A project of many hearts

Angels are at work in Rathdrum.

A few months ago, an unknown angel wrote a letter to the editor suggesting local churches get together and build a new home for a Rathdrum woman whose home had been condemned. That’s the first time the idea was put out there.

“That letter touched both Bob’s and my hearts,” said John Jurgens, a member of His Place. And that’s when a group of angels with plaid shirts, heavy boots and calloused hands stepped in. “I call them my men from heaven,” said Michelle Millard, the woman they were determined to help.

Jurgens and friend Bob Byrne gathered a few other men together to discuss rehabilitating the house. They took a look at the house and then paid a visit to the city.

“City officials said we couldn’t do anything until the house was brought up to code,” Jurgens said. Although building official Glenn Miller dashed their rehabilitation hopes, he did give them another alternative: “Why don’t you just knock it down and start over?” That was the second time the idea was put out there.

The men prayed over the project they came to call “Project of the Heart” and took a critical look at the 118-year-old house. “We realized it really couldn’t be rehabilitated,” Jurgens said. “It had exposed wiring, and had been built on a shale and timber foundation in 1890. There had been some improvements through the years, but nothing had been done right,” he said. “It was in bad shape.”

After prayer, the men accepted that God was leading them to a larger project, and began letting others know about their plans – they were going to build and furnish a brand new house for Michelle Millard – and they were going to do it by relying solely on God’s provision. The third time the idea was put out there things began to happen.

The support was amazing. “The more we started publishing the plight of this woman, the more companies began coming forward,” Jurgens said. “The way the economy is now, you wouldn’t think it, but the companies have been amazing.”

The day the house was razed, Millard and several of the children she shared her home with her throughout the years showed up. “They had tears in their eyes when the building came down,” Jurgens said. “It was in bad shape, but it was home to them.”

Once the house was gone, Jurgens and Byrne, who complete several charity logging jobs in the community each year through “Cutting for the Kingdom,” chopped down a few of the trees on the project site, opening the way for construction to begin.

Others stepped in to help in a big way. Sandstone Materials out of Hayden, donated and delivered 30 yards of concrete for the foundation and Champion Concrete Pumping Inc. of Post Falls pumped the concrete for the job.

Pillar Construction worked on the foundation, and the commercial and framing specialists with Mandere Construction Inc. in Rathdrum donated many of the wood components for the house. They built the walls offsite and brought them to the site and installed them; and also gave the sheeting for the floors and roof, in addition to building and delivering the trusses. Coeur d’Alene Builders Supplies donated all the doors and windows for the new home.

The project received the city’s blessing from the start. “The city did not want to put this woman out of her home and they have been absolutely wonderful,” Jurgens said. “They waived all inspection and building fees – approximately $8,000 worth – and have completed each inspection within a day of being called.”

Building official Glenn Miller said, “It’s pretty awesome what they’re doing for Michelle. The house being in such disrepair that it had to be removed – they stepped up to give her someplace to live.”

To date there have been 50 to 60 workers who have helped build Millard’s new house, and she is thankful for every one of them. “I’m just amazed with these guys,” she said. “They are out here no matter what’s going on. They have regular jobs, too, but they just keep helping me.”

She called Jurgens and Byrne “awesome, wonderful men,” and said she was thankful to many others including Dan Leonard with Pillar Construction; Mark Dempsey with Wearea Ranch Builders; builder Brenden Biggs; Robert and Trish Artis, with RADD Drafting and Design; Robert Reese, an electrician; and Kevin Kram, who helped with excavating.

Although the snow has slowed things down a bit, work has continued on the house. The roof went on a couple of weeks ago and Coeur d’Alene Builders Supply recently agreed to supply the siding. Jurgens said they need roofing and roofers to do the job, but isn’t worried. He is sure someone will step up when the time comes, “because that is how this project has gone.”

Both Millard and Jurgens are hopeful she will be in her new home by the city’s deadline for construction, Jan. 30. J.A. Bertsch & Sons are currently installing the heating and cooling systems they donated to the project; doors and windows will go in next.

“As of today, the bills are all paid and we have money in the bank,” Jurgens said. “If there’s money left, maybe there’ll be another project,” a sentiment voiced by others involved in the project, including Millard. “I hope this project can go on and I can help in some way,” she said. Byrne put it another way. “This is God’s idea, we’re just here doing it. We don’t know what he’s going to get out of it, but I’m hopin’ we’ll see.”

An account for Project of the Heart