Michelle told me it happened when they moved from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Virginia. While in Sioux Falls, they enrolled their children into a
Catholic school, which was a part of their church, so they were very involved with the religious community there and loved the tight bond it shared. When in Virginia, Michelle told me her family didn’t become involved with the church or the Catholic community, and it took a toll on her connection with her faith. She said she missed being a part of a church and being a part of friends that believed the same as her. Eventually, they moved to St. Louis from Virginia and still never went to church there, which

Speichinger 2 surprised me and her both because of the large Catholic community in the St. Louis area. Her several years of living in Virginia and St. Louis churchless, yet carrying her faith, caused her to make the decision to find a church in Springfield when they moved here six years ago.
This is when her family began to branch out. I admired that she was so accepting of her daughter, Lauren, for realizing that the church they began going to, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, was not the one for her. She admired her daughter for having the bravery to tell her family that she didn’t feel at home of the church they had found, though she knew the effects it could have emotionally on her parents. Michelle’s background of multiple Christian denominations helped her support her daughter in finding a church that she would love, and that’s where they found their home at Life 360. So after several years of not having a place or community for her beliefs, Michelle was finally able to call somewhere her home. She has grown a lot since her family has been established in Springfield, and God had called upon her to organize Rise and Go from her establishment.
She was confident and kind enough to work in God’s footsteps and dedicate her time to help other women in the community. Every story she told about a handful of women that attended her two day event had touched her heart and she felt that God moved through her to connect these women to the resources they needed to end the suffering and bring further happiness to their lives. These women all had their lives changed because of Michelle and the work she put into organizing Rise and Go.
Though she gives the credit to God for moving through her and showing her the way, she was the one that listened to Him and let Him guide her through the process. Her faith and reliance on God was incredible; she said when she felt stressed or disorganized, she took a step back and said God would take care of it and take her worries and stress away. And He did just that, she executed the event so blissfully with His help. The support she received through the process really tied into the theme of community and the importance of letting your life be guided and have faith that everything will work for the best.

Speichinger 3
When she spoke of her parents’ divorce and how proud she was of her mom, I was under the impression that her mother was the most influential woman in her life, but I was wrong. Michelle told me her daughter was the most influential and impressing woman in her life. She was so awestruck by
Lauren’s undying faith to her church and their God. Lauren has never faltered from the path that God has set out for her, and Michelle is so moved by that. She teared up a little bit from the idea of Lauren leaving for her summer long mission trip in Yellowstone, but she knows God is calling her there to do her part. The love Michelle has for her daughter is so strong and so unbreakable, and her love for her daughter extends to her community. I continue to bring up community and family because Michelle is moved by every person in her life and cares for each person, she works for their pleasing and works to serve Christ.
Michelle Peak is an amazing and sweet woman that I am so lucky to have created a friendship with, and feel that she was meant to tell her story and to share her experience with Rise and Go to the
Ozarks through this interview and project. She taught me to embrace the community and relationships that I have and to always be appreciative of everyone.