July
2, 1984: The day the phone rang! The original location was a small building,
with only 1,200 square feet. It had
three walls and a roof. The building
was a gift from Victory Pools. We
rented the land from Verna Yost (deceased) until September 2002. The North wall
needed to be closed in. The Aid
Association of Lutheran Brotherhood came to the rescue, closing in the fourth
wall. Our “closet pantry” was moved
into the “Big Room” of 400 square feet.
Within the four walls were two upright freezers, one chest freezer, one
refrigerator, three window air conditioners, one table, four desks, three
grocery carts, two file cabinets, one microware, one toilet (moving south),
twenty chairs, shelving packed with canned goods and NO heat! The building was so jammed with stuff, it
was often called, “The excuse me pantry.”
The
ministry continued operation out of this tiny building for eighteen years. By the time the replacement facility was
completed, the old building had sagging floors, the toilet had move south and
fire ants had swarmed six times. We
could not plug in a radio with out breaking the electrical circuit. Due to the sagging, rotten floor in the center
of the building, the carpet could not be replaced. It was so discolored, no one could recall the original
color. The file cabinets leaned against
each other. The microwave was so tilted
that one could not put a full bowl of soup in it.
The
old place proved itself worthy. During
the eighteen years of occupancy, approximately 139,00 people were assisted with
a multitude services. No wonder it was
falling apart!!