Help for Harvey and Kathy

This Father’s Day our family asks for your help. As many of you know, my dad’s health has declined pretty rapidly over these past couple years. From cancer to loosing a kidney, and too many other things to list, these last few years have really taken their toll. He is taking over twenty pills a day, many of which have adverse affects, making every day a struggle. On top of all of this, his inability to work has intensified the struggle to maintain their quality of life. Compounding all of this is their living situation.

Before I paint this as all doom and gloom, let me say just how much God has blessed our family by allowing us to all live together over the past few years. God has truly given our family a heart and a vision for multigenerational living, for his glory, and blessed us all so much through it. As we took the leap of faith and moved from our home in Kentucky (with an in-law suite) to our farm in Indiana, we knew it would be a challenge to build my parents living quarters on the property, but we knew this was where God was leading our family— to this community, to our church, to this simple, grounded life. However, we were not prepared for the realities building in 2022. We had one plan after another fail. Door after door shut, as we tried to find a solution for their living situation.

Over the last year they have lived in a compact camper on the property. While it has been a blessing to have, it has been very challenging for full-time living, while dealing with a mountain of health issues. They lack proper storage, a fully functioning kitchen and many of the basic things that make life with illness bearable. Harvey has passed out twice in the camper in the last 24 hours and gotten stuck both times. Kathy had to drag him out of the bathroom by his feet, because I was gone for the day and there wasn’t enough room for him to move. It is a tight space and he is a big guy. My dad will be spending father’s day in the hospital this year and unfortunately, these falls and hospital trips are getting more and more common.

This is not what we want for my parents. We want them to have what they need to thrive and enjoy the fruits of faithful lives with joy and dignity. We have a plan to convert an existing structure on the property into a lovely little cottage for my them. A place that they can live out the rest of their lives in comfort, surrounded by their grandchildren.

While we have a plan, we do not have the means to make it happen right away. We are still about six months to a year from being able to complete this project. In that time, they will have to occupy the camper through a blazing summer and possibly another freezing winter. It just isn’t working anymore and we don’t know what to do. The camper was alway meant to be temporary and it has proven, on many levels, to be a very poor long-term solution. They need help. Harvey can’t be healthy in there anymore. He needs more. He needs a kitchen. He needs a medicine cabinet. He needs a real bed. He needs room for a chair to sit in. He needs a space that brings him up, not keeps him down. I love my dad so much and I don’t know how long I’ll have him. I can’t bear the thought of him spending any of his last years in a camper.

I know my parents mean so much to so many of you. I ask for your help, as you feel led and your means allow. Let’s do this!

Much love,

Ben, Ashley, Hobbes, Wren, Indy & June