V A L L E Y V I E W V I L L A G E R E SI D E N T S’ N E W S L E T T E R
Volume 15-12
April 2017
Number 178
www.valleyviewvillage.org
Happy Easter!
I hope you all are ready to celebrate this special time of year with your family and
friends. Easter is the foundation and the cornerstone of the Christian faith;
without the resurrection there is no hope. I can’t imagine going through life
without hope, or the promise of eternity. Thanks to Jesus, we don’t have to!
There are many special events heading your way in the next few months; you’ll
learn more about those in this issue. Alexis has a special Lunch & Learn planned,
we have an amazing Mother’s Day Tea planned, and of course we can’t forget
Father’s Day, the Family Picnic is also coming in June, and the Carnival in
July….whew! I’m tired just thinking about it! I’m also excited to share that we
will be sponsoring a Pleasant Hill Little League Baseball team again this year,
more details will be coming on that.
But for now, let’s live in the moment and simply enjoy this beautiful time of year,
and the blessings it brings to all of us.
I wish you all special Easter blessings, and as always,
I thank you for your prayers and support!
Shelly Charter
Housing & Marketing Manager
Newsletter Staff
Editor………………..Alexis Morrison
Note About This
Newsletter’s Color
This issue is printed in color on
white paper. If you have difficulty
reading this Newsletter because of
the color print, please ask the office
for a copy printed in black and white.
Happy
April
Birthdays
4/2
4/2
4/3
4/4
4/6
4/9
4/9
4/13
4/15
4/15
4/15
4/15
4/15
4/17
4/17
4/17
4/22
4/24
4/28
4/29
4/29
Skip Johnson
Harriet Miller
Elaine Long
Pat Christensen
Dean Haggen
Joy Baber
Bob Boren
Mardell Woods
Arnold Brown
Andrew Deering
Brenda LaBlanc
Goldie Seddon
Karen Seuferer
Gladys Christopherson
Elmer Grigsby
Gwen Kuhn
Ruth Schultz
Lula May Long
Jack Moberg
Claudette Borger
Virginia Carlson
Upcoming Events
All events will be held in the Main Dining Room unless
Saturday, April 1
2pm
Piano Recital
Students of Cindy Arbogast
Tuesday, April 4
2pm
General Assembly
Friday, April 7
2pm
Guild Annual Meeting
Saturday, April 8
10am
Coffee Social
Recreation Room
Tuesday, April 11
2pm
Christian Singer, Burt Kettinger
Free will offering will be collected
Friday, April 21
11-1
Lunch & Learn
Independent Living & Community
Register with Alexis by April 14th
515.299.1731
Monday, April 24
2:30pm
Popcorn Social
Recreation Room
Activities are subject to change.
We strive for accuracy, but please check your Monday Morning
Memo to be sure of correct dates and times for all events.
Join us for the 7th Annual
Joshua Christian Academy
Banquet
“Building Legacies”
Friday, April 7th 2017
6-8:30pm
Transportation provided
Bus leaves at 5:30
Call Alexis at 299.1731 as soon as possible to sign up.
We have a limited amount of tickets!
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”
Joshua 24:15
Hosts:
Bonnie & Carl Stocker
In Loving Memory
Dinner: April 19th, 2017
Birthstone: Diamond
Flower: Sweet Pea
Val Drande
3.12.1936 to 3.19.2017
Alice Metten
8.19.1928 to 3.23.2017
Welcome
Massage Therapy is Back!
Please help us welcome Mariah Vis!
New Residents

Bob Leonard
The Guild’s Annual meeting is on Friday, April 7th at
2pm in the Main Dining Room. Membership fees of $1
are also due! Please give to Sophie Bennink.
Marilyn Ogle
Baked Potato
Bar Raised
$443.05!
Thank You!!!
We scream for ice cream!
Come join us for
The Guild’s Sundaes on Sunday!
Sunday, May 7th 2-3:30pm
$3.00 for adults
Children 12 and under $2.00
Main Dining Room
$1 a minute
y
3rd Frida
nth
Every mo
Sign up
with Dawn
Mariah is a licensed massage therapist, currently
working out of Champion Family Chiropractic in
Clive. “I absolutely love developing my massage
skills and building professional relationships with
my coworkers and clients. Even though I am happy
in this work environment, I was very excited when
my former instructor informed me of the possibility
of working at Valley View once a month!”
Before becoming a massage therapist, Mariah
worked as a CNA in Cedar Rapids, as her original
career goal was to become a nurse. However, after
careful consideration of her skills and interests, she
decided that she needed to make some life changes.
“I thought back to the patient care I received in high
school for sports injuries and realized that massage
therapy played an important role in my recovery. I
decided that I had the potential to help others
benefit from massage.” Mariah moved to central
Iowa to pursue training and licensure in massage
therapy. She attended PCI Academy last spring and
has been a licensed massage therapist since June,
2016.
“I am excited to discuss the possibility of working
with you. Thank you for this opportunity to broaden
my career. “
Welcome, Mariah!
