A Family Trusting God Through Hardship

Help Stacey & Bill Rebuild, Grow, and Keep Moving Forward in Faith

Hello friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ, and anyone God may lead here to read our story.

My name is Stacey, and I am sharing our story with humility, honesty, and faith. Asking for help is not easy for us. We have always worked hard, tried to live responsibly, and handled life's challenges the best we could. But we also believe that sometimes God's provision comes through His people, and right now we are trusting Him while doing everything we can to move forward.

On October 1st, I unexpectedly lost my job. Like many families, we were already dealing with rising costs and financial uncertainty, but suddenly losing that income placed an immediate strain on our household.

Since then, I have returned part-time to the job I had previously left for that position. I am grateful to have work, but the loss of full-time income has left a financial gap we have struggled to overcome.

This season has stretched us beyond what we can manage alone.

Bill's Dream: Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery

Earlier this year, my husband, William "Bill" Brooks, stepped out in faith and began building Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery, a small upholstery business in Reeds Spring, Missouri.

Bill is talented, hardworking, honest, and takes great pride in his work. He specializes in automotive and boat interiors, custom stitching, seat restoration, headliner repairs, and other upholstery work.

Starting a small business takes courage, sacrifice, patience, and resources. Bill has the skill and work ethic, but building a steady customer base takes time.

One of our immediate priorities is getting Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery properly licensed and established. We also need a proper business account and the tools, materials, supplies, and advertising necessary to operate and grow.

Winter can significantly slow automotive and especially boat upholstery projects, making this season particularly difficult for a new shop still establishing its customer base.

We are also praying that as the business grows, God will bring Bill the right person who wants to work and learn the upholstery trade, perhaps even someone interested in sewing. We would love for the business to eventually provide an opportunity for someone else to learn a skilled profession and build a better future.

My Next Step: Substitute Teaching

I have also stepped out in faith and taken another step toward helping our family rebuild.

I recently completed the necessary steps to pursue my substitute teaching certificate, and I am currently waiting for that process to be completed.

This means more to me than simply another source of income. I absolutely love children. The opportunity to encourage them, help them learn, and be a positive presence in their school day would mean so much to me.

Please pray that my certificate is approved and that God opens this door if this is where He wants me to serve. I would be grateful for the opportunity to help provide for our household while pouring encouragement, patience, and kindness into the lives of children.

Becoming an Author

I also became a published author this year, another step I took in faith with the hope that my testimony might encourage someone who is struggling, hurting, or searching for a way forward.

My book, Open Your Eyes: A True Testimony Turned into a Message to Those Seeking Redemption, was written from my own life experiences and my desire to use what I have been through to help others.

If even one person reads my story and realizes that their life can change, redemption is possible, and Jesus can meet them right where they are, then sharing my story was worth it.

More Than 10 Years Clean, By the Grace of Jesus

There is another important part of our story that shows just how far God has already brought us.

Bill and I have both been clean for more than 10 years.

We do not share this for sympathy. We share it because it is part of our testimony.

There was a time when our lives looked very different, but Jesus Christ changed their direction. More than a decade clean, and we give Jesus the glory for every single year.

We know what it means to rebuild. We know what it means to start again. We know what it means to keep going when the road ahead is difficult.

Most importantly, we know what it means to look back and realize God carried us through circumstances we once could not imagine overcoming.

That is one reason we refuse to give up now.

The same Jesus who helped us overcome our past is the Jesus we are trusting with our future.

Why We Are Asking for Help

Right now, we are facing financial challenges while both taking steps toward a more stable future.

Bill is working to establish and grow Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery. I am working part-time while pursuing substitute teaching and continuing my work as an author.

We are working. We are trying. We are praying. And we are taking every step we know to take.

This fundraiser is not about luxury or convenience. It is about stability, survival, and an opportunity to rebuild.

It is about having enough breathing room to keep our household going while our efforts have time to take root and we work toward becoming financially stable again.

Your support will help us with:

• Keeping our home and basic living expenses covered

• Utilities and groceries

• Fuel and transportation

• Business licensing and startup expenses for Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery

• Establishing and maintaining a proper business account

• Tools, materials, and supplies needed for upholstery jobs

• Basic advertising to help Bill reach more customers

• Prescriptions and necessary medical expenses

• Other essential expenses while we work toward stability

We are not sitting still waiting for someone to rescue us.

We are doing everything we know to do to change our circumstances.

Bill continues showing up, working with his hands, and building his reputation one job and one customer at a time. I am continuing to work while pursuing substitute teaching and using my writing and testimony to encourage others.

We are planting seeds, doing the work, and trusting God with the harvest.

We do not know which door God will open first. We simply want to be prepared and willing to walk through it when He does.

Our Faith Is Carrying Us

Isaiah 41:10 reminds us:

"So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

We believe that promise.

We believe God is with us in the uncertainty, the work, the waiting, the prayers, and every step forward.

We have already watched Jesus transform our lives and bring us out of places we could not escape on our own. So even though this season is difficult, we still have hope.

Faith does not mean pretending we never need help. Sometimes faith means trusting God while taking the steps He places in front of us, even when one of those steps is humbling ourselves enough to ask others for help.

If You Feel Led to Help

If God places it on your heart and you are able to give, please know that every gift, regardless of the amount, truly matters to us.

If you cannot give financially, we completely understand. Your prayers and shares mean more than you may realize.

Please pray for provision for our household and steady customers for Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery. Pray that we can get the business properly licensed and established and that God brings the right opportunities and people across Bill's path.

Please pray for my substitute teaching certificate to be approved and for God to open that door if it is His will. Pray that He places me in classrooms where I can encourage and make a positive difference in the lives of children.

Please pray that God uses my writing and testimony to reach people who need hope, encouragement, and the reminder that their past does not have to determine their future.

Please pray for wisdom, strength, and protection over our marriage, our home, our work, and the future we are trying to build.

Most of all, please pray that Bill and I never forget where Jesus brought us from and that we continue giving Him the glory for every step forward.

If you feel led, please also share our fundraiser.

One share could reach someone who needs Bill's upholstery services, someone who knows of an opportunity for me, someone who needs the message in my book, someone who understands what it means to rebuild a life, or simply the person God intends our story to reach.

We promise to steward every gift responsibly and provide updates along the way.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Thank you for every prayer, every share, every encouraging word, and every contribution.

More than 10 years ago, God began writing a very different story for our lives.

We are still here. We are still clean. We are still working. We are still believing. And we are still trusting Jesus.

This year, Bill stepped out to build Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery. I stepped out to become an author and use my testimony to encourage others. I stepped out again to pursue substitute teaching because of my love for children.

Together, we continue stepping forward with Jesus.

We may not know exactly how God is going to bring us through this season, but we know Who is walking through it with us.

We are trusting Him, continuing to work, and refusing to give up.

From our family to yours, thank you for helping us stand while we rebuild.

With love, gratitude, and faith,

Stacey & Bill Brooks 🦋

Hotrod's Trim & Upholstery

Reeds Spring, Missouri

To God be the glory yesterday, today, and tomorrow. May the Lord bless you and your families always, brothers and sisters in Christ.