We are Steve and Rita Williams, American immigrants
presently living in Christchurch. In October 1990 we were
commissioned from the United States as missionaries by
Mission to the World, the missionary arm of the
Presbyterian Church in America. For the first half of our
missionary pilgrimage we served in Europe. In December
2005 we were redeployed to New Zealand to serve with
the Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand. As many people might be aware, missionaries often
move quite a bit renting apartments or houses throughout
their missionary service. As a result, many long-term
missionaries are never able to purchase their own home
and upon retirement have few housing options for the
remainder of their lives. Arriving in New Zealand at the ages of 50 (Steve) and 46 (Rita) along with our two teenage children,
the thought of ever owning a home for ourselves seemed quite remote. However, during our early years
living in Tauranga, we were introduced to Liberty Trust. The notion of investing into a Christian trust that
would be able to provide folks with a no interest home loan was truly exciting. However, because we
were familiar with so many scams, even scams involving Christians, we were somewhat hesitant and
thought that we would wait awhile and ask around to see if Liberty Trust was legitimate. Thankfully, we discovered that since its founding, Liberty Trust had proven to have built a solid track
record as a reliable trust and we continued to be impressed by the many testimonies of those who had
been helped. So, in February 2008, we stepped out in faith and joined Liberty Trust hoping that one day
we would be able to help our children purchase a home. (We also prayed that our children would be
gracious enough to build either a granny flat or an extension to their home so that we would have a place
to live in our retirement!) We continued contributing to Liberty Trust for several years. Soon after moving to Christchurch in
2015 we were contacted by Liberty Trust. We unexpectedly learned that we had qualified early for a
home loan. We discussed this with our children. Both children agreed that we should take this
opportunity for ourselves since we were still employed as missionaries and had a few more years before
retirement. We were also overjoyed to discover that both of us qualified for a first-time homeowner grant
from the government. We made our calculations. Added to the Liberty Trust loan, we could also use our
KiwiSaver funds and personal savings to purchase a small townhouse in North Canterbury. Our
repayments to Liberty Trust would be about the same amount that we were presently paying in rent!
Again, we had never imagined that we would ever be able to own a home. We cannot begin to say enough: “Thank You Lord, and Liberty Trust, for making the seemingly
impossible, possible.” We are now anticipating being able to own our home and being completely debt free by the time we retire. We are also thankful that because of our
Liberty Trust contributions, others will be
able to experience this similar blessing. Although, we look forward to our final
home in Heaven, we are truly blessed to
have a home of our own during our
pilgrimage here on earth. May our Lord be praised! “And my God will supply every need of
yours according to his riches in glory in
Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) ESV Steve & Rita 30 June 2021 |
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