Health Center Residents and Family
NO pictures may be taken of anyone other than you
or your family members in the Health Center.
Please make sure no other residents are present
or in the background. -Stephanie Proper
2571 Guthrie Ave
Des Moines, IA 50317
www.elimcare.org
A Note From Stephanie
I love Spring! I love the rain, ever since I was little I always felt like it was God cleaning the Earth washing
away all of the leftover dirty snow and sand from the long dark winter. In return He gives us the beautiful
gift of new life through the bright green grass and beautiful flowers. If anyone has been in my office, you
may find this funny as I am not known for keeping flowers alive, which is all the more of a reason to love the
rain; I don’t have to remember to water anything. :)
As we say goodbye to these last few weeks of cold and furnaces and we move into the warmer weather (air
conditioner weather!) I would like to share some energy efficiency tips. Sometimes the simplest things are
really effective and there are great ways to save! (Energy cost helps to determine what the next years rate
increase will be)
1.
Use your blinds and curtains. When the sun is shining and it is cold, open them up to let the sun light
warm your space, then when it’s hot and sunny close them to keep it cool.
2. Turn off all lights, appliances and electronics when not in use.
3. Notify us if you have a leaky window.
4. If your heat/air conditioning is on, please keep your doors and windows closed.
Being energy efficient is an asset to everyone.
One of my goals is to improve communication throughout the campus. With that in mind, I would love to
hear from you! What would you like to hear about from me in the newsletter? How would you like to hear
from me outside of the newsletter?
We will be initiating a “General Assembly” again for on campus residents on April 4th. We would like to use
this form as a Q & A, so please come with your questions and I will try to have answers. You can bring ideas
to me there, email me at [email protected], or you can call me at 299-1724.
Just in case you haven’t heard or seen, my office is right across from Melva. Feel free to stop by to chat.
I feel so blessed to be a part of Valley View Village. I have loved getting to know so many of you and I look
forward to building more relationships as the seasons change.
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is
over and gone. The flowers appear on the
earth, the time of singing has come… Song
of Solomon 2:11-12
Stephanie Proper
Administrator/Executive Director
We are sponsoring the Pleasant Hill 50/70 Expos Little League Team!
Stay tuned for the game schedule, as we will be attending some of their games to
cheer them on! If you would like a matching shirt to show your support, please
call Alexis at 515.299.1731, no later than April 7th to place your order! Shirts are
$27 (S-XL) or $29 (2XL-4XL).
Let’s play ball!
White Cross is a ministry that meets the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 1-3pm in the
Main Dining Room. This group puts together needed supplies for Tandala Hospital in
the Democratic Republic of Congo, of Africa and is open to all residents and friends of
Valley View Village. The supplies the group puts together include bandage rolls and 4
x 4 blankets from old sheets, baby layettes (which includes kimonos and blankets) and
scripture cards in the native language. It is not necessary to be able to sew but if you are
able to fold, sort, and pack, you will be of great help to the White Cross Ministry!
If you would like to help, please contact Arlene Brown at 515-266-1595. Although the White Cross is
made up mostly of women men are invited and encouraged to join! Part of the fun in participating in White
Cross comes from helping a worthy cause and part comes from enjoying the fellowship of meeting with
other residents.
White Cross meets in many Evangelical Free Churches across our country. Elim is part of the Evangelical
Free Church of America and Valley View Village is part of Elim. The White Cross ministry started years
ago to send supplies to needed areas overseas, like the hospital in Tandala. In past years, young mothers in
local Evangelical Free Churches sewed and folded sheets and blankets to assist in the White Cross
work. In recent years, as many moms are now working full time outside their homes, the work has been
carried out mostly by seniors and retirees. Some churches have even dropped their White Cross chapters as
the number of aging volunteers has dwindled. Faced with this problem, the Indianola Heights Evangelical
Free Church in Des Moines, moved its chapter of White Cross to our campus. So Valley View Village
works in tandem with this local church.
It is difficult for us to imagine the primitive conditions that hospital workers and patients endure in
Tandala. For example, while we in Des Moines enjoy 7 “State of the Art” hospitals, as well as many clinics
and other hospital facilities staffed with medical specialists and highly trained staff, Tandala Hospital
struggles for just the basics. A recent donation of 150 mattresses replaced old dilapidated and unsanitary
old ones. A missionary says “the bad smell is gone” and that the new mattresses are a major
blessing. While we take for granted our x-ray machines, MRIs, and other sophisticated medical equipment,
administrators at the Tandala Hospital are struggling to get running water into its entire facility. Presently
the hospital is lacking funding to pipe water to the Intensive Care, Post-operative Care, Women’s Wards,
and the OUTDOOR LATRINES. The needs of the Tandala Hospital are great and even our little efforts
help a lot. Our White Cross group at Valley View Village recently sent a 41 pound box of supplies and
will be shipping another soon. Financial donations can also be made directly to the hospital at Tandala at
the following address: White Cross Account # 3938, EFCA East 78th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55420.
Please come and join in helping out this great cause!
Chaplain Craig Burton