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Christiania Lutheran Church is a community of believers in Christ, committed to deepening our faith, extending our fellowship, and caring for others at home and throughout God's world.
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Milk Mission
Recent article in Northfield News
| Getting soldiers a cold one |
By: SUZANNE ROOK, Senior Reporter
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Posted: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 11:29 pm
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Kim and Roy Fuhrmann talk about the reactions of soldiers after tasting their first fresh cow’s milk in Iraq. |
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After nearly 21 years of marriage, Kim Fuhrmann knew something wasn’t right.
Her husband, National Guard Major Roy Fuhrmann, the son of a southern Minnesota dairy farmer, was washing his Christmas treats down with Gatorade.
“What?” she thought as she watched him sitting in Iraq on her Web cam at home in Webster, knowing better than to ask her husband what was going on. He would cover, she said, telling her it was no big deal. And, she knew if she mentioned the sports drink she might tip her hand. Within days, Kim gave herself an assignment — a Milk Mission she now calls it: figure out how she could get her milk-loving husband some ice cold moo juice.
It took a bit to get it right, but when the intact packages finally arrived — on Christmas Day — it wasn’t just the major who was elated. Soldiers from every corner of this country were clamoring for a glass.
It was then Kim knew what she had to do: expand the Milk Mission. But there’s a cost. Shipping a gallon of milk to Iraq costs $50. And there are thousands of soldiers in Roy Fuhrmann’s unit alone.
Getting fresh
Roy, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and a National Guardsman for 22 years, had been deployed to Bosnia and Kuwait. In both locations, fresh cow’s milk was readily available. But in Iraq, soldiers drink irradiated milk, in which the liquid is exposed to ultra-violet rays. That allows it to be stored at room temperature and gives it an exceptionally long shelf life.
Soldiers in Roy’s unit have told Kim they have seen some cartons of irradiated milk dated 1998.
Roy, best described as the strong, silent type, says the milk isn’t anything like store-bought cow’s milk, but shakes his head when asked to describe its taste. Kim says soldiers in e-mails and letters to her describe it as “oily” and “chalky.”
Milk and a smile
Kim, an effusive woman whose family members have served in all branches of the military, understands a soldier’s sacrifice. It’s what pushes her to keep shipping the milk. By week’s end, she’ll have sent 200 gallons beginning in mid December.
The soldiers who receive the milk, she said, believe she’s the one sacrificing, spending six and a half hours one day a week to pick up the milk and box it, fill out stacks of customs documents and deliver the boxes to the Post Office. “It isn’t about me,” says Kim. “It’s about the soldiers and Americans who want to give them a treat.”
A couple of benefactors have helped keep costs down. Milk, she said, has come from Kwik Trip, a donation from the company’s owner. A Burnsville company, Continental Carbonic Products, has donated the insulated shipping boxes and the dry ice used to keep the milk icy on its nearly 7,000-mile journey.
Kim says she has received about $1,000 in donations for postage. As long as the money keeps coming in, Kim is willing to continue with her Milk Mission.
It’s the happiness the milk brings the deployed soldiers that makes it worthwhile, said Kim. She knew it after seeing Roy on the Web cam not long after he drank his first glass of fresh milk.
“Oh my gosh, my man is smiling,” she remembers thinking, “and I can make many smile (with even more milk). I’ll do anything to get that milk over there.”
Roy is behind his wife all the way. Now stateside for a two-week furlough, he has visited local schools with Kim to promote the mission and has brought first-hand accounts of the pleasure she’s brought to homesick soldiers. He says they’ve hugged and kissed the jugs and told him when they drink the milk with homemade cookies they can close their eyes and imagine they’re home again.
Those, her inbox jammed with e-mails, and the stacks of letters and messages keep Kim pushing forward. They help her when she misses her husband, when the worry about his safety crosses her mind, and when one subzero Minnesota day follows another.
“My joy for doing this is getting through this yuck winter. It helps me get through the deployment,” she said.
What helps her helps the soldiers, said Roy, who sees things from a different perspective. “It’s been … fun for me to give that gift on the other side,” he said.
GET INVOLVED
Kim Fuhrmann is looking for donations of any size to help her get half-gallon jugs of milk to U.S. soldiers in Iraq. About 1,700 Minnesotans, including her husband, Roy, are stationed there with the National Guard’s Red Bull Division.
To donate to Kim’s Milk Mission, send donations to Kim Fuhrmann, P.O. Box 2, Webster, MN, 55088.
Kim says she’s happy to accept postage, adding that $4.95 and $17.50 stamps can be purchased at the Post Office.
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