Temperatures dropped to extreme lows in the River Bend on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Vicky Schlueter of Alton had a warm house thanks to a donation by St. Matthew United Methodist Church of Belleville.
“I had gone to the thermostat several times a day to turn up the heat and it wasn't hooked up,” she said. “When I go to it now, I am going to hear a furnace running and heat coming out of the registers. I don’t think words can express how thankful I am after a really hard past two years. This has probably been the biggest blessing I have ever had.”
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“Matt Fisher, the person who hooked it up on Tuesday, knows what he is doing; my mom, Rose Flagg, bought me the furnace. I still have a lot of wiring issues and need an electrical upgrade and that will put me back on the forward road to recovery.”
Riverbender.com had a story about Schlueter’s furnance and electrical needs on Christmas.
“This means everything to me,” Schlueter said. “This very much warms my heart. The stress of worrying about my water pipes freezing and constantly being cold takes a real toll on a person.”
Schlueter said St. Matthew United Methodist Church members have the warmest hearts of anyone she has ever met.
“They represent what true Christians stand for because they help the community and are non-judgmental,” she said. "They are very loving people.”
Matt Fisher of Fisher Refrigeration, installed the furnace purchased by Vicky’s mom to start heating the home on Tuesday.
“I am glad we are able to help Vicky get the furnace going,” he said. “I like helping people. The church is nice; they contacted me to do it. I work on their daycare and refrigeration.”
Aaron Oplinger, a member of St. Matthew United Methodist Church of Belleville, coordinated the outreach by the church to help Schleuter and her family.
Schlueter does sign language for the deaf and felt a sincere need for the church to help her because she does so much for others who need assistance.
“Vicky has a career that involves helping others and we felt like she has fallen in a time of a need and we needed to help her,” he said. “I am glad we are able to get it done; I wish we had known about it sooner. It is nice to have it on because it is extremely cold.”
Anyone who wishes to help with any of Schlueter’s electrical issues can contact Charlene Edwards at 618-444-7303.
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