Meet the Funk Family. Meet your Nations Family.
The story of the Funk family surely demonstrates the provision of our God. Edward and Katherine Funk had been doing outreach and evangelism ministry together since before they were married. Both applied for bootcamp and were accepted at the same time. However, before knowing the outcome of their applications, they listed their Pennsylvania home at the strong urging of the Holy Spirit.
Over the three years they had owned it, God had brought people who helped make improvements to the house without their asking. For example, a friend who worked for a prominent decking company donated some premium decking and Ed did the work of installing it, saving them thousands of dollars. Prior to this they had had no idea where this friend worked. The family had loved living there. With prior experience ministering and living in the city, they had enjoyed this home’s rural setting. Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit had fired their hearts that they were to sell their home. Soon a buyer offered them full price for it. It was only on the market a month!
When the inspection report came back, there were no recommended repairs. The realtor stated that she had never seen this before in a home sale. Once their home sold, the family of six had no trouble finding places to live as friends in the area offered them temporary living quarters until they were able to move to Florida. They asked someone from their church to stay with them during bootcamp to nanny the children, and she accepted.
The family decided to look for temporary housing in October of 2020. They spotted a listing for a furnished condo about 10 minutes from CfaN. It later turned out to be close to where Nations Church would have its prelaunch meetings. After touring the facility, they found it ideal. It even had a separate living quarters required for their nanny, plus room for all 6 of their clan. The neighborhood was safe, as well. They signed a lease for January through May, 2021.
The Funks discovered that the owner of the condo turned out to have seven others within the complex. Katherine posted the information to the incoming bootcamp class, and over the next few months those condos were filled with just under 50 other happy bootcampers with their families! This provided an extension of the CfaN community outside of the CfaN campus.
They moved into the temporary housing on New Year’s Eve and in January, besides the commencement of boot camp, Katherine discovered that she was pregnant.
By March they knew they were being called to serve with the newly-forming Nations church. They would need more permanent housing. With Edward leaving for Africa on April 16th while Katherine stayed with the children (she will go at another time), the family of six, soon to be seven, began looking for a place to live. Though they had had excellent credit, Ed had not been working for months. Yet, they had seen God provide not only what they needed but more often over the years.
The Nations hospitality team connected the family with Kathleen Michelle, a realtor who herself is a graduate of the CfaN School of Evangelism. Kathleen sent them a list of rentals which matched their criteria. Now without a nanny, they only required living quarters for themselves. Katherine applied to several listings, yet, each rejected them. She discussed this with Ed one night and from Africa, he picked out a house among the listings. It was a listing Katherine had not yet tried.
This home turned out to be different from the others in that it was owner-managed. Realtor Kathleen Michelle encouraged her and gave Katherine pointers on how to present her family to the owner as viable renters while at the same time, Kathleen herself advocated for the family. Katherine itemized all of their positives as renters and submitted the application with their excellent references.
That night, with their father winning souls in Africa, the little Funks studied Matthew 7 with their mom and heard Jesus’ teaching that their heavenly father knows what we need before we ask, and not to worry about any of their needs being met. The next day, the condo owner accepted their application, demonstrating the Father’s provision in action!
One thing Katherine notes is that their heavenly father has settled them into one of the most beautiful areas in the Orlando metro-plex, with trees and walkways and outdoor spaces to explore. Down the road, someone sells eggs out of their home. She still gets to enjoy a country feel, though with the added benefits of a being in a city!
We are glad you are here Funk Family!
By: Danyelle Read
