From wallflower to powerhouse
Three years ago, Ted Guzman spent almost every weekday inside the lobby of the West 7th Salvation Army in St. Paul, reading books for hours at a time. Hundreds of people would walk by him, yet he rarely spoke with anybody. Once he finished reading, he’d walk back to his home two blocks away, fix himself some food, and spend time with his three cats. After the day ended, he’d wake up the next morning and do it all over again, completely alone.
“I’ve always been kind of a loner,” said Guzman, 57, a former construction worker who became disabled about six years ago after falling off a ladder. “I’d just sit there in the foyer and read. I’m disabled, poor, and needed to get away from my house.”
That was his life for six months. Then, a simple question changed everything.
“The lady at the front desk told me they could use a hand with (The Salvation Army’s) brown-bag food program,” Guzman said. “I’d never volunteered before, but I told her that I’d help.”
The incident was a tiny snowball that has since grown into an avalanche. Today Guzman is a volunteer powerhouse, spending at least 20 hours per week at the West 7th Salvation Army doing everything from cleaning, to cooking, to stocking the food shelf.
“He comes in during the morning, goes home for lunch, and often comes right back again in the afternoon,” said Captain Leti Crowell, who leads the West 7th Salvation Army with her husband, Captain Geffory Crowell. “It’s a joy to have him here. We just love him.”
Just as important, it’s a joy for Guzman to be there.
“Volunteering makes you feel good,” he said. “At the end of the day, you feel like you accomplished something, like you helped somebody. That’s what we’re all supposed to do – reach out to people.”
Cooking for kids
One of Guzman’s staple activities is cooking lunch for the 25-plus kids enrolled in the West 7th Salvation Army’s child care program. Every day at 9:45 a.m., he picks up a cart of food from the classroom, hauls it to the kitchen and fires up the burners.
“It’s usually pretty simple, like baking chicken nuggets and heating up some vegetables,” said Guzman, who also cooks on Monday and Friday nights for the dozens of children who attend the West 7th Salvation Army’s Hmong outreach program.
Cooking comes natural to Guzman.
“He was raised in the restaurant business and knows his stuff – he’s been very valuable to us in this area,” Crowell said.
Guzman also restocks and organizes the food shelf; fills in for the janitor; cleans up outside; and much more.
“I basically do whatever needs doing – or as much as I can because of my disability,” he said.
Spiritual awakening
Guzman’s eyes have been opened not only to volunteering, but to God. Although he’s always considered himself a Christian, he wasn’t a practicing one before coming to The Salvation Army.
“My whole life I’d been to church maybe a dozen times, and that was mainly for funerals,” he said.
These days, Guzman reads his Bible every morning, and never misses a Sunday sermon at the West 7th Salvation Army. Just like volunteering, his spiritual awakening began with one simple question.
“He asked my husband about the Lord’s command to love everybody – he was conflicted about it,” Crowell said. “The two went into my husband’s office and literally spoke for hours. (Guzman) came to church the next Sunday, and has been coming every Sunday since.”
Guzman believes that God drew him to The Salvation Army.
“He guided me here. This was Him telling me, ‘It’s about time,’” Guzman said.
Volunteering at The Salvation Army has taught Guzman that a person doesn’t need a loud voice or a fat wallet to serve the Lord effectively.
“I can’t preach, and I can’t donate a lot of money,” the unabashed introvert said. “But I can volunteer. I can help in the background – where I like it.”
The Twin Cities Salvation Army offers an abundance of volunteer opportunities. Learn more about getting involved.