Erin DeHaan, Belgrade, MT

My husband, Troy, and I met during a young adults’ retreat in Alberta, Canada. One ironic thing we had in common is that we both have five siblings—he has four brothers and one sister while I’m the opposite with four sisters and one brother.

We married in May 2014 and became pregnant with our daughter, Andi, before joining CHM in 2015. I knew that pregnancy wouldn’t be eligible for sharing through CHM’s maternity program, but we also knew we wanted to have more children so CHM was the best option for us.

Though we admittedly joined for financial reasons, the idea behind the ministry is just as important to us, if not more so: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). Since we had to pay for healthcare provision no matter what, CHM was the obvious choice.

After I found out I was pregnant with our second child, the CHM website was my go-to place for ma-ternity information and we also used the online Member Portal to submit medical bills. We told the prenatal care clinic that as CHM members we are self-pay patients and we received a quote for the approximate cost of prenatal care and delivery fees. Bloodwork and ultrasound fees weren’t included in the quote, so whenever we received bills for those services we marked them as “add-ons” before sending them to CHM.

We continued scanning in bills, making payments to our healthcare providers and receiving checks from CHM until our son, Owen, was born in Nov. 2016. I had a healthy, uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery and we felt blessed to become parents for the second time.

When all was said and done, our maternity bills totaled over $15,000. About $3,000 of Owen’s bills qualified for an assistance program and CHM members shared the remaining $12,000. We never worried because CHM had been sharing our expenses throughout the pregnancy.

The hospital wouldn’t extend a discount, but the clinic offered an additional 10 percent reduction when we paid the remaining balance, so we were able to return over $800 to CHM to help with other Christians’ medical bills!

CHM’s maternity program is simple to use because of all of the step-by-step guides on the ministry’s website. Furthermore, the staff is always helpful when members have questions.

We love that we can help other believers through our monthly financial gifts and extra giving toward Prayer Page needs. Thank you, CHM, for meeting our needs throughout my pregnancy and delivery.

We’re also happy to report that our third child is due May 2, 2018! We look forward to once again taking this journey with CHM by our side.