"What if Santa Claus can't find
us out in the warmin' shed?"
December 2, 2010
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"What if Santa Claus can't find us out in the warmin' shed?" three-year old Jaycee asks her great grandpa several times a day. The child is fearful Santa will miss them because she and her great grandparents have to spend their winter days in an old shed in back of their run down house. The family can't afford propane to heat their home during the day so they stay in a warming shed with a wood stove where they can sit to keep warm.
Mr. Ivey, age 87, uses a cane to shuffle to his front door with the help of his 85 year-old wife, whom he describes as "my strong ol' gal." She helps him to walk around the house on uneven ground to get to the warming shed out back, an exhausting trip that he makes every morning to the dirt floored, 10 X 12 foot hut containing only a wooden chair and a low, rickety table that supports two wooden pallets where Mr. Ivey sleeps. The ceiling is charred from the stove pipe that has no metal ring to protect the ceiling. The old fellow nearly burned down the shed one day when sparks from a loose pipe flew inside and filled the shed with smoke.
When I first saw Mr. Ivey's shack or warming shed, I got a knot in my throat. Here was an aged man in the first stages of Alzheimer's staring at the wood fire with a dazed expression on his face. His wife was babysitting Jaycee, whose mother works as a waitress for $8 a day! The tiny child goes out and helps to collect twigs and wood to keep the fire going, but for most of the day she clings to her great grandpa, sitting on his lap or napping in his arms.
The Ivey's spend all day in the shed and then make the slow journey back inside the house to sleep at night in the living room close to an antiquated gas heater. Gas is so expensive they run it on low just to stay warm. Everyone sleeps in makeshift beds on the floor made of old blankets and tattered sleeping bags.
Once I got over the first shock of finding these poor people in such dire need, I suddenly saw their warming shed similar to the manger where our Blessed Mother Mary gave birth to Our Lord, Jesus Christ, when she and Joseph could find no other shelter.
At that moment, I was overcome with Christ's abiding love for the poor. The Ivey's desperately needed help from the Edmundite Missions. The house is in such disrepair, we must focus on making the house less dangerous while keeping out the bone-chilling wind. To provide propane for this family will cost $267 a month. They will no longer have to crouch in a dangerous warming shed all day long. We will also replace broken windows and provide insulation to make the house warmer.
In addition to the most obvious repairs, we will include the Ivey's in our Christmas food program for needy rural families. One nutritious, life-saving bag of food will cost $38.40 for the family.
Can you give the gift of food and heat? I honestly do not know how I am going to pay for the needed repairs, utility assistance and bags of food for families in such desperate need during the worst winter cold. The calls for help are staggering as they multiply day after day.
I assured little Jaycee that she won't have to worry about Santa Claus not finding her family because they are out back in the shed. Santa will be happy to find dear old Mr. Ivey and his beloved family warm and safe in their home.
The lesson of the warming shed was not lost on those of us who had the privilege of helping a poor family suffering from the cold in a primitive shelter. This unforgettable experience brings all of us at the Edmundite Missions together in faith and love as we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus of Nazareth. ". . . and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us." Matthew 1:23
In gratitude and service,
Rev. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E.
