By Roger Hintze & Dave Olson
I first noticed the school bus in our south property parking lot this summer. After seeing it there for a few days, I naturally became curious. During a coffee break with our Monday Morning Crew, Pastor Peter was asked about the bus. He told us Valerie’s story and just then she walked in and introduced herself to the group. She described her journey to this place in her life and her plans. Fast forward to multiple times this summer and fall when I was working on the grounds I noticed her picking up branches, cleaning up debris in the parking lot and in general keeping an eye on things. As Valerie has become part of our church community, she is a valued member. Through her willingness to help out she has shown all of us how we can help each other. None of this would have been possible without some key decisions made by our church leaders.
When the decision was made to bring two small houses to our campus in order to address the homeless situation it was felt that there was a need for having a common meeting area within the church building for the residents of those tiny homes. We identified the former infant daycare room as such a location. Work needed to be done in preparation, so the Monday Morning Crew moved furniture and helped to clean the area. The walls needed painting and the window shades needed to be fixed. With additional help from other church members and persons from Settled, the room is now livable and welcoming and is being used by the new tiny home residents, which includes our Valerie.