Day 2 of the 10 Day Give was Sunday. Every year, the first Sunday in October you can find me and my family giving of ourselves all day long. My parents are the caretakers of a country church that was part of many generations of my mom’s family. The church is located in a beautiful area of NE Iowa that is no longer a town. At one time, Lima was a bustling community with a railroad, school, store, and church. It was even in the running to be the county seat. But, alas, it fell to the troubles of the Great Depression and now all that is left is the Lima Church.
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| Lima Church – Photo courtesy of Rice Creative Services |
My parents along with several other volunteers have taken care of this church and its neighboring cemetery for many, many years. Without their TLC and numerous fund-raisers, this beautiful landmark wouldn’t be here either.
So, the first Sunday of October every year is Lima Leaf Day. It is a fall festival with a meal, kid’s games like ring toss, fish pond, and cake walk, petting zoo, country store and numerous vendors. The meal is the highlight of the day and people come from all over and stand in line for maidrites, pork sandwiches, and homemade pies. This year we actually RAN OUT of pies. As far back as I can remember, I don’t remember ever running out of pies. It was tragic and I hated seeing the people’s faces after waiting in line and finding out there was no more pie. We had beautiful weather (my mom always says, “The Lord loves Lima”) and a huge turnout. The money raised helps to pay for the mowing of the grounds and cemetery and other upkeep/maintenance issues. It really is a fun day and even though we are completely exhausted on Sunday evening, you are exhausted with a smile on your face because of all the people you saw and caught up with, the happy faces on the children who won a cake on the cake walk, and spending the day with family – all working together and giving of themselves for the same purpose. Enjoy the photos from our day.
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| Bennett, Reagan and Patrick running the ring toss |
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| Pat taking the kids on a test run with the train. |
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| Many people come out to see the vendors. |
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| The lunch line has formed. |
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| We can seat about 80 people at a time and we are busy for 3 hours. |
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| My great-nephew, Henry, couldn’t wait to have a bite of his chili dog! |
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| Reagan even got to take a ride on a pony! |
Even though there are no longer church services held in this church, it is a frequent site for weddings, family gatherings, luncheons, and funerals. If you would like to learn more about Lima check out http://www.wadenaiowa.com/lima.htm
Posted Under 10 day give, family, God at work, Lima, volunteer