“It's as American as baseball and apple pie”...and Iowa!

I've often heard that an Iowan is the heart of a true American, the example of all that is good in our great nation, the state is in the center for a reason, and that there is no group of people who are kinder, nobler, and fairer than those who are from Iowa. While this might be a slight overstatement, I was always told that the proof is in the pudding, so...

I came into the state digging out from a blizzard in Minnesota and word had it that I was going to be in for more. The drive was absolutely breathtaking with the empty fields looking like an ocean of snow. The sky was a crystallized blue and the air smelled crisp and cold. I've been down highway 59 many times before, but with all the snow and cold, it made it seem almost mythical.

The first stop was in West Des Moines where my friends Tim and Heather live. They were so kind to let me crash in their sweet Star Trek / Star Wars guest room and to provide me with hours of intelligent conversation about life and philosophy. On top of just being great friends, I was also treated to an array of award winning, home-cooked dinners. Thanks again you two!

Monday and Tuesday came and went with me not being able to volunteer at the scheduled places due to the below zero temperatures and the current influx of volunteers at the last moment. So I spent my time working on 48by48.com, prepping for the upcoming live chat event, and collecting winter gloves for an organization I was scheduled for later in the week.

I left the Des Moines area on Wednesday morning and headed for Chariton, a small town in rural, south central Iowa. I worked at First Baptist Church in Chariton for a little under five years, serving as the youth director. When I rolled into town, I headed for the church and asked what I could do. I was given a potpourri of tasks ranging from office administration to website work to moving chairs to scraping off puddy.

Churches and other places of religious worship are always looking for people to get involved with community development and charitable works and I thought it would be great to volunteer at a place I know to be instrumental in caring for their community. FBC has different ministries to help people with emergency needs like food, clothing, medical bills, housing, transportation, etc. They also work along side the Ministry Center in the community, opens their building to programs like W.I.C., sends out care packages, and is very active in the Angel Tree project around Christmas.

I'm not trying to say that they are the only ones who do this in the Lucas County area, I just want to give them credit for being an active participant in caring about the communities needs and being willing to say, “how can we help?” The are doing a good work in the area and I was excited to partner with them by volunteering in whatever area they needed the most help. One another note, it's a lot of fun to work alongside good friends. Makes the serving time go fast and the laughter doesn't hurt either.

The snow and wind came in fast and even though it was a whiteout in the country and the National Weather Service issued a no-travel warning, I braved the morning roads and headed back to Des Moines to work with Habitat for Humanity doing demolition and gutting of a house close to Drake University. What a treat to work alongside such great people!

We spent the morning and afternoon hauling out loads and loads of drywall, paneling, boards, flooring, and brick. The experience was one of extremes. You see, the basement had the propane tank heater which made the space very warm but once you stepped outside, you were greeted with a twenty mile-an-hour wind coupled with cutting snow and sub-human temperatures. All I can say is it was worth every pain.

While working, I was treated by meeting part of the staff who worked in the office part of the organization. They offered to take me to Planet Subs for lunch to which I gladly accepted. A big thanks to Amber for using her most valuable “free sub” card on a wandering volunteer. They were great at answering my questions and made me want to get more involved down the road. Habitat for Humanity is one of my favorite places to get involved and I encourage you and your family or church or business to serve at your local Habitat at least once. I guarantee that you will be back to help again. That's what happened to me...I signed up to help again on Saturday.

This time at a different house with a bigger crew and with a colder temperature outside. I stripped floors, crow-barred trimming, and pulled up a bucket full of nails and staples. Once again, you get a great trill knowing that these houses will quickly become homes of families who need a place they can afford. Thanks to the help of Habitat, that dream becomes a reality. It's worth your time to head over to their website to read about the process or for you to volunteer at a site and to work alongside the people who will be residing there.

I was scheduled to help out on Friday with Hope Ministries, but due to the weather, I did not make it up there. I've worked with Hope before and know what kind of a charity they are. Even though I wasn't able to physically be at their center to serve, I asked what they needed most to help minister to the poor in their community. Mens  winter gloves was the response, so I talked to a few people in town and went about collecting gloves which I mailed to them the following week.

So...was there enough proof to say that Iowa is all those things mention in the first paragraph? If it was based on the people I met and the ways they are meeting needs, then...yes...definitely. I highly recommend that you get involved with any of these organizations to judge for yourself.

Onward to Nebraska! More corn anyone?

