I’d like you to meet the Cerda family. Some of you may already know them; seen their sons play football for Dixon you may have had one of their daughters seat you for breakfast or make pizzas for your weekend takeout. You might even have been gifted one of Makana’s soothing salves or candles infused with carefully selected herbs and all the purest love and intention a heart can hold.

If you haven’t had the pleasure, this part is for you. Makana and Randy met over a decade ago in Hawaii—her home, his duty station. They were both single parents, moving through the joys and hardships that come with those titles. They found friendship in each other and as they navigated their individual lives, that friendship blossomed into love. Soon, their newly blended family of 6 found themselves calling a new coast home…our coast. They settled into a lovely home at the end of a road where the forest meets their backdoor. As Randy continued his career in the Marine Corps, Makana began putting down roots. Quite literally actually. Swathes of ginger, a little grove of elderberry that likes to dance in the wind. Passion fruit, plumeria, roses, lavender, basil, gardenia, the list goes on and on. As her garden grew, so did their family. Their 6 soon became 7 and grew more as furry friends found their ways into their hearts and home. Between the magic of the garden outside and the warm lights and story-filled walls within, Makana had created a cozy safe haven where friends, family, and and pets found themselves inspired and loved. Even as Randy’s career moved them across the country, they held onto the home they had built here, knowing that one day they’d be back to rejoin our community and put down deeper roots, and they were right.

Since they’ve been back, Makana has finished school and gone back to work outside the home. Their oldests have graduated and started college, with the others not far behind, and Randy has retired from the military. Having older kids and career changes bring their own sets of strain, but add in the things we all experienced over the last few years like the pandemic and hurricane, and you find your path getting pretty bumpy. Life hasn’t been easy for most of us lately, and their family was no exception. But they bowed their heads, determined to weather the storms and work hard at getting to the other side of them in one piece.

Then one evening, last week, they came home to find their home in flames. Fire had moved quickly through a large portion of the house, and any corner that managed to escape burning was quickly filled with smoke. Almost 15 years of their lives were in that house. Evidence of Randy’s 20 year career, Makana’s diploma, the kids’ art projects, family photos, so much hard work, so many milestones and memories, gone. As heartbreaking as losing those things is, the worst part was the loss of their animals. Without a doubt, if they could’ve chosen, they would’ve traded every piece of material in that place for the lives of their pets. The few that survived, were the tiny little babies of a mama cat that the family had recently rescued.

Selfishly, I’m just so grateful that my friends are physically ok. But the road ahead will be long and undoubtedly painful as the reality continues to set in. Currently, the house has been declared uninhabitable. The insurance adjuster is recommending a complete gut/rebuild and given a timeline of about a year. The displacement coverage they will be provided is going to be a huge help, but until those funds become available there are immediate needs and this is where we’re asking for your help in any form that you can give. They have walked away with hardly more than the clothes they were wearing, so this fund will be going towards replacing everything from clothing to pots and pans, bedding, furniture, toothbrushes, groceries, shoes, all the needs you can name. And if there’s room, maybe there will be enough to find a couple wants for Christmas too.

We know life has been harsh lately, for our local area still recovering from Florence and for our country still reeling from the pandemic. The vast majority of us are trudging through, just putting on foot in front of the other. Knowing this makes it difficult to ask if there’s anything to spare, but if we’ve learned anything through the years in this community it’s that we somehow always manage to pull through together and for that we are hopeful and humbled. Please feel free to share this far and wide, and know that we are so very grateful for your help in whatever capacity you’re able to provide.