Influence

Serving with Habitat for Humanity

 PLC volunteers will be working at 730 Knoll Avenue in Waterloo from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 24.  Volunteers will be working with Habitat site supervisor Steve King hanging exterior siding and building porches.  Be sure to dress for the weather.

Sign up to join us. 

First time serving?  Bring this waiver. 

Naomi Henderson

When most of us get a pop-up ad on the Internet, we close it and forget it. When 8-year-old Naomi Henderson saw a pop-up ad seeking donations, it made her think about what she could do in her own community.

With her mom, Ari, PLC Counseling Coordinator, Naomi discussed local agencies she could help.

In August, Prairie Lakes Church Influence ministry conducted the Backpack Program to deliver donations from the Cedar Falls and Waterloo campuses to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank's BackPack program. The goal of the food bank's program was to send children in need home with foods that are healthy and kid-friendly. .

“God seemed to work it out that PLC was just finishing its backpack campaign two weeks before her birthday,” Ari said. “Instead of birthday presents, she asked her friends to donate food items for the backpacks. There were eight girls helping, including her sister, Abi, 10, and six friends from Hudson. Each girl brought several items for the cause.”

 Items donated included microwavable meals, fruit cups, peanut butter, dried fruits and single-serving dried fruits, as well as backpacks. According to Diana Mescher, Influence coordinator, Naomi and her friends spent about an hour at church sorting the food into like-item piles, then packing up all the items into boxes and bags for delivery to the food bank.

“That's a great example of a 9-year-old being Jesus with skin on and living with the Servant's Heart Jesus had,” Diana said.

Naomi's mom said she and her husband, Todd, have discussed serving with their children for more than two years, including talks about sacrifice. “Naomi is very sensitive to God and the needs of others around her. She is bold and open to sharing her faith too. Recently, at a football game she answered a little girl’s questions about Jesus and praying. The little girl asked Jesus into her heart during their conversation,” Ari said.

The entire family serves at Prairie Lakes. Todd assists Ari with counseling and is also an elder. Their son Ben runs the weekend video camera and helps the tech team. Abi and Naomi recently finished a year of serving in the cafe. This year, Abi will serve on Kidventure dance and sing teams and Naomi will care for toddlers in the WeeKids area.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition is coming to the Cedar Valley!

Pep Rally - Tuesday, Sept 20th

UNI McLeod Center, 6:00 p.m.

A pep rally will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 20th at UNI's McLeod Center to kick off the volunteer effort. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the event will begin at 6:00 p.m. Parking and admission are free, participants are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item, which will be donated to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. The pep rally will be hosted by Gary Kroeger, Creative Director at the Mudd Group, he'll be joined by several members of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition production team who will talk about the show and give information on how people can help. For more information please contact Janelle Darst at janelle.darst@uni.edu.

Serve with Habitat

Alright church, it is our time to go beyond the walls of Prairie Lakes Church and be Jesus with skin on to the people in our community!

This Saturday, September 24th Prairie Lakes Church is signed up to serve with Habitat for Humanity. Grab your spouse, grab a friend and commit to rubbing shoulders and getting to know the soon to be homeowners! This is a great first step of going out in the community and building relationships with the people around us.

Details: Saturday September 24th  from 8:30-3:00.  Location details to be posted soon!

Let us know you're coming! Click here to sign up and serve!