Michele Collins

My story goes like this, as a newly married Christian couple in our early twenties in 1997 we went to a Liberty Trust presentation at our local church that we were attending at the time - Leeston New Life in Canterbury.  From that we decided that Liberty Trust was a fantastic concept and was a good option for us as we knew we would be wanting to buy a home in the future.  The bonus was other fellow believers were being blessed by our giving and that essentially this blessing of others never ends as the money's recycled by the lending and repaying then relending of this money sown into Liberty Trust.

As God's timing is always perfect it was in 2011 that we were informed that we were able to draw down our interest free loan.  Lots had happened since we first embarked on this journey and we were now living in Appleby, Richmond with a mortgage on our house.  We did have a business but due to several circumstances, one being that my husband Andy was very unwell and had been since 2007, he was unable to continue running our business.  We were surviving on an invalids benefit as I had to take care of our two lovely daughters and Andy and so I wasn't able to work.  We made a decision to sell and downgrade our property to decrease financial pressure as despite all ours and many others prayers Andy was not being healed and we didn't know what the future held.

We sold and I moved to Richmond.  Andy was in hospital at this time 3 years ago - firstly Nelson hospital then transferred to Auckland  hospital where he passed away suddenly and unexpected.  Our prayers had finally been answered as the suffering he was in was incredibly cruel and affected us all so for him to be free of that was a blessing. 

Life's journey is so often different to what we dream of and long for and this was certainly not in my plan to be a widow and a solo parent. It was and still is a very vulnerable position I find myself in daily and God  is carrying us as we journey forward. 

I have recently been able to draw down my loan so that I can build a new house on the section I bought just round the corner from where we live now.  Although life has had its challenges I'm blessed in so many ways more that I can comprehend or understand and certainly not fitting for a widow but only by the grace and blessing of God have we been brought to this place where I'm able to stay living in my current house which I have no mortgage on and use my interest free loan to do the new build so that I don't have to move house twice.  It is a very exciting but humbling as I exercise my faith  through the building process and selling of my current dwelling when the time comes.

I intend to bless my own children in the future by getting them on the way to their own interest free loans with Liberty.  I always believed that if God's timing didn't allow me to use the interest free loan then it wouldn't go to waste it would be my children that would be blessed with its use instead.

God Bless, regards

Michele Collins

12 October 2015