Grandparent Power – Erv & Sally York

Erv is French-American and Sally is Puerto Rican-American.  Into their spicy gene pool grew four remarkable children, two of them adopted, who are producing wholehearted families of their own. Erv and Sally don't just believe in the "Power of One," they practice it on a daily basis.

Whether it's a single mother Sally and Erv employ to keep house or an orphan teenage mom who needs a mother to take her under her wing, Sally and Erv reach out to whoever is in front of them. Teaching midwives and helping deliver babies in rural Guatemala is Sally's lifelong dream, and Erv has found his greatest joy and a renewed zest for life in serving the poorest of the poor, alongside his wife. Together, they are like bacon and eggs… good in and of themselves, but even more spectacular when they are together.

Because Erv and Sally have learned over the years to live from their hearts, even when it runs counter-culturally, they are very sensitive to what is happening around them. They have what people call, the gift of discernment. They speak with wisdom, which is knowledge that has personally applied in their own lives before giving it to others.

Read their stories below! We'll be adding more as we go along…

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Sally York, a feisty Puerto Rican has been married to her college sweetheart, Erv York for nearly four decades. Erv and Sally raised  four children while pastoring a church in the small town of Hillsdale, Michigan. Busy with homeschool and community projects, counseling, marrying, and loving their church family, Sally never lost touch with a dream she nurtured in her heart, like a yet-to-be-born baby.

Just like babies, dreams have a life of their own, growing in the unseen realm of our subconscious mind, fed and fueled by our imagination, our faith, and the little steps we take to make them real…

… The dream kept beckoning Sally even as she cared for her aging parents while celebrating the births of each of her grandbabies. It takes loads of courage to do the work to follow your dream, and sometimes that means disappointing the people around you, who haven't been tenderly nursing that dream as you have.

Erv and Sally took turns helping each other through burn-out, depression, and the change of life. At first, they didn't realize the power of the unborn dream, compelling them to make the changes in their lives, to get ready to live their second life – a second career – another round of helping families get married, raise children, and live healthy lives. Kind of like morning sickness and a swelling body, growing pains are a normal part of growth!

…It's the Power of One in action. Whether it's a single mother Sally and Erv employ to keep house or an orphan teenage mom who needs a mother to take her under her wing, Sally reaches out to whoever is in front of her. And wherever Sally is, Erv is usually not too far off… living the dream, himself.    Read More