Heather is a resourceful woman.

She sells things from her front porch from time to time to help make her ends meet. She also does other various things to make money. This helps make up the difference between what she needs to live on and what her disability benefits provide. Each month for a few years now, Heather has been visiting Faith Presbyterian Church’s Personal Care Ministry. This gives her personal hygiene and toiletry items that allow her small budget to stretch a bit further.

Heather has some physical challenges with back pain, and about a year ago she needed help with getting her yard cleaned up. She reached out and thanks to your generous donations, she was able to receive that help.

​More recently, Heather has been attending Transformational Ministry Classes held at Tri County Baptist Church. She has been attending these classes virtually. Being a part of the class helps her have something to look forward to each week. More importantly, it helps her feel connected.

During a call placed by the Clearinghouse to check in regarding attending the class, Heather revealed she has been sleeping on the couch and might need a bed. She was referred to the Furniture and Appliance Ministry for a site visit. Site Visit volunteers met her at her home and verified her need for a bed, which was scheduled for delivery.

Because there was more frequent and meaningful contact with Heather through the Transformational Ministry Classes, her need for the bed came to our attention. She felt safe enough to dream and hope. She opened the door a little more for relationship. The aim is for Heather to know her worth, to feel her value. Your investment makes this possible. Thank you.

6 MONTH UPDATE ON HEATHER:

You met Heather through a Love Story previously.

She is on disability and barely makes ends meet each month. She has had a relationship with Love INC for many years.

One of Heather’s challenges was the cycle she ended up in with regard to payday loans. She was regularly taking a loan out – once or twice a month – to make her finances work. The loans became a web she could not get out of due to the interest and fees she would have to pay for each loan. This cycle put her further and further behind each month. You can imagine the despair she felt as the hole she was in became deeper and deeper.

​​Last year, Heather started attending life skills courses weekly at Love INC’s Transformational Ministry Program (T4M).  She has attended and graduated Boundaries, Putting Your Past In Its Place, and is on track for graduating Faith and Finances. One of the most beautiful aspects of T4M is the ability to have conversations with people that go deeper than the ones our volunteers are typically able to have. This is due to the frequency and length of contact T4M Volunteers are able to have with the class attendees. One of the T4M Volunteers was able to speak with Heather regarding the payday loans and explained how they have hurt her in the long run. She was pointed to Christ as the person who could fulfill her longings and needs.

Heather took the counsel to heart and has not taken a payday loan in months.  She has a spending plan and continues to adjust it as needed.  She has even set aside money for her property taxes and worked out a way to pay them quarterly so she isn’t tempted to use the property tax money for something else.

Heather is working hard to transform her life.  But recently her roof began to leak.  Her son came to visit and offered to fix her roof.  She called Love INC for advice on what to do.  She asked if she should tap into her property tax money to fix her roof. Generous donations made it possible for Love INC to purchase the supplies to fix her roof. This enabled her to keep the money she diligently set aside for her property taxes. These are the things that are literally transformational in Heather’s life. An event like that could have easily put her back into the spiral of the payday loans, or wiped out her savings. But that did not happen! Heather’s story was changed. This is IMPACT.

Would you like to show Love In the Name of Christ to your community? With your investment, whether it is of time, prayers or donations, Heather and others like her can experience transformation!