The Promise of a New Day

Fall weather is coming on. Do you know where you're going to live this winter?

Do you have appliances and utilities?

Is your roof sound and secure?

Do your windows keep out the elements?

If the answers to all these questions is yes, then I hope you will take a moment to thank God for your blessings because not everyone has the great shelter you do.

Not even everyone here in our bucolic Iowa Lakes.

My name is Amy Peterson, and God has called my husband, Ed, to a life of serving others through the Fuller Center for Housing. Until everyone has a secure and decent place to live, the work of the Fuller Center will not be done, and neither will the call on Ed's heart.



We're not some wealthy philanthropists. We have had our share of financial struggles. We're also not more special or more close to God than anyone else. I think what sets us apart is that we've made the choice to trust God to care for our material needs. He's shown us great blessings in every other area. We need Him, and he's shown us that He needs us to be His hands and feet on earth.

My husband shares the sentiment of Millard and Linda Fuller (they started Habitat for Humanity 30+ years ago, and in 2005, they parted ways with the Board of Habitat and started the Fuller Center for Housing) that "I love you" cannot be said in many better ways than lifting a hammer to build a livable home for someone who needs it.

This blog is not about us, though. It's about your friends and neighbors here in the Iowa Lakes. As the Clay County Fair brings us great music, food and fun, and the sound of swimmers splashing and boats speeding through the waters of the Okoboji Lakes starts to slow, this blog will show all of you what God has shown us -- that in the middle of the beauty He has created here with our glacial lakes, there are families with inadequate shelter around them.

Maybe they've had their home for quite awhile and it's fallen into disrepair.

Maybe they bought it as a fixer-upper and health problems, job loss and burdensome expenses have made it impossible for them to make the place livable.

Maybe they are like Leah (not her real name), a woman in Dickinson County whose smile brightens the dark main room of what had been her dream house.

Leah has a gorgeous, blonde, middle school aged daughter who shares her mother's megawatt smile, and an infant daughter whose grin will match just as soon as she gets some teeth.

Leah's dad bought the house a few years ago. Leah and her dad were going to fix it up together and make it a permanent home for Leah and her daughter. They bought some siding and insulation and tore the walls down to the studs. They got a great start on the siding when Leah's dad became ill.

He had cancer and couldn't work on the house anymore. Rolls of insultation and planks of siding still sit in the empty, stripped main room. Leah's dad passed away in 2007.

Soon thereafter, Leah became pregnant and had a beautiful baby daughter.

Standing inside the house in Terril, it is still possible to see a flicker of the dream. We could leave the ceiling in the front room vaulted and create an open concept where Leah can keep an eye on her soon-to-be-mobile baby while making dinner, and looking over her older daughter's homework at a sturdy kitchen table.

There's room for three bedrooms in the cozy dormer -- and Leah did get a start on the steps leading to it. There's no bathroom, but one can be added where the plumbing footings are.

This first project is a huge challenge, but we're up for it. Bring it. We're from Iowa. We have the potential of many young volunteers -- our teenaged neighbor hopes to get into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and wants to volunteer along with his friends for some more community service credit toward his application. He's student council president at the high school, so he'd have the influence to mobilize a lot of youth from Spencer.

The Youth Pastors at Bethany Lutheran Church are hoping to bring together the youth groups from at least four ELCA churches in the region for a workday or weekend.

Everywhere we talk about the Fuller Center, we find many willing hands. Leah, in her exuberance, has a number of caring people around her who also want to help with this endeavor.

We need some willing hearts and minds for our board of directors so we can sign our covenant partnership agreement with the Fuller Center and start building hope in the Iowa लक्स.विल