Bryan did the math and the numbers just didn’t work. He and his wife, Amy, knew that God had called them to care for foster children. They were living into that call, and had adopted three of the kids who had lived in their home. In their minds this was the beginning of their mission but in many ways it felt more like the end.

The numbers weren’t adding up. Though they had plenty of room in their hearts, they didn’t have the money in the bank or the square feet in their house to host another child. They needed a bigger house to comply with legal requirements for another child and their financial situation made it impossible. They recognized they owned part of the problem – they had not yet learned to adjust to the financial ups and downs of being small business owners. The other part was the unexpected events of life – medical bills and a broken down van.

They persevered and came up with a financially creative idea to build a house and use the instant equity to lift the burden of their debt. As they shared this idea with their house church, people helped in unexpected ways.

With the help of their house church and others nearby they raised money, and lots of it: $25,000 to buy the land and another $20,000 to ease the burden of their debt while they built the house. They also found an army of people willing to help build. People came from everywhere. All kinds of people. People they had known for years, casual acquaintances, Bryan’s customers, family, friends. Even people they had never even seen before would show up each Saturday morning with tools, ready to help.

They broke ground on the house in October, then worked all winter, spring and summer, then moved in on July 4th.

The numbers worked out because their church family believed with their wallets, their talents and their willingness to help. The larger house has enabled them to continue caring for children. They have had 27 kids live with them, four of which they have adopted. They have even paid back most of the money that was raised for them.