Since 2017, I would estimate that I have worked with over 3500 dogs and two to three times as many people. That is also roughly how long I have been clean and sober from alcohol and abusing Xanex. I did not drink every day, but on a bad day I would eat 4-5 Xanex and drink an entire bottle of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey. This time has been the most fruitful of my 50 years on the planet. When I say fruitful, I don’t mean what I have accomplished, but how much I have been blessed by being put in a position to help and love people.
My rock bottom was Jun 17th, 2017. It was my sisters in laws wedding day at Heritage Hills here in York PA. It just so happened that a buddy and I ran the security detail there for Knickers Pub. I have always struggled with social anxiety and was only able to deal with it when acting in a professional capacity such as a police officer or bouncer. The wedding was going to be a tough once since there was really nobody there to hang out with. I ate six 20 MG Xanex and chased it with a flask of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey. I called this pregaming. This got me through the wedding. Thirty minutes into the reception I had drank another bottle and a half of Jamison personally provided to me by the staff. I blacked out drunk and had to be carried to the car by my son Frank and my nephew Denny. I am told I puked in the car with the window up on the way home. I woke up naked in my bed the next morning not remembering much. I took a shower, got dressed and walked into the living room. My daughter Emilie then 15 who is special needs and about a 7-year-old level was very upset. She said I was a “drunk addict” and said she never got to dance at Aunt Kimmy’s wedding because Mommy had to take me home. Of course, my wife was in the wedding party. That moment was like I got hit in the head with a hammer…God smacked. I had been attending Freedom Biker Church and Celebrate Recovery for a few months. I had come because of my PTSD, I never thought for a minute I had a drug or alcohol problem. The scales were removed from my eyes, but it took breaking my baby girl’s heart to do it. She never got a chance to shake her “Bootay” like she had been talking about for months. Right there it all changed, I realized that booze and pills didn’t keep me from experiencing bad things, they kept me from experiencing the best things in life like watch your special daughter all dolled up, tearing up the dancefloor at a wedding. I have not had a drink or a pill yet. I gave up nothing and gained everything.
The events that led to my PTSD and addiction- On 03SEP99 I was in bed sleeping off a midnight shift. I had been with the city of Aberdeen MD police for about 18 months. The phone rang and it was my wife Lisa, she had gone to her OB for a checkup, she was 7.5 months pregnant with our second child, George F Matheis III (Frank). Her blood pressure was out of control, and she said they were taking to Franklin Square Hospital to have the baby. Before I knew it, I was in my take home police car headed that way. Time gets foggy here. As her blood pressure climbed, Franks bottomed out and they said they were going to have to take him c-section to save them both. A very hectic and scary time. He was delivered and I remember a nurse saying, “he has a heart murmur, and I am usually not good at hearing those”. Lisa was wiped out and on bed rest. I brought in a sleeping bag and slept next to her bed on the floor. Every few hours the nurses would wake me up so I could go to the nursery and do his cares, diaper and feeding. Within a few days of running tests on him they came back and said he had Tetralogy of Fallot. They told us if he was going to have a heart defect it was the one to have. The plan was to transfer him to the University of Maryland, but they were full, so he was sent to Johns Hopkins, a blessing that saved his life. We were with him for weeks around the clock and only left during the nurses shift changes. We lived in the waiting room. One day Frank was holding his own so me and my Mom headed home to get showers. As we pulled back into the parking garage my pager went off. It was Lisa sending a 911. We rushed into the hospital and met Lisa and the doctors. The led us to a room. They told us Frank was quickly declining do to sepsis. They said there was only one thing to do, either they could attempt to put him on the ECMO (heart lung bypass machine) and he would probably not make it, or we could choose not to and he would definitely not make it. We made the obvious choice and signed the paperwork. We walked out and went to his beside as they got ready to take him to the OR. I took off my St. Michaels Medal that my parents had given me when I graduated the Baltimore Police Academy in 1997 and laid it next to him. We prayed and cried as we laid hands on him and walked with him and staff to the elevator. Everyone else stayed in the waiting room and I went down stairs to find the chapel to talk to my Savior. I walked in and dropped to my knees ( did not feel a thing physically). I can remember exactly what I said to Jesus. “Lord I know his Momma believes that he is her’s first and yours second, but I know that he is yours and we are only to steward him, whatever your will is we will always love him and follow you” I stood up and was light as air with a peace that is unexplainable. I went back upstairs and everyone was crying and worried. I did not have a care in the world. Within a few hours they doctor, Dr. Redman an true Irishman came to us and said Frank had done well and was doing fine. My Dad, a man of few words said to Dr. Redman “Doc, you know how they tell athletes they are the man, your the man” and we all agreed. We spent a total of 3.5 months in the hospital along with another open heart surgery before Frank came home for good. The University of Maryland hospital did not have an ECMO machine, had they had an opening Frank would have died. The Lord always knows what is best.
