- D
Help Ed and Linda Keep Their Home!
0% complete
$11,372 raised of $50K
54 donations
Help Ed and Linda Cox Keep Their Home!
Ed and Linda Cox worked for more than thirty years as missionaries with the Navigators, an international organization, in Croatia, Austria, Russia, England, and Bulgaria. Together they’ve raised three wonderful sons and have helped and guided innumerable people. They are kind, generous, open-hearted people, and they are now in danger of losing their home in rural Indiana. Please read and share their story! Any support you can give is tremendously appreciated.
Linda washing dishes during construction:
Ed is now 67 and Linda is 65. They may be retirement age, but they’re the hardest-working people we know. Linda runs her own small business selling organic grain and kitchenware and teaches popular classes on traditional methods of baking and fermenting food. Ed teaches literacy classes at several prisons in Indiana and is still actively involved with charitable work in Bulgaria, where he serves on the boards of several charities and organizes a summer English school for Bulgarian children.
After years of selfless dedication to others, Ed and Linda bought the small farm Linda grew up on in rural Indiana. The farm had been neglected for years, and they poured months of work into it—clearing out the abandoned house on the property, building a new pole barn, removing brush and clearing land for a large garden and for animal pasture. Their sons and other relatives were occasionally able to help, but they did the majority of this hard physical work themselves.
In 2014, they were finally able to sell their house in North Canton, Ohio, and to put that money toward building their dream house on their family’s land. It’s not a fancy house, but it’s exactly what they want, with a larger kitchen where Linda can teach her classes, a “fruit room” where they store the canned, dehydrated, and fermented food she preserves, and a workable shop for Ed. They want their house to become a place of refuge and relaxation for travelers—including other former missionaries, friends, and visitors from other countries—where Linda can offer home-grown, nutritious food to visitors in addition to her work teaching classes on nutrition.
Linda with the cows on the farm:
But Ed and Linda suffered a run of horrible luck during building, including cost overruns, a tree crushing the roof of their pole barn during a rainstorm, construction equipment malfunctions, and more. They lived in a moldy reconditioned FEMA trailer for more than 15 months as the new house was built, with all their belongings in storage in two small barns—one of them the pole barn damaged by the falling tree. They hoped to be in their new house by Christmas 2014. Instead, they will barely have finished moving in by Christmas 2015. Ed has had persistent lung problems, even leading to a cancer scare in spring 2015, that were worsened by living for so long in the FEMA trailer.
The tree that smashed the pole barn:
They’ve had to take out a $100,000 bank loan, and don’t have the money to repay it. They are working with a financial counselor to try to manage this unexpected debt, but are very worried that they may have to sell their home.
Their home under construction:
We are Linda and Ed’s son Alex and his partner Kate. We want to help Ed and Linda so that they can keep their home! We wish we had the financial wherewithal to pay off their loan directly, but we don’t. So we’re reaching out to our friends and family, asking you to share their story with your networks and give if you can. We’ve set the goal for this campaign at $50,000 — we know times are hard for everyone, but anything we can do to help Ed and Linda raise funds to pay down their debt will be such a huge help for them and their whole family.
Thank you so much for reading Ed and Linda’s story!
Ed at an orphanage in Bulgaria:
See below for testimonials from those touched by Linda and Ed's work and friendship over the years:
From Hilary: Linda has had an immeasurable effect on my life. I first met Linda six years ago when I joined a Bible study that she was leading. She recognized in me a passion for theology that I was just beginning to discover. Over the next few years, she cultivated that passion as we studied the Bible together. She continues to encourage me as I myself am now leading women in the same instruction that she gave me.
A little over a year ago, Ed and Linda had a garage sale as they were preparing to move. After discovering that Linda and I have a shoe size in common in addition to our shared passion for the Lord, I bought three or four pairs of her shoes. Each time I wear her shoes, I am reminded of the woman in whose footsteps I follow and I pray that I can walk worthy of my calling in Christ Jesus (Eph 4:1) as she has been my example.
From Walt & Sue Gawron: Although it is difficult to remember exactly how we met (with the whirlwind of people gathering on Sunday mornings at The Chapel), it is not difficult to remember the impact of Ed Cox has had on my life.
Ed, in his ever-so-quiet manner, invited me and several other me to meet on Saturday mornings to discuss a book he suggested. I didn't know what to expect, but am very thankful for attending.
There are what I fondly refer to as "speaker-teachers" and then there are "listener-teachers", Ed of course being the latter. It didn't make much difference because the rest of us were talkers and we blended well immediately. Of course we discovered that if we came to the study we could always expect to be treated to delicious and healthy morning delicacies made by Linda.
However, what I personally learned from Ed in our journey through the book was of his heart for teaching/mentoring men, and his passion for spreading the Word of God. His and Linda's work in Bulgaria was impressive and the stories of their time living there for Navigators very enjoyable. That small study offered me a view into what it truly means to be a missionary for Christ's work, whether in another country or in your own community.
I thank God for you, Linda and Ed, and your commitment to His work. God bless you.
From Anna: Ed and Linda are truly some of the most selfless people in my life. They were and are always available for me, to council, encourage, and teach Biblical truths, during this past year- the most difficult, but also the most maturing of my faith journey. I'm not the same person, just because they took under their wing, a quivering heap of a shell, and led me back on path. They are prayer warriors and I'm so thankful Jesus brought them into my life!
