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Through her husband’s trucking business, Stander became acquainted with Harold and Rita Sporrer of Iowa. The Sporrers grew up very poor and when their watermelon business thrived, Harold started investing in land, giving 90 percent of his profits toward relief efforts. He connected with Feed the Children to have an entire semitrailer of food and hygiene products delivered to Louisville. The rig that arrived in Louisville this August was the third one. And Sporrers are Catholic, to add another ecumenical twist. But that’s not all.
Along with the potatoes and donation from Feed the Children, the church donated 400 packages of chicken and ended up serving nearly 200 families in rural Cass County with food and an offer of prayer on Aug. 23. But that’s not all.
A family began attending Louisville Christian after being served by their small food bank. Church members “adopted” the family and in September the church will be having a silent auction fundraiser of items donated from the surrounding community to help them out. Soon two little ones from the family will be dedicated and a teen baptized. And that still isn’t all.
Stander and Rev. Jim McReynolds at Weeping Water Christian Church also tend to the poor of heart. Besides Sunday services, they offer support groups for people with bi-polar disorders and addictions. Stander says, “It is amazing to see how some have chosen to follow Christ and have become His hands and feet, out of the support group.”
“It has been an awesome year of discerning God’s call and answering it,” said Stander.
