John and his wife recognized they had been blessed in order to be a blessing to others.  But how useful could 221 acres of undeveloped land in the Rocky Mountains be to charities in urban Alabama? They knew they needed help to transform assets God had entrusted to them … Colorado mountain property … into something that could be used to support the things of God in their own community.

So John and his wife joined an elite fellowship of givers at WaterStone who are mobilized around a common passion and purpose. The experienced WaterStone staff helped in the gift transfer of ownership and sale of the 221 acres through their family Donor Advised Fund program. The process included holding a note for the local land developer who purchased the land.

Once the real estate was converted, then the fun began for the pair…selecting the ministry programs to advance. Over the years they supported various churches and local ministries. They had a “historyâ€ with pro-life pregnancy centers and more recently felt God call them to invest in the transformation of a local Pregnancy Resource Center into an ultrasound equipped Women’s Medical Center.

However, they wanted anonymity! So they asked WaterStone to step in, through Focus on the Family, to arrange for the new equipment and the specialized medical training necessary for the full conversion.

Women’s Medical Center reported that the very first patient, on the morning that the center opened, pointed to her baby’s heartbeat on the monitor, “tears began to roll down her cheeks. It was at that moment that she said she couldn’t go through with the abortion - she would carry and keep the baby.â€
