Very few experiences have impacted my life as strongly as the Army. The Salvation Army, that is. Uncle Sam didn’t want me for the U.S. Army.

It was 18 years ago about right now that I interviewed for the position of development and communications director for The Salvation Army of Des Moines. The job began a few weeks later. Subsequently, I was assigned to also assist several other Iowa Salvation Army Corps with their development and communications efforts.

My hiring followed a four-month period of unemployment. I had walked away from a job and a career that was making me ill. This followed several years of work place difficulties that brought me to the brink of an emotional breakdown.

The months of unemployment, though difficult, proved to be a time of healing.

I was delighted to be getting a paycheck again, but I gained much more than a salary.

I spent the first few weeks of my new job getting acquainted with the local operation and my new co-workers. I devoured reading material on the history and international outreach of The Salvation Army (TSA,) and became acquainted with the story of William and Catherine Booth, the founders of TSA.

At the same time, I gained a new understanding of the community and world around me. Though I did not work directly with our family services’ outreach I was in near daily contact with that department and became familiar with its work.

One day the family services director introduced me to a young woman who had come to TSA for assistance. The young mother shared her story which I would write for an informational brochure.

After spending more than a half hour with the client, my heart was breaking over the series of difficulties she and her husband and their three small children had gone through. Her husband had a low-paying job, their basement apartment flooded ruining most of their meager possessions, they endured illness from mold resulting from the flooding and more. We were able to help the family find a decent apartment and with help from another agency provided financial assistance for rent and a deposit. And they went home with bags of groceries.

I was raised in a low-income home. My wife and I had some tough financial times in the early years of our marriage. I thought I knew poverty. What this young mom and her family were going through made my life look like we had lived on Easy Street.

As time went on I saw more cases like this and worse. I became acutely aware of the poverty that plagued our community. And I became increasingly aware of the blasé attitude some local organizations had toward the problem.

I also learned about giving. As development director, it was my job to work with major contributors to TSA.

A retired couple contributed at least $20,000 each Christmas and told me to call if the Red Kettle campaign fell short. Often, they gave an additional $5,000 or more after Christmas.

As we became acquainted, they explained that they had come into a large sum of money later in life and one of their greatest joys of the windfall was sharing it to help others.

Another couple sent a check for $10,000 multiple times each year. When a local businessman sold his family business he tithed the proceeds from the sale and sent us a check for $55,000.

There were also many smaller gifts. One elderly lady sent $5 with a note saying she wished she could give more. I reminded her of the parable of the widow’s mite and that God can and does miracles with $5.

By the time I retired in early 2014 my perspectives had been changed. I came to understand that many people are suffering due to circumstances beyond their control and not because of bad decisions.

The Salvation Army’s mission “is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination.” After working hard for decades to increase profits for company shareholders (and I do not apologize for that) nearly seven years of working for The Salvation Army’s mission changed my heart.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2025 by Huisman Communications.