After a fire destroyed all her belongings and home, an elderly Manitoban woman is surprised with a new house, free of charge.

On March 24, 2019, 71-year-old Eleanor Kendall from Marquette, Manitoba lost her belongings and home in a fire.

“I smelled smoke in the house,” Kendall says recalling that day.

“I opened the door to the back porch and saw the flames just as my daughter came running up yelling ‘mom—get out!” The house was completely destroyed. “I lost everything,” says Kendall, a widow, fighting back tears. “I didn’t even have any clothes.”

Red Cross provided her with clothes and basic necessities and she moved in with her daughter and son-in-law.

“Who offers that kind of help for free? Especially a new house? I was ready to call the police.”

Due to a lack of insurance and financial stability, she was at a complete loss. The municipality informed her that she was responsible for the cost of debris clean up of her home. “I didn’t have the money for that,” she says. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.”

Then a stranger showed up one day, offering to clean up the debris and build her a new house. “At first I thought it was a scam,” says Kendall. “Who offers that kind of help for free? Especially a new house? I was ready to call the police.”

That stranger was Denis Keating, a member of Mennonite Disaster Service's (MDS) Manitoba chapter. MDS, repairs and rebuilds homes damaged or destroyed by natural disasters across North America. Keating, the owner of a local plumbing and heating company, had heard about Kendall’s plight from the Red Cross.

“It’s the best Christmas present.”

After discussing what she needed, Keating showed her blueprints for a new home. “I told him I couldn’t afford it ...He told me not to worry, that MDS would take care of it. I couldn’t believe it,” Kendall says.

Keating says that helping Kendall was just his "Christian duty". “I enjoy using the gifts God gave me to do something tangible to help others,” Keating says.

In September, construction of her new house started; 45 volunteers contributed 1,400 hours of free labour.

On December 21, 35 MDS volunteers and others joined her in Marquette for a special house dedication and prayer of blessing. “It’s the best Christmas present,” she says. “I cry every time I think of it.”

In 2018, 5,203 MDS volunteers, including about 700 Canadians, built 74 new homes and repaired 272 houses at 15 project sites in six states and in B.C. and Ontario. The total value of the work was over $12 million. MDS fundraises for these projects.