On the morning of Saturday, July 18th, lightning struck the Bylkas home resulting in a house fire.  The lightning struck the roof just a few feet above their daughter, Lydia’s, bedroom.  The strike was so close that Lydia suffered temporary hearing loss, which was restored within about an hour.  The fire was largely confined to the attic, but the whole house suffered significant smoke and water damage.  The preliminary estimate is that the entire house will have to be gutted and redone.  This will be a challenge, since most of the contractors in our area are already overloaded with work.  In the meantime, they will likely be out of their home at least a several months.  There is some insurance on the house and the contents, but they still do not know the full extent of the damage and how long temporary housing will be needed.  They are thankful to God that none of their family suffered bodily harm. They are also thankful for the firefighters and first responders who extinguished the fire and for the many friends and family members who have been so generous to them during this difficult time.  If you would like to send cards of encouragement please send them to 23898 Forsman Rd., Hancock, MI 49930. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. God Bless you. UPDATE: We have been overwhelmed with the support of our community as well as from a far.  We appreciate the many family and friends who have expressed their concern by praying for us, offering housing, helping us with cleaning, packing household items for storage, bringing meals, etc.  Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for the many financial gifts that have come to us directly and in response to the GoFundMe campaign.  The love shown to our family has been quite overwhelming.  Thanks to everyone who has blessed us with your gifts.  God bless you for your kindness. We are currently living in a home in Houghton as, while we await news from several contractors concerning the rebuilding of the family home in Hancock.  While there is considerable work left to do, we are grateful to God for His care for us.  We are physically well, we have a house to live in and many family, friends and community members that care for us.  God bless you all!

Anonymous

James Kurtti

Jayne Somero

Kristina  Aho

Stephen  Raasio

mark makkonen

Jeffrey  Forsman 

Jill Karkkainen

Eric & Lyn Sauvola

Duffy & Russ Lepisto

Melinda Nyblom

Cindy  Kela

Jeff and Karen Ebsch

Fundraiser for the Bylkas Family

Fundraiser for the Bylkas Family

Still $3,005 to go. Help us build momentum.