Hattie May's Inspiring Legacy

Soon after Dwight and I married in 1999, we founded the Bethesda Nursing Home Ministry.  Not long after that, a friend sent us an email about a little girl named Hattie May Wiatt that had died of diphtheria in 1886.  The story of this little girl’s legacy took wing in my heart and I have carried it with me ever since.  What God did with her little purse of pennies is an amazing testimony of unselfish love.  From the offerings of Hattie’s 57 cents were sown Philadelphia’s Baptist Temple, College Hall, Temple University, and Samaritan Hospital.  The true and inspiring story was recounted in Dr. Russell H. Conwell’s 1912 sermon, “The History of Fifty-Seven Cents” and can be found at http://library.temple.edu/collections/scrc/hattie.

Dwight and I love serving the Lord.  During these last 14 years of this journey, there have been times when we had to rest in idleness.  And during those times, I have lamented my full purse of pennies.  Dealing with Dwight’s unemployment and the resulting close of  The Crafter’s Co-op has been difficult as is loss of income and health insurance.  Seven months later, we are still living with the uncertainty of the unemployed, yet each day has been full of the Lord’s blessings and opportunities to continue serving.  The Lord is still using us and I look forward to continue casting more of my 57 cents out into this glorious world through this blog, My 57 Cents!