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January 2022 Newsletter
...a community of people who live sustainably, creatively, and in solidarity with those in our Ames community seeking refuge or spiritual sanctuary
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Check out James and Matt's Interviews on KHOI 89.1
Just before Christmas, Matt got a chance to talk with KHOI, our local Ames radio station, about the work that is happening at the Romero House since its establishment in September of 2020. On January 10th, James from our house also got a chance to interview
with Greta about what winters are like being homeless. We are so grateful for Greta and all at KHOI for allowing us to spread more information about the Romero House over the air. If you missed the interviews, you can catch them here. |
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Merry Belated Christmas!
From our family to yours, we sincerely hope your home was filled with peace, love and rest this Christmas. This is often a difficult time of year for many without a place to stay or a family to celebrate with. In the spirit of that night in Bethlehem, we desire
to make room for all because Jesus lives in all. The Incarnation represents well the work that goes on at the Romero House. Jesus is not an abstract concept. This flesh and blood that is birthed this season in the form of an infant God is the very flesh and
blood of those that are cast out from our society. Our mission is to see the physical Jesus in the bodies of our family members- this, we believe is the true fulfillment of the Incarnation.
As we conclude this year at the Romero House, we end it with extreme gratitude for all that have supported our family with financial, physical or spiritual assistance. From the depth of our heart, we say "Thank you."
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Our family growing and changing...
To date, we have nearly 100 people that have contacted us in search of housing and community support. We are making every effort possible at this point in time to meet those needs, but it requires a lot of patience and a lot of trust. We are operating still
at around half capacity until the spring when the promise of more live-in Catholic Workers becomes reality. We are still 6 strong here- Josh, James, Dom, Matt, Eddie and Kevin. I guess those are just our two legged family members...We still have Reuben the
cat, and our dogs Gunnar, Gracie and Emma. Hard to say what species requires more patience, haha!
James just celebrated his first year anniversary of being at the Romero House and has started transitioning into a more permanent resident role helping with administration and other house upkeep while holding a part time job as well. Dom has been hard at work
at Martin Property Management that is operated by our neighbor across the street. He's been active there for nearly 4 months and hopes to soon put money down for an apartment rental. Eddie, our class clown, has spent a lot of time working odd jobs and helping
his close friends stay on the road to recovery. Josh just recently began work with the Athletics Department at ISU helping to serve the athletes food after their games and practices-he needs as much help as he can get learning how to cook ;)And last but definitely
not least, Kevin has returned to the family and spends a lot of his time maintaining the house and caring for all of our beloved animals. We are pretty certain he is fluent in Dog, Cat, and Chicken dialects.
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Our First Mass and Live-In Retreat
This past weekend we hosted a retreat/come-and-see for those that are interested in serving as a live-in Catholic Worker at the Romero House in the future. Even with the enormity of snow that we received, we were still able to fetch everyone for the retreat
thanks to our new (old) truck we got about a month ago. We began the retreat with our typical family dinner to get to know everyone. After that, we gathered for some communal prayer and a guided talk from Fr. Kyle. The following morning, Gunnar and Matt successfully
picked up Fr. Secora amidst the drifting snow for our first votive mass in our chapel held in honor of St. Oscar Romero and Dorothy Day. As we dug our way out of the snow later that morning, Sarah Thomas, a mental health professional who volunteers at the
Romero House, arrived to share with the us some of the demands and expectations a live-in faces while trying to befriend those who are marginalized. After nearly 3 hours of informative discussion and real-life situation sharing, we all felt a little more equipped
for the journey. As we concluded on Saturday, we all worked to cook and prepare food for our regular Saturday meal before playing some board games to close the night. We are so thankful for Fr. Kyle, Sarah Thomas, Eric Evans and Fr. Secora for helping make
this an informative and prayerful retreat for those discerning a commitment to the Romero House.
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Progress on our Woodshop
Our woodshop is slowly but surely making progress at becoming a space for creativity and hands-on therapy. Josh, Matt and Solomon put down the epoxy floor and many others have helped to prep that floor and get the electrical work ready for tools. The next step
is putting in some ductwork for dust collection for our woodworking tools. We are still a ways away from completing the work, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! If you or anyone you know likes to do some hands-on construction oriented work,
we can almost always use skilled help to prepare this space for completion.
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Our New Snow Beast "Sully"
Thank you to Barb and Robert Thompson for their generous help in getting us a truck to use for practical needs around the house. Though it is not much to look at, it is in great condition and has already served to aid us in getting materials for around the
house and pushing through the 12+ inches of snow last weekend. 'Sully' has earned his keep in our driveway!
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Our January Needs
- Floor cleaner like Pinesol
- General surface cleaner
- Matches
- 2 Rubber spatulas-like the ones that you mix batter with!
- 2 Pasta or Spaghetti Forks
- 4-6 Kitchen anti-fatigue mats like
these
- Cooking spice blends (large quantities preferably)
- Mens shaving razors
- Warm Blankets (to give out and keep at the house)
- Cooking spray
- Woodworking lathe, other woodworking tools :)
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How you can help our mission with your time
Can you help us with the transportation needs of our guests from time to time? Often, our guests need some help with getting to places like jobs, court, treatment groups or therapy as bus tickets are expensive and the live-ins cannot always be drivers due to
time restrictions. Message us if you can be an on-call 'ride giver'. This is a great way to get to know those in our community.
Could you host someone in your spare room or basement? We have a few houseless friends that would be great in a smaller community such as a family or a small group of single people. We are trying to expand a support network for individuals (both men and women)
that don't do as well in a larger community such as ours. This is just an experimental venture that we are testing out to give others an opportunity to connect with our friends that might be in need. Our goal is to match people up really well and only proceed
if its a good fit. Message us if you are interested and able to extend the Romero House mission into your own home.
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Eggs and Mugs for Sale
Our homegrown eggs and custom mugs are still for sale. We sell the eggs for $4/dozen and the Romero House mugs for $25. This money will go directly to supporting the Romero House mission. Eggs are not always available but give us a call or email to see if we
have some. If you are interested in purchasing a mug, email:
romero...@gmail.com.
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Click button below to read our previous newsletters.
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