Water for Matthew & Krystle
Donation protected
Update: Total Court Costs have reached $40,000 and we have updated the goal to reflect that. However, Matthew and Krystle’s lawyers have agreed to reduce the price by $7,000 if they make the payment in full by the end of July. Please continue to pray that God would provide for this need!
At first glance, Matthew and Krystle seem like the average couple striving to live the American dream, working to provide for their family and create a happy home… but that’s when things get interesting. Several years ago, Matthew and Krystle felt convicted to be spread the love and grace of God by opening up their home to children in foster care. Matthew and Krystle had already adopted one child, and eventually, foster care led to the adoption of 5 more beautiful children in addition to their own wonderful 4 biological children. I wish I could tell you the stories of God’s grace and redemption and how He has used Matthew and Krystle’s willingness to open their home and their lives; God has used them in big ways not only in the lives of their children but also in the lives of people around them as they encourage others to love and sacrifice for those less fortunate than themselves. Matthew and Krystle did not make the decision to foster or adopt out of a place of abundance, in fact, they live as a single income household and follow a strict budget to make ends meet. Matthew has shared over the years on their Facebook page many of the steps they had to take to make foster care and adoption possible. One of those things was the concept of financial freedom as outlined by Dave Ramsey. Matthew and Krystle worked very hard to pay off any debt, live within their means, and sacrificed a lot of things that we view as “necessities” in order to be able to provide for their family.
In the summer of 2019, Matthew and Krystle had the opportunity to move locations which made it possible to save many hours of travel each week for work and the needs of the family. They viewed this as an incredible blessing and a direct answer to prayer. God provided in the sale of their old house and the purchase of a new home within their means that better met their needs. However, there was one problem they could not have foreseen.
The property on which their new home sits shares a well the neighbor and the well is located on the neighbor’s property; when the neighbor heard that Matthew and Krystle were moving in with their family of 12, he was quite displeased and installed a shutoff valve to Matthew and Krystle’s property that gives him the ability to shut off the water to Matthew and Krystle’s house at his discretion. Sadly, this happened to Matthew and Krystle’s family several times within the first few months that they lived in the house including a time when the whole household had the stomach flu. Can you imagine trying to raise a family of 10 children without running water?? Now try to imagine it when they all have the stomach flu?? The courts are taking care of all the legal proceedings and an emergency injunction has been put in place to temporarily prohibit this from happening again. However, this process has been dragging out for months and the legal fees are starting to pile. The legal fees have already amounted to over $10,000 and they haven’t even seen their day in court yet. It is anticipated that they will see over $15,000 in court fees before it is over.
So, how can you help?? First of all, Matthew and Krystle want you to know that they believe that God is good and sovereign and is working in this situation. We don’t fully understand why He is allowing this situation, but we believe He wants to use it so that others will come to know of His goodness and love for them in all situations. So whatever situation you are going through today, stop and take a moment to thank God for His goodness not only in your life but also for blessing Matthew and Krystle with the powerful knowledge that God is for them and working for their good. Secondly, pray!! Pray for God to resolve this situation swiftly and for reconciliation with the neighbor; that He would use it for good and that more people would come to know about His love because of it. Pray that more people would hear the Matthew and Krystle’s story and be willing to open their homes to foster care and adoption or support those who do. And finally, please consider giving financially to help ease the burden to the Matthew and Krystle’s family. Matthew and Krystle have only been able to pay the legal fees so far because of equity they had from their previous house; however, this money had been earmarked and set aside to build additional bedrooms for the children, so as a group of friends, we would like to be able to raise the money back for them so they can build these rooms for their kids.
On Behalf of the Matthew & Krystle and their Family,
Kathryn Arms and So MANY others who love and support them!!!
At first glance, Matthew and Krystle seem like the average couple striving to live the American dream, working to provide for their family and create a happy home… but that’s when things get interesting. Several years ago, Matthew and Krystle felt convicted to be spread the love and grace of God by opening up their home to children in foster care. Matthew and Krystle had already adopted one child, and eventually, foster care led to the adoption of 5 more beautiful children in addition to their own wonderful 4 biological children. I wish I could tell you the stories of God’s grace and redemption and how He has used Matthew and Krystle’s willingness to open their home and their lives; God has used them in big ways not only in the lives of their children but also in the lives of people around them as they encourage others to love and sacrifice for those less fortunate than themselves. Matthew and Krystle did not make the decision to foster or adopt out of a place of abundance, in fact, they live as a single income household and follow a strict budget to make ends meet. Matthew has shared over the years on their Facebook page many of the steps they had to take to make foster care and adoption possible. One of those things was the concept of financial freedom as outlined by Dave Ramsey. Matthew and Krystle worked very hard to pay off any debt, live within their means, and sacrificed a lot of things that we view as “necessities” in order to be able to provide for their family.
In the summer of 2019, Matthew and Krystle had the opportunity to move locations which made it possible to save many hours of travel each week for work and the needs of the family. They viewed this as an incredible blessing and a direct answer to prayer. God provided in the sale of their old house and the purchase of a new home within their means that better met their needs. However, there was one problem they could not have foreseen.
The property on which their new home sits shares a well the neighbor and the well is located on the neighbor’s property; when the neighbor heard that Matthew and Krystle were moving in with their family of 12, he was quite displeased and installed a shutoff valve to Matthew and Krystle’s property that gives him the ability to shut off the water to Matthew and Krystle’s house at his discretion. Sadly, this happened to Matthew and Krystle’s family several times within the first few months that they lived in the house including a time when the whole household had the stomach flu. Can you imagine trying to raise a family of 10 children without running water?? Now try to imagine it when they all have the stomach flu?? The courts are taking care of all the legal proceedings and an emergency injunction has been put in place to temporarily prohibit this from happening again. However, this process has been dragging out for months and the legal fees are starting to pile. The legal fees have already amounted to over $10,000 and they haven’t even seen their day in court yet. It is anticipated that they will see over $15,000 in court fees before it is over.
So, how can you help?? First of all, Matthew and Krystle want you to know that they believe that God is good and sovereign and is working in this situation. We don’t fully understand why He is allowing this situation, but we believe He wants to use it so that others will come to know of His goodness and love for them in all situations. So whatever situation you are going through today, stop and take a moment to thank God for His goodness not only in your life but also for blessing Matthew and Krystle with the powerful knowledge that God is for them and working for their good. Secondly, pray!! Pray for God to resolve this situation swiftly and for reconciliation with the neighbor; that He would use it for good and that more people would come to know about His love because of it. Pray that more people would hear the Matthew and Krystle’s story and be willing to open their homes to foster care and adoption or support those who do. And finally, please consider giving financially to help ease the burden to the Matthew and Krystle’s family. Matthew and Krystle have only been able to pay the legal fees so far because of equity they had from their previous house; however, this money had been earmarked and set aside to build additional bedrooms for the children, so as a group of friends, we would like to be able to raise the money back for them so they can build these rooms for their kids.
On Behalf of the Matthew & Krystle and their Family,
Kathryn Arms and So MANY others who love and support them!!!
Organiser and beneficiary
Kathryn Arms
Organiser
Rochester, MN
Matthew Gathje
Beneficiary