Hello! My name is Erica, more importantly I represent an amazing group of people from Frontline Bible Church in Byron Center MI. Please check out our profile information to learn more about our church.
This blog is designed to allow you to follow a HUGE project that we have began. We are calling this project Frontline Extreme Makeover: Home Edition because it is just that. A member of our church family is in need of a new home for her and her 3 young children. This family is the VanHetHekke family. The family is comprised of Missy VanHetHekke (mother) Shane VanHetHekke (age 10) Kimberly VanHetHekke (age 9) and Elijah VanHetHekke (age 1 1/2). Here is their story as told by Missy:
"My name is Missy and my husband's name is Dick, we have three beautiful children and live on a farm in Jamestown, MI. Our story began in 1995. I was at a dance with a friend and a guy I had met a few weeks earlier. We were dancing and I noticed a very handsome man on the floor (yes, the floor!) dancing the Alligator Dance. needless to say, I was smitten! We became best friends, dated, and on the 4th of July he proposed. We were married in March of 1998. We dreamed of having a big family, but after 3 years of trying and not succeeding, we had given up all hope. Without hope, we were extremely shocked when we were (literally) overnight parents. We were blessed with having a beautful baby girl enter our lives. Her name is Kimberly and she was nothing short of a miracle. After a heart wrenching, emotionally draining 2 year legal battle, her adoption was finalized. On Dick's birthday she legally became our girl. During the lengthy process of adopting Kimberly, we were approached about adopting a little boy named Shane. We met him, fell in love with him and within a month his adoption was rolling. So, after all of those years of hoping for children, we had 2! Our family was complete, or so we thought. We could not have been happier. Sometimes I think God must have a sense of humor, because after 10 years of marriage and 2 adoptions, he blessed us with a pregnancy! We were on top of the world. How could it get any better? With another baby!? We were contacted about adopting Shane's half brother. Really? Of course we would love to adopt him! That was not what God had in store for us though. The adoption fell through. In December (a day before my birthday) we found out that due to complications in our pregnancy, we needed to prepare for the fact that our unborn child did not have a good chance of surviving. We went on bed rest, but after only a week, we delivered a stillborn baby boy. He was absolutely perfect. We were shaken to the core. How could this happen? Burying my son (whom we named Anthony) was the hardest thing I had ever endured. I didn't know how to move on. Dick held me up emotionally and physically. He was my rock. After a few months we were excited to find out that we were again expecting! After an emotional pregnancy, a trying delivery and emergency c-section, we welcomed home our little miracle Elijah. We were over the moon! that changed suddenly on June 28, 2010 when I received a phone call that Dick had collapsed at work. I got there while they were still working on him and I knew instantly that he was gone. He was laid to rest with Anthony and I know that they are together in Heaven. That beautiful image helps me get through most days. Dick was the most loving and caring man I have ever known. He loved God, his family, and his country. He was a hard working man, who seldom complained of anything. He gave everything of himself with nothing expected in return. He touched many lives and was an example to many. I miss him everyday and pray that my children will know what a wonderful man their daddy was, and be able to live by his example."
The farm house that Missy and her family live in is not in good condition at all. The foundation is crumbling, there are loose stones with no cement or mortar around them, the roof leaks, and there is mold in places. Thos are just a few things that would need to be fixed on their home.
Our church and our community are working very hard together to get Missy and her family a new home! We are already part way through the beginning stages of this process! This is very exciting for us! We have had an amazing outpouring of support from the community! We are still looking for donations at this time but are rolling on signing a purchase agreement for a modular home! I hope to have a complete update for you tomorrow!
This is just the beginning! Stay tuned for the amazing things that God is doing in this familys life through our church and community!
In his name,
Erica
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