The new corps officers for the Jefferson City Salvation Army agree they couldn't be coming at a more challenging time for the organization.
Or more blessed.
Capts. Sarah and Justin Windell arrived during the latter part of June, as the community continued its recovery from ongoing flooding and the May 22 tornado that ripped through about 3 miles of the city.
The very first event Justin attended was the 2019 United Way of Central Missouri fundraising kickoff breakfast, where administrators of many of the area's nonprofits and most generous agencies and businesses had gathered to plan for the United Way's annual campaign. There, he met nearly 100 of the area's leaders who are deeply involved in keeping Jefferson City and its residents on their feet.
"One of the things I've already noticed is how the agencies work together," Justin said. "Last week, I went to a recovery meeting. We sat and discussed what we're doing to be able to help everybody. In some communities, there's not that much cooperation."
It feels, he said, as if the cooperative nature was there before the disasters, but has been strengthened by them.
"It was also great to have people in one place to meet them at the same time," he said.
The couple's fourth assignment will be their first outside of Indiana. They have three children, ages 11, 9 and 6. They most recently served in La Porte, Indiana, near the southern tip of Lake Michigan.
When they receive assignments, Salvation Army personnel say they don't really replace their predecessors, Justin said. Instead, they take the work that has been started and try to carry it forward.
"(Lts. Rachel and Christopher White) really did a great job interacting with the community and showed how the Army can serve and work in this community," he said. "It's great to follow people who were very passionate."
The couple said they have tried to highlight - within media - the programs they were involved with at their previous assignments.
And, The Salvation Army avoids bringing about change for at least the first year, Justin said. It has to build some good will before it can spend it.
"We try to respect what has been done before and carry it on," he said.
Sarah built a weekend backpack food program in La Porte from 150 students to more than 350, she said. The program serves children who receive free breakfast and lunch, giving them meals to get through the weekends.
"We're all about community collaboration," Sarah said. "We did a lot with food. Anything that had to do with food came through me - the backpack program, the food bank, the churches."
The La Porte Salvation Army became an organizer for Feeding America sites in the area. Feeding America is a nationwide network of food pantries.
"We are all about community collaboration, working with people, trying not to do the same thing everybody else is doing," Sarah said. "If somebody else is doing it, let's figure out something nobody else is doing."
And no two Salvation Armies are the same. In La Porte, The Salvation Army didn't have a shelter. That need was served by The Salvation Army in Michigan City, Indiana, in the northern reaches of La Porte County.
In mid-May, Salvation Army leaders held an anniversary celebration for The Salvation Army Center of Hope, located at 927 Jefferson St. Built 20 years ago, the facility serves as a shelter, kitchen and pantry, and site for social service and housing programs.
Staff members serve thousands of meals in the building every year. Meals - served three times a day - are provided not only for people staying in the 31-bed shelter but for those who need them and walk in. In 2017, staff served 26,000 meals to people in the community. In all, the facility has provided 256,000 "bed nights" (when a person is sheltered in the center overnight) and 680,000 meals.
The constant use is taking a toll on the facility. The Salvation Army is looking at a funding source that could help pay for modifications and repairs to the building.
Far down the road, staff are expected to begin a capital campaign. A long-term goal would be to add family rooms. For now, administrators are focused on funding for simple repairs.
The two have not been involved with previous capital campaigns, Sarah said. However, having coordinators - Majs. Nancy and Jack Holloway - in Columbia gives The Salvation Army a resource in the area to draw upon, she said.
"It's always good to learn, no matter how many years you've had," Sarah said. "In every appointment we've been at, we actually did a program that hadn't been done there previously. We have always had to learn a program or something else and jump right in. Jefferson City is no different."