<![CDATA[Leavener - The Burke House Project]]>Fri, 19 Apr 2024 18:51:57 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[New Look on the Outside]]>Fri, 05 Jun 2015 19:44:50 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/new-look-on-the-outside
The Burke House looks totally different now that the siding has been installed on the outside. Check out these pictures to the right. 

Building inspection was also approved this week. We are ready for insulation and drywall installation. This is a substantial cost and we are waiting for more funds to complete this stage.

The other item I want to share with you is this video Ralph sent me from his wife, Belinda. In this video you see the sincerity of a family who is truly grateful for the support they have received and continue to trust the Lord through the end of this process.
]]><![CDATA[Dinner with the Burkes]]>Sat, 25 Apr 2015 13:24:57 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/dinner-with-the-burkes
This week, I finally got to meet Ralph's family. We had the Burke Family over for burgers and it was a fun night. Ralph, Belinda, Lizzy & Noah came to our house and we had a great time getting to know their family. We discovered that Ralph & I like the same dessert... razzleberry pie (a la mode of course)!!! Michelle and Belinda clicked like long-time friends. Lizzy likes to pretend living in their finished house and Noah likes a good burger! It is good to know the Burke Family. They encouraged me!

We talked about the completion of their home and trust that it is in the Lord's hands. We will be patient with progress and funding of materials. The Burkes have been living with their parents for 2 years now but they are also excited about what God is doing in their midst with this house. This house is already a personal testament of God's faithfulness for them. It is exciting to hear Ralph talk about surrendering his own abilities to finish this house and the Lord intervening in the process.
Progress on the house: First of all, let me thank John Getchell for being the lead on this project. What a humble, hard-working servant this man proves to be. I am thankful to call him a brother and friend. As you can see from the pictures, a lot has happened since our last update. From the exterior, all the windows and doors are hung, the trim is finished and painted. The siding is on location and will be installed in the next couple of weeks.
From the interior, the framing is complete, HVAC duct work installed, plumbing and electric installed and ready for inspection.

Our next step (after siding is installed), is insulation and drywall. These are two big ticket items that we are waiting on mainly due to finances. We are praying for direction on these materials and tasks.
]]><![CDATA["What's It Gonna Take?"]]>Thu, 04 Dec 2014 17:25:25 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/whats-it-gonna-take"What's it gonna take?" was a question that was asked Sunday at Pinheads concerning finishing the Burke House. As mentioned in the "Meeting Ralph Burke" post, the cost was estimated to be $75,000 to complete the project. We are now in the process of collecting materials and donations for materials. Here is a list of the materials and services needed:
- Dumpster
- 20’ Storage Containers
- Front Door - Already donated by Probuild
- Windows
- Framing Lumber - Already donated by Probuild (Don Jordan)
- Framing Construction - Already donated by Getchell Brothers
- Siding
- Drywall
- Plumbing
- HVAC
- Insulation
- Interior Trim
- Interior Doors
- Electrical Material
- Electrical Installation
- Painting
- Flooring
- Cabinets

If you are interested in supporting the Burke Family you can contact Rusty Kennedy at Rusty@Leavener.com.

]]><![CDATA[Ezra, Diamond Ring & the Burke House?]]>Tue, 02 Dec 2014 17:41:49 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/ezra-the-burke-houseWe just finished our study on Ezra this past month... Interesting... crazy... look at this...
Ezra 1:1-4
1 The Lord put it into the mind of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing: 2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Whoever is among His people, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”

We kept talking about the fact that Ezra was provided all the resources he needed to take the Jews back to Jerusalem and build the House of God with all the foreigners money and supplies. God provided for his people from the people who didn't even live in the same region.

Yesterday... I was given a gift from a guest who was sitting at Pinheads on Sunday and heard Ralph Burke's story. The gift was diamond ring. Are you kidding me? A ring worth thousands of dollars... just like that. The donor suggested that I could sell the ring and use the funds received to help the Burke Family. That is crazy!!! That is the way our God works... while we rest.

]]><![CDATA[Ralph Introduced to Leavener Community]]>Sun, 30 Nov 2014 15:07:34 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/ralph-introduced-to-leavener-communityRalph Burke was invited to attend Leavener which gathers at Pinheads Entertainment Center in Fishers, IN on Sunday Mornings. At the end of the gathering Ralph was invited to the front and share his story with the whole group. You can see the highlights of this moment in this video. For the first time, a larger group of people got to hear the Burke Family story. It was a pretty incredible experience as the people spoke back to Ralph and encouraged him in his family's journey. There is no question from their public response that they want to walk with Burke's through this journey of completing their home.
]]><![CDATA[Meeting Ralph Burke]]>Sat, 29 Nov 2014 15:01:03 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/meeting-ralph-burkeToday, we got to meet Ralph Burke at his house that is under remodeling. Those who gathered at the Burke House with Ralph were Brent Moon, John Getchell, Rusty Kennedy, John Hilfiker, Joe Harding & Bill Kennedy. We heard Ralph's story from Ralph for the first time. We were able to pray with Ralph in his own home. Ralph was humbled by any attempt to help his family with their house.

After this meeting at the Burke House, everyone but Ralph & Brent went to breakfast and came up with a budget of what it would cost to finish this home. The total cost would be right at $75,000. This is an overwhelming task for Ralph who was trying to do this project paycheck to paycheck. A loan was not possible because their financial situation  which was greatly impacted by medical bills.]]><![CDATA[Hearing the Burke Story]]>Sat, 22 Nov 2014 14:50:42 GMThttp://leavener.com/the-burke-house-project/hearing-the-burke-storyThis story was first shared in October with the Director of Leavener by Brent Moon. Brent unpacked how he had run across a friend from his past at lunch one day in July. The friend was going through some pretty tough circumstances. Brent's friend's name is Ralph Burke. Ralph is married to Belinda and has two children, Elizabeth & Noah. Elizabeth was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis shortly after her birth. They lived in a 90 year old house in Carmel, IN. Ralph was in the process of remodeling and enlarging this house. This project became more than Ralph could handle both financially and physically. The Burke family had moved out and is currently living with Belinda's parents. He was ready to walk away from his house and let it go into foreclosure.

Today, the Leavener Director met with Brent Moon and John Getchell (Getchell Brothers Construction) and talked about the possibility of helping this family finish their house so their family could be back together in their own home. We knew we needed to gather more information at this point.]]>