“Serving together helps to bring our family closer to each other, and it helps to prioritize our tasks and gives us a clear focus toward what God calls us to do,” said Major Vong.

From the time their children were small, the majors have included them in daily ministry, instilling in them the importance of using their unique gifts and talents to share His love with others. Joshua 24:15 (NIV),

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord,” is their family verse.

“Our goal is to train our children in such a way that they too love to see God’s Kingdom expand. We like them to be a part of God’s work,” said Major Vong. “Having them be a part and involved, they see God working in mom and dad’s life and see the changes in others as we minister.”

Now young adults, the Luangkhamdeng’s children have become integral in ministry at the Madison, Wis., Corps, where their parents currently are stationed. Emmanuel, 23, is using his college degree to manage the corps’ media, including Sunday livestream and video editing. He also teaches the teen Sunday school class and leads the children’s moment during Sunday worship. Esther, 18, sings in the praise team and helps teach children’s church. Ephraim, 20, steps in to assist with whatever is needed when he is home from college.

“We all focus on serving the Lord together,” said Major Vong. “We talk all the time, in the car, at the table. We let the kids know we appreciate them. The way we talk as a family makes us bond together.”

“It’s a blessing that we serve the Lord as a family and we can bless other people,” added Major Ting. “That other people can see that we love one another and help each other.”

The diverse congregation in Madison provides a unique opportunity for the majors to share Christ both in their native language, Laotian, and in English, enjoying the melding of cultures as they worship, share fellowship over meals, and learn to love and grow together as a body of believers. They credit God for the work He is doing in and through their family and corps.

“It is all about God. He is the One that works in us to be like Him,” concluded Major Vong. “We try to be salt and light for our community, talking with people, listening and trying to understand, praying with them, and through that letting them know how much we love them and God loves them.”

Every weekday the corps building in the small city of Oshkosh, Wis., is filled with the smells of a freshly made, hot, hearty meal ready to satisfy the hungry bellies of more than 170 people.

From 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., guests are welcomed to join in fellowship with one another over lunch. It’s supplemented by a sack lunch provided on Sunday after the worship service.

It’s one way Major Jim Mungai, corps officer with his wife, Major Penny Mungai, says The Salvation Army is helping to fight food insecurity and loneliness in the community.

During the lunch hour, Majors Jim and Penny grab a tray and enjoy the meal alongside guests. They make sure to greet regulars and newcomers alike, offer a listening ear, prayer and an invitation to corps activities, and refer those in need of additional support to the social services staff.

As a result of their accessibility and kindness, they have built relationships with many of the regular visitors to the lunch program and have seen several among the congregation on Sunday mornings.

“This is our ministry niche here,” Major Jim said. “Our only heartache is knowing some of the people coming in for lunch won’t eat again until their next meal at the corps.”

With the cost of necessities seeming to increase with every visit to the grocery store, the major said that more than one in 10 Oshkosh families relies on the corps food pantry to supplement what they are able to afford.  The lunch program helps to offset expenses even more, and demand for both continues to grow as people struggle to make ends meet.

“People are just barely making it by budget wise,” he said. “We’re feeding not only those experiencing
homelessness or battling addiction, but also seniors and whole families, especially when kids are out of school. The seniors are on fixed incomes, the families are struggling. So, this is helping stretch their funds.”

The lunch program is successful thanks to stellar cook Laura Selenka and the hard work of volunteers who help with serving and cleaning up after the meal. Volunteers include several church groups and community organizations, some of which have made it part of their weekly or monthly commitments. In the summer, for example, an executive team from a local company comes once a week to fire up the grills. Some volunteer groups consider it a privilege to make a weekly visit to the corps and say it’s the highlight of their week.

“We anticipate seeing a large increase in the number of people served,” concluded Major Jim. “We’re grateful for the blessing of this ministry to our community.”

It’s a typical evening at Grace Place shelter in New Richmond, Wis. Some residents gather to watch television. Others are taking a class with a dietician in the kitchen. Some are busy mopping floors. There is no janitorial service, so residents clean the shelter themselves.

Life at Grace Place is very “homey,” said Randy Calleja, advisory board chairman for the St. Croix Service Extension Unit which encompasses Grace Place. “It’s like being in a family—a very big family.”

In 2014, The Salvation Army purchased a vacant nursing home from Presbyterian Homes to be used for Grace Place. With that purchase, Grace Place, formerly located in Somerset, Wis., expanded from a 24-bed to a 64-bed facility.

The cost of the building was $1.

Today, Grace Place continues to be a home for those temporarily without one.

“In our area, we are the only 24-hour staffed shelter within five counties,” said Duana Bremer, service extension unit director.

Each family gets its own room. Singles share a room with another person. All meals are provided. The average stay is 38 days, but people have stayed up to 120 days, Duana said.

It took eight months from its purchase to the shelter’s opening day.

More than 200 volunteers brought the building back to life. Randy was part of a committee that raised $265,000 for Grace Place in just six months.

“The whole community got involved,” Duana recalled. “The entire building, inside and outside, was painted by volunteers. More than 7,000 community hours of volunteerism were given for things like painting, plumbing and electrical work. A sprinkler company donated labor to put in a sprinkler system.”

A $90,000 boiler was donated by a family foundation, Randy recalled.

“All of the mattresses were donated; all of the pillows were donated. We just wrote letters to companies, and box trucks showed up,” he added.

Community members, businesses and other organizations were asked to sponsor rooms and handle all of the furnishings and decorating. Every room is custom-designed.

The New Richmond Running Club sponsored the kids’ playroom. Club members painted a colorful, nature-themed mural in the room.

“Every year we call our sponsors and say we need new bedspreads or new blankets, etc.,” Duana said.
“Almost all of the sponsors who originally sponsored a room come back and paint their room and fix it so it stays nice-looking.”

Grace Place is unique, according to Duana.

“We have a computer lab with six donated computers,” she said. “A local school district came in and set it all up for us.”

Students from Northwoods College volunteer their time to help residents with resumés and other projects that require computers.

“And we have a children’s tutoring program. We work with retired teachers who come in three days a week to tutor the kids. The tutors will also go [with parents] to school conferences or assist children with Independent Education Plans at school. Our whole goal with tutoring is to get them uplifted out of poverty,” Duana said.

The meal program is supported by volunteers, different church or civic groups which purchase, prepare and deliver dinner to Grace Place each night—everything from turkey dinners to spaghetti and casseroles.

Residents always dine together.

“We require them to be there at mealtime unless they are working,” Duana said, adding that it helps create a sense of camaraderie. “We say grace together and eat together.”

Perhaps one of the most unique programs is foot-care. Nurses from three local churches in the community come to the shelter once a month to provide medical treatment.

“Many of the residents’ feet are in horrible condition. They are a mess, and they hurt,” Duana explained.

Grace Place is involved in a number of community events throughout the year. One of the highlights is “Shop with a Cop.”

Families-in-need get assistance with buying school clothes. Kids also receive backpacks with school supplies. There are bicycle giveaways, hot dogs to eat and much more.

“We wanted to help develop a good relationship between law enforcement and low-income kids,” Duana explained. “This is a huge community event.”

It’s one of the many ways The Salvation Army is making a difference in St. Croix. Regardless of the event or program, Grace Place has a daily mission to provide hope.