The Envelope

Love those grandsons of mine

      It was Fall of 1969 and we were living on Staten Island in New York.  We were living in a very expensive apartment, $450.00 a month. Actually, it was a cheap apartment according to prices in NY.  Our home in Ogden was $65.00 a month.  At the time it was doable because I was working at the New York Shipping lines as a typist.   John was stationed on Governors’ Island and was allowed off only on weekends.

     I became very ill while I was pregnant with my 2^nd child and was constantly throwing up and scared; scared because less than a year previous we buried our first baby because of complications due to the pregnancy.  Here I was all alone in New York, sick and pregnant.  I knew I couldn’t continue to work, and that is where the problem came.  The rent took most of my paycheck.  Military pay was very meager. I was very independent and not about to ask my parents for money to fly home.  I was determined we could make it on our own.

    There was only one solution.  We would have to move and trust the Lord to help us find another apartment.  When I told the landlady of our situation she yelled and said “just pay the rest of the year's lease and we will call it even”.  I looked her straight in the eyes and said “If I had the money we would stay the rest of the year.”

     On Sunday as I turned over our tithing envelope to the clerk, a name popped into my head.  It was the name of a girl I had met only once but for some reason I wrote down her name and number and I remembered her telling me about her reasonable little apartment she lived in.  I also remember her telling me that they were being stationed elsewhere before the month was out.

333 Heberton, Stanten Isl, NY

     I used the phone at the church and called the number I had written down.  I asked for the girl, knowing full well she no longer lived there.  When I was told she moved several months previous I asked if her apartment was available.  The answer that was given me was astonishing. “Well, I hadn’t decided if I should rent it out or not."  I then told her that we were desperate and explained our situation, she invited us over immediately.  We went there from church as our meetings had just finished.  We drove to 333 Heberton, Staten Island, NY.  The woman and her son lived in a very nice home and on occasion rented out the basement.   She took an immediate liking to us and was especially impressed that John was an Elder in our church. 

     She charged us $175.00 a month, no deposit, no first and last month’s rent.  She told us we could use her phone, and all the utilities were included. She insisted on giving us the key immediately and told us to use the front door and go on down stairs. 

     Even though the apartment was just one big open room in the basement, it was twice the size of our previous one.  It was all furnished. The kitchen consist of a sink, stove and fridge.  We had to use the table as counter top.  But we were full of appreciation for the miracle we were a part of. 

     As I look back over the many years upon that experience I marvel at my faith as a young woman, I just knew the Lord would provide, and he did.  We had paid our tithing with my last paycheck and a way was opened, we stayed there until we were transferred to Hawaii the following April when our daughter Christine was born.