Click here to read Update: Nevada pt.1

On Thursday morning, I set my alarm for 5:00am to get up in time to make it to the Las Vegas Catholic Worker's Soup Line in North Las Vegas. I had to be at the kitchen by 6:00am to help get the items ready and to load the trailer. The part of town the Las Vegas Catholic Worker (LVCW) has centered on is in the shadow of the glitzy lights north of “the Strip”. They do a variety of compassion ministries, with one of those being a morning soup line and serve up to three hundred men, women, and children Wednesday through Saturday mornings.

I fought my way through traffic to the Washington Avenue exist, (Amazing how many people are on the road at 5:30am.) where I was greeted by a detour which rapped me around the elevated interstate. The first right that I took brought me by one of the reasons for the LVCW to exist – at least twenty-five people were buried by blankets and coats, sleeping around the construction site and on the sidewalks. Even more people were shuffling along the street, moving toward the well-known shelters, work centers, and soup kitchens in the area. LVCW prepares the food in a house and then takes it to an empty lot about a half mile away. They make about fifty gallons of soup, stew, or spaghetti (depending on the day) in huge metal pots. Along with the main course, they serve donated breads, coffee, and “cold” tea.

I took some of the utensils and crates in my car along with Chris, another new volunteer, and drove to the lot. When we came closer to the distribution area, the sight made me do a double take. Here were hundreds of people, already lined up, in three makeshift columns waiting for a morning meal. The place was incredibly dusty, which made for a very surreal picture as the individuals mulled around. They looked like shadowy figures who were engulfed in a grayish-brown cloud; and with the sun rising, it made it the haze electrified. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

We all worked hard to get everything set up. I was told to take a ladle and fill the bowls handed to me by each person. All ages seemed to be represented. The young and the old, all who were hungry and where happy to get something hot into their stomachs and were each thankful. On Friday, I chose to do a different job – I poured “cold” tea. Each person brought their own cup or plastic water bottle or even an empty flask to have it filled. I wasn't as efficient as I was suppose to be so I one of the regular workers came over to help me get the job done.

After the food and drink were gone, we cleaned up the lot, re-packed the trailer, and headed back to wash the dishes. You couldn't help but wonder how everyone got to the point of needed to show up and the crack of dawn to eat a mass produced meal. (By the way, it was excellent tasting. Kudos to the chefs!) I was able to gain incredible amounts of wisdom from the workers as they informed me that most people don't know how to define the word “homeless”. I had to think about my definition and quickly realized it was lacking. What I gleaned from my time there was the need to do good to all people, no matter their situation or where they are in life, it's not fair to group people into one category since everyone's situation is unique and important.

Definitely get involved with the Las Vegas Catholic Workers when in the area. You'll be glad you did.

Also, on Thursday and Friday, I hustled over from working at Opportunity Village to work with the fine folks of Club Christ Ministries.

Club Christ helps Las Vegas' urban youth “by offering a safe after school environment students are able to reach their potential. Every week kids interact with caring adult as they experience academic enrichment exercises, leadership development programs, community service and opportunities to participate in a faith community.” My contact was Kendra Perry, the director at Landsman Learning Center in Henderson, Nevada (one of their three campuses). She is a native to the city and has a huge desire to see the community transformed. Her plan includes providing resources to families by offering educational helps, entrepreneurial exercises, and community awareness events.

In the center of a government housing block, there's a community building that was originally set up as a medical clinic. After they ended their stay, the Club Christ team was able to lease the building if it was used to provide a social service to the people directly around it. Monday and Wednesday, elementary students and Tuesday and Thursday, middle school students use the center for a safe place to have fun and games along with a time to do homework and get help with their studies. On Friday, there is an optional Bible Club time which provides moral guidance and allows the students to connect with the adults in smaller group environment.

They are doing really great things in their community and you should be involved with it. Even if you're unable to work hands on with the tutoring, you can use your resources to provide encouragement to the kids by donating gift cards to their organization. The cards are great incentives and the boost in studies helps supplement the local schools in their efforts to provide quality instruction.

From my few days there, I was able to see the heart that this ministry has for the community and it is really good! Just contact them and ask them what they need or tell them what you can offer...everything helps.

Three states have gone by so fast and I have made so many good connections already, it makes me sad to leave but excited to see what's around the next corner. Every state and every charity seems to motivate me more and is one of those crazy lessons you learn about volunteering: helping others brings joy to you. Funny how that works – see you in Utah!