Joseph and Shannon Walsh are small town people. Both come from the same rural county in Indiana, with a population estimated at just above 2000. Joseph served four years in the United States Navy, and is now serving in the United States Army. He was baptized November 2011. Shannon worked in health care for five years, and has done volunteer work in her down time. She was baptized in July 2007. Together, they've been homeless. In 2008, Joseph and Shannon shared small apartment with their son (who was then 6) in Martinsville, Indiana. In May of '08, the southwestern section of Indiana saw the worst flooding it had seen in over 80 years! The small Walsh family ended up wading in chest deep water (for a man who is 6 feet tall) with a cat, book bag, and child on their shoulders to get to safety. Thankfully, the cars were moved before the water rose too high, and they were only partially submerged (though the water filled the inside, they were able to use cups from a local gas station to get the water out). The apartment complex was completely ruined. This left the Walsh family with no home of their own. Shannon had a job in Bloomington, but the closest form of shelter the family could find was Joe's mother's home in a tiny town called Andersonville. This was at least 2 solid hours from Shannon's job. But, with a small child who has special needs, this family couldn't just stay sleeping in the car. So, they took the one set of clothing they had for each person, Joe's bag of college books (as he was still a student at the time), the cat, and their son and tried to drive around the flooded cities to his mother's house. It took several hours, as most of the typical routes were completely closed due to flood waters. But after going north to go around the flooded portion of the state, they made their way there. The destruction was devastating. The next few weeks were spent trying to salvage the cars, dry them out and make sure they were in good, working order, and to remove everything from the apartment once the flood waters went down. Because of the financial impact of the flood, the family used their Grandpa's horse trailer, and two family volunteers and moved out what remained of their goods. All the food was ruined, some clothes were ruined, but overall, the family was blessed! Because the apartment was on the second floor, the main impacts were because of the loss of electricity! Thank the Lord! Today, the family resides in a small town in Oklahoma while Joe finishes his orders with the local Army base. They spend their time doing ministry, studying the Bible, doing fellowship with people from around the globe, and focusing on their little family (who now has an extra member). However, the memories and impact of those dismal days will forever stay with the Walsh's. Thankfully this family had a family member who opened her home, her heart, and her hands. Not everyone is this lucky! In fact, if it weren't for Joe's family, they would have been out on the street. We know what it's like to have no place to call home, to have nowhere to lay your head on your own pillow...there is no way to describe how scary it is to know that you aren't certain where you're going to sleep tonight! We were lucky. Others were not as lucky. But it is our focus and goal to help make their lives as comfortable as we possibly can, during such national financial uncertainty.