This house has been good to us...

and the ministry!

Josh and I first felt God tugging on our hearts as my Great Aunt Rosemary told us about the house.
Honestly, we didn't want to live that far out.
So we tried finding our own home--there were 3 houses that we loved over the course of finding a suitable home but every time we were just behind someone else. Someone had already beat us to the homes we liked.
Once again, Great Aunt Rose told us about the house and the ministry again.
This time we thought we could take a look at it.

As we walked in the doors, we liked that it had the 2 stall attached garage. bonus! Walked into the kitchen, it was a great size but painted brightly blue. We walked throughout the 4 bedroom, 1.5 bath house. It was ok. Yes, just okay. It wasn't what I had in mind when I asked God to show us the right house, but this was it.

The New Hope House is a ministry helping families begin a financial adventure by going to financial meetings through Love Inc., having financial mentors, and by preparing for a home.

Whether you've owned a home, or not, this ministry is fantastic.

Not only have we learned what it means to be givers for Christ financially, we have been blessed now buying a home.

New Hope House works by using the donated land/home to allow a family to live there. They figure out 30% of your income and that becomes your "rent" or your "house payment". However, after finishing the program, you get ALL of your money back for a down payment on a home. Any home. Yes, ALL the money you put in goes towards your down payment.

Sadly, before we came the house stood empty for almost 4 years. Isn't that CRAZY? 4 years. Maybe it's because people didn't want to give up their pets (dogs, cats, etc) or a bad habit (smoking) but this program is totally worth it.

We are packing up and moving---our 2 years have gone by and it's time for us to move on. Starting on October 1, this house will be up and looking for a new family to help.

Is this house perfect? no. Is there projects to be done? yes. Best part--there are people on the board to help with the things that come up.

If you know someone who may be interested please have them contact us at: jevanmalsen AT hotmail.com
The home is located in Allendale, Mi between all major cities. The school districts are fantastic here (I am a substitute teacher)!