In May, we officially moved into our pastor’s camper (due to lease ending in the apartment). This freed us to start the cleaning, painting, and repair to get our security deposit back.
On moving day, members from our church came to watch the kids while others helped with moving furniture and completing repairs.
Willsie Avenue (the apartment where Evan and Charity lived) was very small and definitely had its issues but it was home and a blessing. Now God has a better place for us – the Halley house.
Living in the camper is interesting. When the weather is nice, the kids can ride their strider bikes around in the church parking lot and play in the pastor’s large front yard. But on rainy days, when they have to stay in the camper, they go crazy because the area is so small.
The Habitat crew are trying very hard to get us into the Halley house by the end of June. We are very excited! It will be like having Christmas when we unpack as some has been packed up since we left Ohio.
God has been good to us in how He has worked everything out. This year has been crazy – having a baby and recovering from a c-section, battles with health, moving to the camper and fixing up the apartment, etc. But He has been with us and given us strength.
“Fear not, for I (God) am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand! (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)
Soon, the Halley House will be ours and we will have space again. I want the kids to remember forever how God provided a way for us to purchase this house, how God answered our prayers, and how He still does miracles.
I’m really looking forward to having storage space for my Christmas things and the clothes for the kids to grow into. I found out that at the Builders Breakfast that a man heard our family’s story and God laid it on his heart for him and his construction crew to come finish our house. It is so neat how God is writing our story and how He brings others into it.
One day, the kids and I drove by the house and saw that the construction crew was there, working on it. We decided to stop by and say thank you. We went in and were introduced to the crew who was in the middle of doing trim and cabinets! The cabinets are beautiful and there are so many of them. There are more cabinets then I have ever had. I am so excited.
Eppy said “These are the cabinets that Jesus is giving us to put our own dishes in.”
We are so blessed.
The flooring looks beautiful and there are plenty of windows to let the sunshine in. Mama and papa brought a potted flower plant for me to have out front of our new home. Evan and I have had a lot of fun day-dreaming about how we will set up the family room downstairs, what we will put in the shed (Evan is very excited about the shed) and what kind of curtains we will get. God helped get our entire security deposit (from the apartment) and we can now buy a washer or dryer. It will be wonderful to have a washer and dryer in our own house instead of having to drive across town to do laundry.
We finished our home maintenance class. I’m glad we took it. We used what we have learned to fix up the apartment. Now we just have the banking class, which we are scheduled to take in July and the one-on-one class about closing.
Living in the camper with two toddlers and a baby has been interesting – thankfully, they can ride bikes in the parking lot, run around in the pastor’s front yard, and enjoy the jungle gym. But on rainy days, when they have to stay in the camper, its hard because they have so much energy and its such a small space. But God has reminded me of the Bible verse that says
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
He is giving me strength to make camper life work.
On Wednesday, we got the news – inspection is Friday, radon testing over the weekend, appraisal on Monday morning, cleaning that afternoon, and then we can start moving in! We are excited to finally move into the home God made for us. This week I’ve been busy with Habitat paperwork, calling utility companies, and planning for the move. Eppy asked me “Can we drive past the Halley house and see if the curtains are up yet?” We are almost done with hours and classes, and should finish up everything this month (July). We are getting family pictures soon for the dedication.
Friday came and I received sweat equity hours cleaning the Halley home. It was exciting to get hours to clean my own house. On Saturday, Evan worked on touch ups and more cleaning as the last part of his sweat equity. Monday afternoon, Evan and I signed papers. On July 14th, the Halley house became officially ours! What an answer to prayer.
That evening, we unloaded several car loads and spent our first night in our new home.
After living in a camper for almost 2 months, and living in a very small apartment before that, our home feels huge. I finally have a washer and dryer, and even have a dishwasher! We have a nice shed for the stroller, bikes, lawn mower, etc. Papa brought some tomato, cucumber, and pepper plants and a bucket of flowers so we have a bit of garden.
We are still moving in but are setting up a home.
Each kid has their own room and there’s so much space for them to play. They love the backyard. We are so blessed. God has done such a miracle. Now we are in the process of finishing up planning a dedication.
Meet the Letonek family at their home dedication:
Letonek Home Dedication
Thursday, August 28 at 1pm
629 Halley Avenue, Rapid City