PROGRESS: Safety, peace and a slower pace

Just as Bernie and Raina Connors once made the choice to immerse themselves in the challenges that come from living in one of the most dangerous ZIP codes, they’ve now immersed themselves in the peace of mind and calm that comes from living in a quiet, small community like Fontanelle.

Bernie, Raina and their boys, Tres and AaronMatthew, moved to Fontanelle in 2023 after spending five years on the east side of metro Detroit. That was their second stint there and they lived in between in St. Paul, Minnesota, where Raina is from.

“We made the choie to move to metro Detroit and the inner city to minister to people,” Raina said. She and Bernie met at church in St. Paul and were married Aug. 18, 2011.

When they moved to the east side of Detroit, the Connors quickly saw a need for compassion and hope there that they knew they could provide. Tres was born about this time.

“It was a war zone,” Bernie described. “Detroit is so unique. On any city block — let’s say there’s 10 houses on each side of the street — six of them were vacant, didn’t have rooves or windows and two of them were crack houses. There was a drive-by shooting at the neighbor’s house and it hit our house. They fire-bombed the house across the street.”

There is two sides to every story, and living in the inner city had its benefits as well.

“You protected each other. On every corner there’s a party store, which is basically a liquor store or convenience store. You wouldn’t go to the party store three blocks over, we would go to our party store. We knew everyone in there and they knew us. We wouldn’t have any problem in that party store,” Bernie said. “Once you got to know them, everyone’s the same. I’m not a proponent of people being a victim of their circumstance but to survive there you had to adapt to the environment. I don’t know if there’s anyone in the country who knew they had a need for Jesus more than those people did.”

The Connors also have long-lasting relationships from Detroit they continue to cherish.

Raina had a high-risk pregnancy in 2014 with AaronMatthew, who was born with Down’s Syndrome.

“My life was the hospital life,” Raina remembers.

At 1 month old, AaronMatthew faced respiratory failure and had to battle through that. Raina’s faith remained strong as she remembered something she had once read, and he did survive. Medical professionals still aren’t sure how, and medical records covering that part of his treatment are now missing.

The Connors’ first experience in Michigan, from 2012-15, was equally as interesting. They settled in Melvindale, a place known for its density of Arab Americans. Similar to the life they would experience later in there second stint in that area, the Connors were able to develop deep relationships with people very different than them.

Raina recalls a time when Tres wanted to go play with kids nearby saw jumping on a trampoline. She said he could but not until she met their parents. She was wearing a long skirt and long-sleeved shirt that day and was welcomed right into their home where a wedding celebration was in full swing. She showed them photos of a trip she had taken to Israel, which established common ground between them.

“They asked me about my wedding and one girl asked me if I am a Christian, and I said yes,” Raina said. “They didn’t treat me any different or try to proselytize to me. They told me we’re not like any other Christians they had met — they felt safe.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Connors developed an interest in agriculture. They wanted raised chickens for eggs, maintained a large garden and bought locally-raised meat from small family farms. They didn’t look into local ordinances and built a chicken coop for their chickens, not aware that it was against city ordinance to raise chickens.

“We fell in love with that and I kept telling Bernie that I wish we had a place of our own to do this. The people would show us their acreage and that’s when we fell in love with the idea of moving away,” Raina said.

The Connors didn’t just throw a dart on a map to decide where to relocate to. They both have family living in the Midwest — a sibling of Bernie’s lives in Altoona and Raina’s family still lives in Minnesota — so Iowa seemed like a great landing spot. Bernie was working remotely for an insurance company, so he could live anywhere as long as high-speed internet was available.

In March of 2023 they put their Michigan home up for sale, before they made their choice of where to move to.

“We knew we were going,” they said.

They sampled homes in Sac City, Morning Sun and Keokuk, and they even put an offer in on one of these before pulling that offer out. They then discovered the home they eventually picked in Fontanelle that was for sale by owner. Raina said it was like a bride-to-be who knows the wedding dress she wants when she sees it. They then offered the asking price and got the home.

“The whole time, we talked to our realtors. I came in and said ‘this is it.’ We couldn’t wait to move in,” Raina said. “We knew this was where we were supposed to be.”

Since moving in, the Connors have become immersed in the local community in many ways.

Raina works as a lab assistant at Adair County Health System; Bernie retired from his company last November and helps on the farm they’ve developed called Heartland Hills Farms. They have about 150 egg birds, including hens and roosters, and a large garden. Bernie is on the Fontanelle City Council and enjoys playing Hucklebuck up at Rustic Tap, a local bar.

Tres attends Nodaway Valley, is involved in theater, loves video games and spending time with his friends.

AaronMatthew attends school at CAM. Whether at school or at home in Fontanelle, his parents say the other kids his age are very respectful and inclusive. They include him in anything he wants to join them in. He has taken a liking to basketball and Bernie and Raina were recently asked if he wants to join fifth grade band this fall.

“We have safety and we have peace; life has slowed down. There are more opportunities for our children there,” Raina said. “Surprisingly, it has been better for AaronMatthew because it’s a smaller group and more 1-on-1. The kids are so welcoming here. We can go to the park here in Fontanelle and the kids are teaching AaronMatthew how to play football. You’re not worrying about drive-by-shootings.”

Would the Connors make a decision like moving to Iowa from an urban area like Detroit or Melvindale again?

“We would not trade country life for city life again,” Raina said.