In the year 2007, while Will and I were still living in Wisconsin, I read a book entitled “Rich dad, Poor dad,” by Robert Kiyosaki. I was hooked, I had to learn everything there was about investments of every kind. Real estate investing particularly interested me. From mutual funds to vacant lots, to apartment buildings. We began small, then as the money grew, we built our empire. We always kept in mind that no matter what choices we made, God was still the ruler of it all, but He guided us as well. We knew the value of giving back also, not just in funding, but in time and in every other was we could give.
Within a few years, not only were we out of debt and rebuilding our credit, but we had gained several assets and were able to work from home. Will started his radio imaging company just before going back to college for his bachelors degree in radio broadcasting. I handled our banking and investing. I took classes and went to seminars every chance I could find. I found every manner of learning that seemed directly or indirectly related to the subjects that interested me. I was not out to gain a degree or certification, just a new and better way to invest.
Over the course of these few years before we built the house, we re-entered the para-church organization that had gone on hiatus before we had moved to Wisconsin. Our goal was to eventually build a place where the leaders of the organization, and any one else who may need a break from the world, could go. It was a sort of camp, a refuge from the spiritual war that they we fight daily. Anyone could come to stay for a night, a week, how ever long they needed the break. This was not a place for conferences, classes, or pow-wow's, this would be a place for individual counsel and spiritual rehabilitation. A place to seek God, recenter, focus on Him. A place to get away from the noise of opinions and spiritual racket of every day life.
The idea of the Refuge had come to me on our way back to Wisconsin from a cousins wedding in Minnesota the spring of 2006. I saw our house on a large lot of land, with five cabins, and a small stable. Each cabin would only sleep about four people comfortably. Solitude was the aim in all of this. Will and I understood the importance of getting away from everything to find direction. God had separated us from the organization for some years to show us things that we otherwise would not have been able to understand. We knew how vital it was to every leader, and non-leader, to get away for life for a while, to get back to the basics.
When the opportunity came with the right time we found a property just outside a small town. It was a prime location, not far from the Twin Cities, the organization headquarters, and my family. The sleepy little town of Berkshire offered everything we needed, it was perfect. We bought the five acre plot of land, sectioned off an acre for our own house, then donated the rest to the organization. Other donations were made by small committees of outside contributers for the construction of the cabins. Each committee chose from one of five floor plans, and designated the interior design for their specific cabin. Everything from blue prints to furnishings were donated, it was Will and my job to manage the property. We decided what companies to hire for the grounds keeping, maintenance, and housekeeping. We never had to fix a toilet or mow the lawn, we were just middle management. The Refuge was a small part of the non-profit organization, everything was donated, and nothing was ever lacking. Many of the people who came to the Refuge gladly donated how ever much they would pay to stay in a hotel with similar accommodations. We kept track of and the donations, paid for the services and supplies we needed, then sent excess funds to the main office along with a financial report.
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