Space For the Whole Family

My wife and I already had six children of our own when the Lord took us on a journey to adopt two more.  Ruslan and Nasta were 15 and 10 year old orphaned children from Ukraine.  We knew we didn't have enough money to make this adoption happen, but we trusted in the Lord and He led us down a path that was strenuous, but very fulfilling, and which put us in contact with amazing people along the way, many of whom helped us raise the money needed to go to Ukraine and bring Ruslan and Nastia home. They've been with us now for over a year and a half.  It has been fun, difficult, exciting, emotional and fulfilling all at the same time as they have assimilated into our family.  Since then, we have added one more little girl to the mix.  Little Lizzie came the natural way and she was the tie-breaker between girls and boys (5 of one and 4 of the other now).  We don't have a lot of resources to speak of, but we do have enough to get by, and we feel very blessed. Nine kids immediately put us below the national poverty level.  Between house payments, utilities, medical insurance, doctors and hospital bills, every month seems to be an exercise in faith. One of the things we've been hoping to do is finish our basement.  Right now we have 11 of us living in the upstairs of our small modular home.  The previous owner put it on a full basement foundation but left it unfinished.  Unfortunately, I've been unable to find a lender willing to loan me the money I need to finish it.  I can do the majority of the work on my own, and I plan to teach my kids what I learned from my dad; how to frame and rough in plumbing and electrical and hang drywall, etc. But, traditional lenders won't even consider giving loans on manufactured homes, and, due to the housing market slump, I no longer have enough equity to get a loan with lenders that will.  Please help us raise the money that we need to finish our basement.  If I'm able to refinance after the work is done and can pay the money back, I'll donate to someone else in need.  Thanks for reading our story and considering helping us. Sincerely, Marsh