Yesterday, Chris and two of her boys went down to see the new trailer… It won’t be long before we can tow it “home.”
Every year, we’re challenged to explain the true meaning of Easter to people with their backs up against the wall, to people who sense little hope.
Thank you to everyone who gave a better trailer to this homeless mother and her family. Hope dawns.
We’re thankful to announce that the compassionate gifts of many people made it possible to buy this beautiful 31′ X 8′ trailer for Chris, her four children, and dad. It’s bright, cheerful, and has enough space for everyone to have their own bed!
In case you missed it, Chris is giving her old trailer to a man who has been homeless and sleeping in the woods for three years.
We’ve learned that compassion is a miracle that gives hope to people every day.
Today is Palm Sunday. Christ said, “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.” John 14:11, NIV
Our thanks again to those who gave of themselves through monetary gifts, prayer, and encouragement to make this happen. And here’s a plug for Fife RV and Mike, our salesperson, who made it possible! http://www.fifervcenter.com/
Chris nearly had a fire in her trailer this week. It was her daughter’s turn to sleep on the floor and her stuffed bunny got too close to the heater. Its ears and face were singed off while everyone slept!
Two of them cram on a tiny sofa, one sleeps in a hammock, two sleep on the floor, and grandpa needs to sleep on the only bed. We are thankful they didn’t have a fire– all at the same time, their situation is more urgent.
Guess what Chris is going to do with her old trailer? She’s giving it to a homeless man. It’s the perfect size for one person and he already has a safe place to park it!
Please help us! Have questions? Email Ann: amsnowberger@gmail.com
Thank you!
Ivan, Ann, Hannah, and Isaiah
Since our last post, an anonymous donor’s matching gift turned $1,850 into $3,700!
We have reached nearly at 29% of our goal! Will you consider making a donation to improve the quality of life for this homeless family?
We still have $6,150 in matching funds available! Your donation will be doubled up to 6150! Imagine! Please help give this mother and her children a healthier living sithuation!
Ivan, Ann, Hannah, and Isaiah
Your donation matched up to $8,OOO! An anonymous donor will match your donation up to $8,OOO!
This means whatever you give toward helping this homeless family will be doubled. $10 turns into $20! $25 turns into $50! $50 turns into $100! Whatever you give will be multiplied times 2!
This matching grant is an incredible opportunity to increase the financial impact of your gift… and more… it speaks to the unfurling character of compassion: love is not who we are on our own, it creates the heart of who we are together.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. I would rather make mistakes in kindness and compassion than work miracles in unkindness and hardness.” ― Mother Teresa
“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Please consider helping Chris and her children.
Thank you!
Ivan, Ann, Hannah, and Isaiah
Raised $3,313.00 toward helping this family have better living conditions!
Simple kindnesses are never wasted: an encouraging word, a door held open, a stranger’s smile, a cup of water; modest gifts of mercy fall like seeds of hope into the dark places. Watered together with compassion, they sprout life.
Fact: a tender shoot can push its way up through rock.
More is going on here than fundraising for better living conditions. With each gift, a mother and her children are being told that they matter. They are being gifted with language to help them imagine beyond the asphalt of dire circumstance that is paved above their heads. Their hearts are being strengthened to press on for one more day.
Fact: hope is propelling them into the sun.
Will you please consider strengthening their hope with a monetary gift? Or will you please consider watering the selfless gifts of others with prayers of compassion? Or will you please consider sharing our efforts with your family and friends?
For those of you who have already blessed this family with gifts, or with faith’s watery way, or by sharing their story with others, we extend our deepest gratitude. Thank you. Ann, Ivan, Hannah, and Isaiah.
$1700 Raised!
It’s true. Amazing things happen. In 9 days, 9 people raised $1700. ROCK ON! We are celebrating! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Our family chose to live in a 429 sqft RV. We joke that each of one of us gets 100 sqft and the dog gets 29. The important point, all joking aside, is that we chose to minimize our life-style.
Recently, we met a family of 6 who did not choose to live in a trailer, but it’s their only option. A generous estimate of their living space is 84 sqft (about 14 sqft per person). They’re making the best of it, they’re gracious, and their only concern has nothing to do with personal comfort. Mom worries about safety.
We started a fundraising campaign to gift this family with a bigger RV- one that has a private toilet, a shower, and where no one has to sleep in the aisle.
Life is messy, but we give hope when we help each other. Please consider giving hope to this family!
In faith and life,
Ann, Ivan, Hannah, and Isaiah
We’ve experienced many changes from living in a house to living in an RV, but nothing tests one’s metal like preparing a holiday meal.
The first issue is scale. Our mini-kitchen has a mini stove, mini oven, and mini convection/microwave. We have next to nothing prep, stovetop, and cooking space. Worse, we discovered that our oven doesn’t maintain a consistent temperature. Hello. So, in addition to getting creative and organized about space, we had to think differently about cooking, baking, and roasting.
The next issue is scale. We used to hand raise our holiday turkey. We bought our chicks in the spring, raised them through the summer, and harvested them in November.
They ran all over the ranch and got fat on bugs- especially grasshoppers.
Inevitably, we grew some very big birds. They ranged from 35-55 pounds. Our record turkey was 64 pounds-dressed! We had to use a commercial oven to roast it.
This year, we bought a 10-lb turkey. Ivan cut it up into pieces, seared the meat, crammed it into a pressure cooker with an onion, tossed in some seasoning, and cooked the whole thing in less than an hour. My eyes twitched the whole time, but it turned out GREAT!
The next issue is scale. The stove top has three burners, but two pots barely fit on it simultaneously (Never three! Forgetaboutit!). I made stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, and caramel sauce in multiple stages (two food items at a time), by sliding pots back and forth over the burners. I used the microwave to make green beans.
We broke all the rules… we even used ready-made pie crusts and disposable pie pans.
The next issue is scale. Limited refrigerator space precluded us from making food ahead of time.
Our meal turned out great… but we had to be strategic to overcome limited counter, cooking, and storage space.
Urban Drench: Our move from Big Sky to Big City.
Urban Drench 