God had another idea

The fire destroyed our home on November 17, 2024,” Aleeshia Haskell said. “Only three years after we bought the place. That house was a catastrophe when we got it. We completely rebuilt it. We did the work. I did the plumbing, and my husband did the rest.”

After the fire, Aleeshia assumed she and her husband, Eugene, would rebuild the home themselves. “I am one that doesn’t ask for help,” Aleeshia said. “I’m not going to lower my pride. I’m a survivor.’”

But God had another idea.

Becky and David St. John heard about the fire. They drove past the site on their way to a family gathering on the same street. “We walked up the street to talk to them,” Dave said. “They were trying to clean up. We found out they didn’t have insurance.”

Becky remembered, “Aleeshia insisted, ‘We don’t need anything!’ But I was listening. I thought, she needs a dumpster!”

The next morning at Pleasant Ridge Dunkard Brethren Church, Becky asked for prayer for the Haskells. “After church, three or four people came up to me and offered money,” Becky said.

St. John’s organized a clean-up day. Aleeshia said, “That’s the hardest thing, accepting help. The Christian community at one time made me feel like I was garbage. I didn’t realize that people really cared.”

Becky said, “That day Aleeshia told me, ‘You people have given me hope.’”

“The relationship went on for about a month,” David St. John said. “Ladies dropped off food for Aleeshia and Eugene.”

Randy Short and his sons, with Short Construction, inspected the burned house that Haskells wanted to rebuild. “The more I looked at it, the worse it looked,” Randy said. “The floor joists were bad. One wall was completely gone.”

Shorts walked around the Haskells’ double lot and saw space for a new house. Jonathan Short said, “We need to build Haskells an MDS house.” For the Shorts, MDS leadership was a family tradition. “I’ve been involved in MDS since the mid-70s,” Randy said. “The house idea came from seeing the need and knowing it was possible. I knew there were plenty of churches to tap for labor.”

Dave St. John remembered, “On January 10, Randy Short came to me and said, ‘What do you think about building a house for Haskells?” I said, ‘Well Randy, that’s not one of my gifts, but if that’s what God put on your heart, then you need to do it, and I’ll help you.’”

Randy explained the hope of building a home to Eugene and showed him an MDS blueprint.

When Aleeshia returned from work, Eugene told her, “Randy wants to build us a house. They are not taking no for an answer. They have blueprints and everything.”

Aleeshia responded, “Well, did you tell them no?”

Convinced that God wanted to give the Haskells a home, Randy gently persisted. Again, he showed Haskells where the house would be built.

“We talked to Darin Bontrager and Rod Hager about this becoming a project of the Western Ohio Unit,” Randy said. “We got an MDS tool trailer. MDS cabinets arrived even before we started digging.”

“Randy would stop once or twice a week,” Aleeshia said. “They were always in communication. But I was still not believing it. Good things don’t happen to me. People don’t build people houses.”

Excitement built in the community. A concrete company donated concrete. A lumber yard reduced materials cost. Lakeview United Brethren Church and other area churches raised money.

Randy asked Jenni Stuckey to be office manager for the project. “Randy knew I had MDS office training,” Jenni said. “I felt honored that he asked me. I contacted Kent Roth, treasurer of Lockport Mennonite, and asked if he would run the project through the church books. Kent agreed right away with no hesitation.”

Jon Stuckey, volunteer, said, “Randy did a super job. He was there every day. He had the know how and the contacts. A lot of big donations from contractors came through Randy’s contacts. When Randy asked for donations, contractors trusted him.”

“But God gets all the credit,” Jon continued. “There is no way this could have been done without God. God has something for that family and that community. None of us knew them. It was just Dave and Becky who felt the need to talk to these people. I bet if I was Eugene and Aleeshia, I would have been very skeptical of these strangers who promised me a house.”

Volunteer Mike Stuckey agreed. “Randy was instrumental in making the initial connections, but it had to be God at work. It was truly amazing the amount of people, businesses, and trades that said they wanted to do a part. When people started hearing about it, they started volunteering and asking to furnish what they could.”

Mancave Ministries of Pettisville, Ohio, contributed 40-50 hours on the project. Elijah Norr of Mancave said, “I was glad to see people from different churches come together to advance Kingdom work through action. It was truly a tangible way to display the love of Christ.”

Incredibly, the Haskell’s home was completed in two and a half months. One of the people thrilled by what God did in Alvordton was the 87-year-old woman who prayed. “When I heard about the fire,” she said, “I started to pray for that situation. I just had the impression that God was going to make a big difference in that place.”

Patrick Eckenrode, friend of Aleeshia and Eugene said, “This couldn’t have happened to more deserving people. If they had two dollars and someone needed a dollar, they would give them a dollar fifty.”

Eugene Haskell said, “We never dreamed we would have a brand-new house. My wife loves it. I love it. It was built out of love.”

Aleeshia laughs, “I feel like the luckiest person in the world. God said, ‘This is going to happen for you. This is what I want to give you. Come, soak up some of this light and good stuff.’”

According to Randy Short sufficient donations remained after home construction to build a 24×24 workshop for the Haskells.

Elaine Maust is a writer, spiritual director and retired pastor.  A transplant from Mississippi, Elaine now lives with her husband, Duane, in Michigan’s Thumb.