Volunteer of The Month - Rev. Ted Wuerffel

Rev. Wuerffel began his volunteer work with CFNA in the fall of 2009.  He and Abby had moved to St Louis in 2005 when Ted accepted a leadership position with the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces. In the fall of 2008 he left that position to complete a degree in Music at Webster U, and he and Abby began helping with the Monday night tutoring program while he was a student at Webster. At about the same time he met Ron Virus, who was coordinating the reception of donated furniture, and they began working together, along with Hank Saeger, to move all sorts of donated household goods. These donations were usually brought from the outlying counties into the Peace Center neighborhood where most new immigrants and refugees are housed. This neighborhood is near the International Institute where new arrivals are processed and receive ESL instruction and job search training.

In the next two years Ted helped move all sorts of donations: tables, chairs, couches, beds, clothes, entertainment centers, TV’s, microwaves, and even some larger appliances like washing machines, dryers, refrigerators and a few freezers. Some of the classic “challenges” have been moving large items to the upstairs apartments where couch legs and fridge doors have to be removed to get the items up stairs and around corners.

This past year Ted has helped secure an agreement with St. Luke’s Lutheran Church on Taft east of S. Grand, where we now use two former school classrooms as a transfer and repair point for donations. Ron Virus and his wife, Carrol, keep track of the repair work that needs to be done there — gluing shelves, fixing hinges, and refinishing various things, while Ted and Hank Saeger do the bulk of the moving, assisted by Dr. John Lautenschlager and other occasional helpers, including some of the immigrants who have become partners in the CFNA ministry.

 Most rewarding for Ted is the sense that our CFNA help has been a true blessing to New Americans who come with practically nothing but their suitcase. Secondly, in many cases the families receiving donated furniture or other items want to show their appreciation – for example they will offer a bottle of water, some tea, or even injirah, an Ethiopian bread, with bean sauce.  As you sit and eat with people who are sharing from their scarcity, it Is quite humbling.

Interested in possibly helping Ted and his crew from time to time?  Contact him at wuerffta@gmail.com or 314-603-3743.  Rev. Ted Wuerffel and wife Abby are members of Timothy Lutheran Church, St. Louis.