How I Met Raymond Amspaugh...

My name is Justin Titus and I live between Rushsylvania and West Mansfield Ohio with my wife and 2 daughters. On my 15 mile drive to work, I have always passed a trailer that is in poor shape but noticed that someone does live there. Never having any inclination to find out who, I have always driven curiously by wondering if they may need anything but not enough to pursue it. I will later find out this is the residence of Raymond Amspaugh who really could use some financial and physical help due to an act of nature which I will discuss later.

The past year has been pretty good to our family even though we have had many obscure, random things pop up out of nowhere to damage our savings. We have tried to pay it forward, not at a rate that heavily impacts our emergency savings. The amount of those around us that we know need help has lessened, and I began to pray in my morning prayer for God to put those in need in front of me. Also to make me aware enough to realize who put them in front of me, as well as, ways we can help them. In comes the light nudge…….the trailer I pass on the way to work. How to help or what to do? I have no idea.

A couple of weeks go by with no action from me until the morning after a very rough night of sleep due to really stormy weather. I normally sleep like a rock, but not this night! It sounded like the house was being ripped off the foundation because of the intense wind, and I feared becoming Dorothy (think Wizard of Oz) if it got any stronger! When it is bad like that my wife and oldest daughter always end up downstairs. I was able to speak with my wife before I left for work. She confirmed the severity of the wind but I did not have time to survey the damage around our house because I woke up a little later than desired for work (as usual!). So I kissed her and asked her to let me know if she notices anything damaged outside and I head out. I get down to the end of County Road 20 where it meets State Route 292, and glancing to the right I immediately noticed the trailer I see every day is severely damaged. As I proceeded by (rubber-necking the damage), I could see the sides were damaged, and the entire roof was peeled off!

The first thing I thought was is he ok? I assumed no one was there because the primary vehicle was gone, so I proceeded to start a prayer again asking if I am to reach out to the owner to offer help. Within seconds of starting to pray about it, I got the chills, was covered with goosebumps, and even had shortness of breath! I had never experienced a feeling from the spirit that strong. I have felt nudges for years and small pushes one way or another, but never this severe. I almost had to stop the car! Question answered immediately…..I must find the courage to get involved with this person. I came up with all kinds of reasons why Jesus may want me to enter this person’s life from helping them, to bringing them to him. I immediately shifted from "if I should" to "I have to stop and meet this person".

Now I felt that I had the courage to stop, and decided I would after work that day no matter what! I left work around 4:00 and started home. I had been struggling with what to say and how to say it all afternoon, as well as coming up with a few excuses of why I maybe didn't need to stop. Each time I had those thoughts I reminded myself of the feeling I had that morning when I prayed and brought me back on track. I am outside of East Liberty giving myself a pep talk as I drive down 292 and one of my favorite songs comes on the radio. It was Casting Crowns "Start Right Here". Just that final nudge of reassurance I needed. As I approached the trailer I could see the primary vehicle was not there again but I decided to stop anyway. I felt really nervous about walking up after I got out of the car, but I made it to the small porch at the back of the trailer and walked up to knock on the door. I did several times but was almost certain no one was there because the door had a keyed padlock on the outside. I went back to the car and headed home confident I could continue to pursue what God had put on my heart.

Long story short, my wife had seen the primary vehicle that is normally at the trailer parked at a house on Main Street in Bellefontaine several times. I had to go to town the following night and pick up some things at Lowe's. I decided I was going to force myself to have the courage to stop at another random house if that vehicle was there. I leave Lowe's and God comes through again by basically making it impossible not to stop! The blue truck that is always at the trailer was pulling in as I approached the house and only had one person in it. This had to be the owner of the trailer. I pulled in behind him, which I think might have creeped him out a little, but I quickly explained who I was and my intentions. We had a nice ten-minute conversation about his trailer, my trying to help him, as well as his temporary living situation. Success! Connection made!! He gave me his name, phone number, and thanked me several times for offering to help.

The next time I saw him was the following Sunday as I was approaching his trailer and noticed he was there. This was perfect because we had been playing phone tag and there was some info I needed, as well as wanting to know him a little better. I also wanted to gain an understanding of his needs, and take a few pictures of his damaged home. I learned a lot about him over the next hour, but mainly I learned that given his kind demeanor, positive attitude, and thankful heart I had no reason to be nervous the first time I stopped. Raymond is a 68-year-old man who is on permanent disability due to back issues and loss of sight in his left eye. He is currently living with his daughter in Bellefontaine because of the destruction to his trailer, but their living situation is very tight. He had purchased and set this trailer on his property in 1999 after he had to sell the house attached to the property due to a divorce from his wife. The money he had left from the sale of the house purchased this trailer. He intended that it would last him the rest of his days but as you can see it didn't outlast him. Then he tells me the biggest surprise of all.....he used to attend Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Bellefontaine, which is my church!!

We came up with a plan of attack which started with having the existing trailer removed and the property cleaned up. I have a few connections with people who could help get it moved but we may still need some dumpsters and have some cost involved with that (~$1000). As far as debris cleanup, I reached out to our church, and Pastor Eric Cook responded almost immediately to ask how they could help. So I am thinking with the church’s help we can easily cover the cleanup. Next, what to do about a place to live? Raymond told me his thoughts about a cabin, and I agreed that it is a great idea! He was interested in a small (300 sq ft) prebuilt cabin to purchase. He explained to me that they can finance them, and he thinks he can afford a small monthly payment. He stressed that it would have to be a small amount because his only income is his disability check, which is $900 a month. After pricing small cabins, something similar to what he is talking about costs about $7,000 and comes with the exterior finished, but nothing on the inside except a loft. With that being said I know several people that can help install electricity and plumbing for a shower and a toilet. We would just need money for materials, fixtures, and appliances. My estimate leads me to believe we could put in a small bath, kitchen sink, a few cupboards, and necessary appliances for roughly $3,000 which would be a total of approximately $11,000. My experience with remodeling and home repairs is that you always add at least 10% to cover the odds and ends, which is how I got to the total of $12,500 we are hoping to raise.

This is the place where God puts on your heart whether you are supposed to help Raymond or if He has other intentions for your money. Please understand it is not based on myself, Raymond, or anyone else. If He makes you feel that you should chip into this cause then I ask that you do. And if you’re being called to donate your time or in a different way, please do reach out to me! I thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope we can all do our part to make this a better place to live until it is time to move on to the promised land! Much Love and God Bless!!!