The Mayes Homestead
Goal:
Purchase land (barn or building of some sort preferred)
Build 3 tiny homes (off-grid preferred)
Shed for garden processing and storage

This will allow me to provide a homestead for my family. My family doesn't look like the American dream, we're mostly adults. We are all struggling in very serious ways, so we desperately need each other.

Within the last few years, my life has changed tremendously. Not always for the worse, but I have seen some extremely trying times.

2019. My 8 years of full-time ministry at a mission sadly came to an end in the nick of time time. One of my sisters' health started to decline and I was able to help her.

2020. The same sister contracted a life-threatening, flesh-eating bacteria while having carpal tunnel surgery at the hospital at the end of January. A few days after Valentine's Day, I learned that my husband had a girlfriend... and she wasn't even close to being the first one since our marriage in 2016. A few weeks after the split, my sister left a long-term care facility to stay with me during her recovery. I changed her wound daily for the next year and a half. I also met a new fella who would change my life fully into something I never thought I would have... genuine happiness!

2021. A year into the pandemic and my parents' (especially my dad's) health had continued to deteriorate. He started having to have procedures to essentially keep him alive as his diabetes, psoriasis, and list of other illnesses worsened. I started moving my focus (while still daily caring for my sister) to helping my parents move through their belongings and move in with me. Their home had become unsafe for sick, elderly folks. My immediate goal was to give them a safe home. All of that came to a screeching halt when the same sister's lung collapsed and we journeyed into what would be the most trying time of our lives. Blastomycosis. Something we'd never heard of, but quickly learned about. Something that changed life as we knew it. Something extremely rare in our location, but had somehow made its way to us. Something that brought my sister into multiple medically induced comas, surgeries, infections, a stage 4 pressure wound, horrible medical/hospital psychosis, and an ongoing healing process that may never end. Unfortunately, this year, we lost my boyfriend's sweet little daddy. It was an absolutely heartbreaking time as it was entirely unexpected.

2022. Still changing daily wounds for my sister and trying to find a way to buy a home to move my whole family in together, I worked endlessly. I taught adult education and worked with my boyfriend to grow our business. Then, COVID-19 hit my home. I was absolutely terrified for my sister. I knew it was more than she could handle. It was horrible for me as I locked myself away and did my best to no avail to keep my sister safe during wound changes. The Lord absolutely blessed us and my sister's symptoms essentially disappeared! My health, however, never was the same again. I left my teaching job and focused on taking care of my family. We are selling items that we've accumulated, reselling goods, growing business, and are looking to turn my rent into a payment for something that will be ours forever!

We are practical people who just enjoy porch sitting, laughing, talking, and being together. Whatever part in this that the Lord may place on your heart, please know that we are forever grateful. We have no land or starting egg, so our nest location is just my current rental property.

Nester

Magdalyn Mayes

Middlesboro, KY

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