Ed and Linda Cox worked for more than thirty years as missionaries with the Navigators, an international organization, in Croatia, Austria, Russia, England, and Bulgaria. Together they’ve raised three wonderful sons and have helped and guided innumerable people. They are kind, generous, open-hearted people, and they are now in danger of losing their home in rural Indiana. Please read and share their story! Any support you can give is tremendously appreciated.
Linda washing dishes during construction:
Ed is now 67 and Linda is 65. They may be retirement age, but they’re the hardest-working people we know. Linda runs her own small business selling organic grain and kitchenware and teaches popular classes on traditional methods of baking and fermenting food. Ed teaches literacy classes at several prisons in Indiana and is still actively involved with charitable work in Bulgaria, where he serves on the boards of several charities and organizes a summer English school for Bulgarian children.
After years of selfless dedication to others, Ed and Linda bought the small farm Linda grew up on in rural Indiana. The farm had been neglected for years, and they poured months of work into it—clearing out the abandoned house on the property, building a new pole barn, removing brush and clearing land for a large garden and for animal pasture. Their sons and other relatives were occasionally able to help, but they did the majority of this hard physical work themselves.
In 2014, they were finally able to sell their house in North Canton, Ohio, and to put that money toward building their dream house on their family’s land. It’s not a fancy house, but it’s exactly what they want, with a larger kitchen where Linda can teach her classes, a “fruit room” where they store the canned, dehydrated, and fermented food she preserves, and a workable shop for Ed. They want their house to become a place of refuge and relaxation for travelers—including other former missionaries, friends, and visitors from other countries—where Linda can offer home-grown, nutritious food to visitors in addition to her work teaching classes on nutrition.
Linda with the cows on the farm:
But Ed and Linda suffered a run of horrible luck during building, including cost overruns, a tree crushing the roof of their pole barn during a rainstorm, construction equipment malfunctions, and more. They lived in a moldy reconditioned FEMA trailer for more than 15 months as the new house was built, with all their belongings in storage in two small barns—one of them the pole barn damaged by the falling tree. They hoped to be in their new house by Christmas 2014. Instead, they will barely have finished moving in by Christmas 2015. Ed has had persistent lung problems, even leading to a cancer scare in spring 2015, that were worsened by living for so long in the FEMA trailer.
The tree that smashed the pole barn:
They’ve had to take out a $100,000 bank loan, and don’t have the money to repay it. They are working with a financial counselor to try to manage this unexpected debt, but are very worried that they may have to sell their home.
Their home under construction:
We are Linda and Ed’s son Alex and his partner Kate. We want to help Ed and Linda so that they can keep their home! We wish we had the financial wherewithal to pay off their loan directly, but we don’t. So we’re reaching out to our friends and family, asking you to share their story with your networks and give if you can. We’ve set the goal for this campaign at $50,000 — we know times are hard for everyone, but anything we can do to help Ed and Linda raise funds to pay down their debt will be such a huge help for them and their whole family.
Thank you so much for reading Ed and Linda’s story!
Ed at an orphanage in Bulgaria:
See below for testimonials from those touched by Linda and Ed's work and friendship over the years:
From Hilary: Linda has had an immeasurable effect on my life. I first met Linda six years ago when I joined a Bible study that she was leading. She recognized in me a passion for theology that I was just beginning to discover. Over the next few years, she cultivated that passion as we studied the Bible together. She continues to encourage me as I myself am now leading women in the same instruction that she gave me.
A little over a year ago, Ed and Linda had a garage sale as they were preparing to move. After discovering that Linda and I have a shoe size in common in addition to our shared passion for the Lord, I bought three or four pairs of her shoes. Each time I wear her shoes, I am reminded of the woman in whose footsteps I follow and I pray that I can walk worthy of my calling in Christ Jesus (Eph 4:1) as she has been my example.
From Walt & Sue Gawron: Although it is difficult to remember exactly how we met (with the whirlwind of people gathering on Sunday mornings at The Chapel), it is not difficult to remember the impact of Ed Cox has had on my life.
Ed, in his ever-so-quiet manner, invited me and several other me to meet on Saturday mornings to discuss a book he suggested. I didn't know what to expect, but am very thankful for attending.
There are what I fondly refer to as "speaker-teachers" and then there are "listener-teachers", Ed of course being the latter. It didn't make much difference because the rest of us were talkers and we blended well immediately. Of course we discovered that if we came to the study we could always expect to be treated to delicious and healthy morning delicacies made by Linda.
However, what I personally learned from Ed in our journey through the book was of his heart for teaching/mentoring men, and his passion for spreading the Word of God. His and Linda's work in Bulgaria was impressive and the stories of their time living there for Navigators very enjoyable. That small study offered me a view into what it truly means to be a missionary for Christ's work, whether in another country or in your own community.
I thank God for you, Linda and Ed, and your commitment to His work. God bless you.
From Anna: Ed and Linda are truly some of the most selfless people in my life. They were and are always available for me, to council, encourage, and teach Biblical truths, during this past year- the most difficult, but also the most maturing of my faith journey. I'm not the same person, just because they took under their wing, a quivering heap of a shell, and led me back on path. They are prayer warriors and I'm so thankful Jesus brought them into my life!
Organizer and beneficiary
Edward Cox
Beneficiary