Surviving and Thriving When There’s No Income

Peter spent nine years in the army as a black hawk helicopter mechanic.

Peter says, “If anything should go wrong in the air, that’s on me.  So, we make sure these aircrafts are good to go.”

His wife Sandra is extremely proud of Peter’s service. She says, “He had that bravery. He just knows that this is something that he’s called to do for his country.”

After he completed five tours, Peter decided to get out of the army and use his GI bill to go to college. But they learned it would take longer than expected for his school benefits to kick in, which meant no income for three months. At the same time, their van needed tires and the transmission needed repair. Their time in military housing was coming to an end.  They needed to move but didn’t have rent money. The couple started contacting homeless shelters.

Sandra remembers, “Panicking, frantic. I’m thinking, how are we going to support this family.  What is going to happen?     

Bethel Church knew about the family’s situation and contacted Helping the Home Front and asked CBN to step in. Pastor Lance Philips invited the couple to his home to share some big news.

Pastor Lance says, “CBN, in partnership with Bethel Community Church, is really stepping up to the plate. And we are going to give you the finances to be able to pay the first month’s rent and the last month’s rent. And, to be able to pay two more payments on top of that. How does that sound?”

Peter says, “that’s awesome”

Pastor Lance continues, “And it gets better. We know you have a vehicle situation. CBN, in partnership with Bethel, is going to step up and give you the finances to repair your vehicle. It even gets better.  On top of all of those great things, CBN is taking you to buy clothes for your children, whatever you need for your two kids in the way of clothes, shoes. That’s happening today."

Their church and CBN paid for rent while the family waited for Peter’s school benefits to kick in.  We took them to Sears Automotive to replace the tires and get the transmission fixed.  When Sears heard about Helping the Home Front, they kicked in a big discount. Then it was off to a shopping spree to buy clothes for the kids.

Sandra concludes, “What you guys have done has really fulfilled a lot of our dreams and goals. And I feel like we can now go forward and give to others as well.”