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July 2, 2009

Mission Builders helping a congregation come together

By Krystal Fowler - Lifestyle editor

For the past few weeks the grounds of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Centerville have been home to a small group of workers living in RVs and helping to build a 2,200 square foot addition onto the rear of the building. They are members of Mission Builders and they travel to different parts of the country each year to help build new churches, additions, do remodels, build camp lodgings, work on social service buildings and also help with disaster relief.

Three years ago, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church decided they wanted to become a more welcoming place. According to president of the congregation, Deb Egland, they first became a reconciling in Christ congregation, opening themselves up to people of all sexual orientations. The next area they decided to focus on was becoming more accessible to people with disabilities. At that time the church had a ramp, but it had been built in the early 1990s, was very long and had become decrepit.

The church decided to build an expansion, and include ground floor access, an elevator and handicap accessible bathrooms. The rooms would be used as classrooms and also as meeting rooms. Last year they conducted a capital campaign for the expansion and began looking at who they wanted to contract to do the construction. When the original bids came back, they were higher than what the church was hoping to spend, and they decided to look into Mission Builders, who a few congregants had heard of.

Mission Builders provide management and labor on projects while the congregation takes the role of general contractor. Each member of Mission Builders is payed minimum wage and works an eight hour day, five days a week. The congregation provides worker's compensation insurance.

It helps congregations save money and as people within the church volunteer, it cuts down even more on labor costs. But Egland said that the relationships formed with the Mission Builders are one of the best benefits.

"They come with a lot of experience and they're fun to work with," Egland said. "It's fun to be a part of."

The Mission Builders’ manager for this project is Bill Speer. Speer and his wife Sonja, both born and raised in the Los Angeles area, have worked with Mission Builders for six years now. Bill had over 40 years of experience in the construction field and was getting ready to retire when his wife Sonja showed him an article about Mission Builders. The two decided to join. Speer said the day after he retired the two were on the road to their first project. The couple eventually bought a motor home to live in during projects. They have two children and seven grandchildren and recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

While Sonja doesn't do construction as part of the Mission Builder's team, she and several of the other wives who travel with their husbands use their skills in others ways, such as preparing meals and making sure the workers take care of themselves.

"We've worked on a lot of projects, but this has been the worst heat," Sonja said.

For the Centerville project there are six Mission Builders including Speer. They are Ted Erkenbrack from Centerville, Minn., traveling with his wife Marilyn, Bill Graves from Indiana, traveling with his wife Becky, Chris Dunker from Colorado and Allan and Juanita Buckel, also from Colorado. Each are staying in their own RVs. The church provided electric, water and sewage hookups for them.

Sonja says they have also been exploring the county on their days off. The crew works Tuesday through Saturday each week, but have found some time to visit local tourist attractions. They have visited the Drake Public Library and the Coal Miner's Museum and also taken a ride on State Street Stella. They have visited Honey Creek, Exline, Ottumwa and Pella as well.

Speer said he expects the Mission Builders’ portion of the project to be completed within the next three weeks. Mission Builders raise the walls and frame and install windows and doors with the help of volunteers from the church. Speer says there have been at least two to three volunteers per day and Egland says it really helps the congregation have a sense of ownership over the new addition.

"Our church has done a couple mission trips to Mexico to build houses and there's that same sense of camaraderie," Egland said.

The relationships Mission Builders make and the inspiration they give was apparent when four volunteers arrived from Rushford, Minn. and spent a week working in Centerville. They traveled at their own expense and, since they weren't Mission Builders, didn't receive any wages. They came because Mission Builders had helped to build their church and they wanted to contribute to the cycle themselves.

During their morning break the Mission Builders hold devotions to help them focus and renew their commitment to the project, as well as bond with the congregations and volunteers they're working with. The Speers plan to return for the dedication ceremony when the project is completely finished and Bill says they keep in touch with many of the congregations they have worked with.

"It's not about the building," Speer said. "It's about the relationships we make."

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So, the question this week is, “Will it stay or will it go?” The United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. wants to close three Farm Service Agency offices in southern Iowa, which includes the FSA office in Centerville, and consolidate the operations in order to save money. Tuesday afternoon a meeting was held at Faith United Methodist Church to allow farmers and other producers who use the Centerville FSA office to make comments about the closing to John R. Whitaker, state executive director Iowa FSA. Many questioned if the meeting Tuesday was necessary because the decision had already been made.

A. Yes, because Washington will listen.
B. No, because the decision to close the Appanoose County FSA office has already been made.
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