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	Vincent Pfister speaks at Bielefeld.

Vincent Pfister, a self-advocate who receives supports from Mosaic in Terre Haute, Ind., became the star performer of the seventh annual educational exchange between Mosaic and the Bethel Institute in Bielefeld, Germany, in September.

Five Mosaic representatives gave presentations about various aspects of Mosaic's work. Yet Pfister "stole the show."

"All Vince had to do was smile and he had the audience in the palm of his hand," said Susie O'Kane, Organizational Learning Director for Mosaic. "Even the fact that we had to speak through an interpreter who translated our English to German didn't curtail his exuberance."

Bethel is a large social services organization that provides various supports including residential, vocational, and medical services for people with disabilities. Bethphage, one of Mosaic's legacy organizations, was patterned after Bethel.

A German sundae for ice cream lover Vincent.

In his presentations, Pfister talked about his life in a community-based home, his work at a local recycling plant, his family, and his interests which include Special Olympics,
bowling, and ice cream. In the small group question and answer sessions, Pfister always had a full audience.

"Sometimes I was nervous," he said. "It helped that everyone was nice and we had a lot of fun. I like to talk and talking about my home and job was nice."

Because of Vince's contribution to the exchange and the overwhelmingly positive response, a decision was made to include individuals receiving services and supports in all future exchanges, according to O'Kane. She noted that the Bethel clients were particularly interested, and maybe jealous, to hear that Pfister has two cats, since pets are not allowed at the homes in Bethel.

"I wanted to tell them about my job and church and my cats," Pfister said. "I wanted to tell them I like living with my roommates, and how my sisters work with the staff so that I have many choices to do different things."

He said his message was simply, "We are not that different."

In addition to the presentation at Bethel, Pfister spoke at the Symposium of New Neighborhoods that honored the 175th birthday celebration of Bethel's founder. Along with the Mosaic staff, Pfister was able to tour and enjoy Germany.

"I enjoyed meeting people and all the good food," he said. "I like seeing the castles and churches."

Bethel and Mosaic are also members of IMPACT, an international alliance of service providers from North America and Europe working to promote the human rights, recognition and social inclusion of people with disabilities within their communities.