Stamford couple build home and ministry out of ‘discarded’ pieces | KTA

STAMFORD, Texas (KTAB/KRBC)- Joel and Carla Sanders moved into their new home in Stamford in August 2022. But that wasn’t always their plan. A few weeks before, they were content to stay on their son’s land in the house they had built to retire.

“I ran a game ranch in Bandera and was an elder at the Church of Cowboys there. We thought we’d found our retirement place and… things just didn’t work out,” he said. Joel.

Faced with upheaval, they turned to their faith and their friends. Finding a new opportunity at Stamford thanks to Carla’s brother, Junior Walker.

“He had been buying land here in Stamford for several years and within a week the lord had supplied this property,” Joel said.

With building prices high and supplies low, they once again turned to their friends. And as they say, the Lord has provided.

“He said I had a barn 40 feet long that was literally collapsing. You’ll be doing me a favor if you come here and take my tax roll off,” Joel said.

DIYed from structures they had previously built and parts salvaged from abandoned structures, the sanders built their patchwork home. A western style farmhouse just outside Stamford.

“What most people think is unusable, we see potential.” said Joel.

The same philosophy they now apply to the ministry they seek to start. Reach out to people who may think it’s best to put them aside.

“What the world rejects as people. God is not done. says Joel.

Their new ministry “One Nail at a Time” is reflected in the single salvaged nail they inscribed above their entrance. Reminding them that any great work can be accomplished if they focus on the task at hand.

“The lord can take something that we neglect and make it into something that we think is beautiful,” Joel said.