Sunday 06FEB00 was a cold clear night with snow on the ground. I was working a midnight shift covering for someone else. Frank was home and things we a bit calmer now. It was ten minutes to one, I was sitting on the parking lot of 53 E Bel Air Ave finishing off my first cup of coffee. The radio cracked “Aberdeen-27”, “27”, “respond to the Colonels Choice in reference to a man refusing to pay his bill”,”27 10-76″. As other units called direct the dispatched advised “Aberdeen units be advised called now states that the suspect is 10-32 (man with a gun)” As I pulled up another officer Mark Franklin was in front of me, and the victim was leaning in his car. Mark said that when the bartender followed him of the bar, the suspect produced a gun and said, “Back off, I am a deputy sheriff”. As Mark and I ran towards the back of the building we were joined by officer Larry Wade, Cpl Rick Denu, and Cpl Jesse Stacy. The two later officers were walking along a privacy fence that ran parallel about 10 yards from the back of a brick motel wall. Mark and I were moving down the brick wall. Mark and I were both SWAT and I had my left hand on his right shoulder as we moved. With a few seconds we were all saying “10-32, drop the gun, drop the gun”. The suspect was behind what I thought was a propane tank at the time which turned out to be a water tank. In the bright moonlight reflecting off the snow I would clearly see the suspect pointing a Colt Python 357 magnum at us. Denu fired one round that struck the tank, I fired one round that went through the approximately 6-inch gap between the wall and the tank, striking the suspect who took off on foot into the wood line. We scrambled and moved back to our cards and drove up onto Rt 40 West and the radio crackled “shots fired, Signal 13(officer needs assistance)” As I pulled my car up on the shoulder I could her shots being fired. Officer Wade had pursed the suspect on foot. I opened up my trunk and took my shotgun loaded with 00 Buckshot. Soon the five Aberdeen officers we joined by two Harford County Sherriff Deputies. One being a K-9 unit. Still to this day I am not sure who made the decision, but we began walking down a lane into the woods led by K-9. We were about 25 yards in when the K-9 officer just yards in front of me quickly turned back to the left and yelled “drop the gun”. His dog had missed the wounded suspect laying on the ground about 7 yards off the trail. The officers and deputies fired several rounds of 9MM and 40 S&W and I fired two rounds of buckshot. The suspect’s gun hand fell to the ground in front of him before raising back up provoking another volley of fire including two more rounds from me. One pellet of my buckshot blew off his thumb on his gun hand, and later I would find out that his cause of death was one of my pellets striking him in his clavicle area before cutting through his descending aorta. By this time every cop in the county was arriving and Trooper 1 the Maryland State Police helicopter was overhead with its spotlight on us. Cpl Denu approached the suspect and pulled him away from gun with his legs. Then he pulled up his shirt and bent his legs towards his chest. He was riddled with bullets and all the holes began to leak at once. Then Denu recovered the gun and said “it’s a fucking pellet gun”. Everyone walked away but I knew someone had to maintain the crime scene. So there I stood in the dark with the suspect as he took his last few, shallow, lifeless breaths. I could see Trooper 1 landing in the middle of Rt 40. Eventually my Sgt who was off but only lived a few blocks away, hearing the gunshots had shown up and walked down to relieve me. There is more to the story but is what I can manage right now.
It all started when my daughter Elizabeth decided to join the Navy in 2016 after leaving two years of nursing school at York College. She and I are very close, and she knew with my PTSD I would need support. This led her to gift me an Olde English Bulldogge puppy named Odin. I wanted to train him as my PTSD service dog for my PTSD.
Being part of the American Legion Riders Post 543 I was introduced to Bob Fink the trainer for Veteran Service Canines. Bob was a proud Vietnam Veteran and retired Special Operations Warden (K-9) from York County Prison. Within a few months Bob asked me if I wanted to be his apprentice, and I eagerly took him up on the offer. He quickly became and remains a mentor and father figure for me. Besides SWAT, more than anything I wanted to be K-9 and being passed over for the position heavily contributed to me retiring. The program only accepted Veterans and Bob and I both being retired law enforcement, were not fans of that. The people who ran the organization seldom, if ever showed up so it was pretty much Bob and I running the show. Without support things just began to fall apart. Eventually I stepped away. The following year we started Cover Six Canines as a Ministry of Freedom Biker Church York which has now grown into a full blown 501c (3) non- profit. By this time I was already training dogs part time on my own after while covering training one day for Bob one day while still with Veteran Service Canines, I was alone at the training facility when a Vietnam Veteran named Don showed up for the first time with his lab puppy named Sarge. I explained that Bob was not there but would get him started. After an hour of watching what I did with Sarge, Don asked me if I would consider training him outside of the program and that he wanted to pay me. I accepted and that made Sarge the first dog to ever be trained my MCS (My Canine Salvation). While with Veteran Service Canines I had the opportunity to spend hundreds of hours observing Veterans of all ages with a wide range of disabilities interact with their dogs. I saw how handlers were struggling, and how long it was taking them to get dogs to do the simplest things. The more and more I thought on it, the more and more the reason was right in front of me. It was all the talking and treats that were blocking communication and focus. I began to remove these things from Odin and he blossomed. I mean after all you don’t see many Olde English Bulldogges as service dogs. The other key was the study of how dogs communicated, and I narrowed it down to eye contact, movement, and touch. This evolved into Focused Based Canine Training. Instead of listening
and reading what others said I submersed myself in the dog world by meeting and working with dogs of every breed, age, size, and history that people put in front of me. More importantly I watched how Odin reacted to them. I quickly discovered that differences between dogs are blown out of proportion so that many can specialize in a breed they like or are comfortable with. I judge a dog the same as a do a man, by the way they interact with me. I meet them where they are and don’t hold their past against them. My favorite thing about dogs is how simple and predictable their behavior is over time. Most people judge a dog by the worst thing they have every done which is usually “act aggressively” without any physical contact whatsoever. People are not able to live up to the same standard to which we hold dogs accountable. A dog bites someone one time and can be put down, we let people kill and rape children and let them out of jail to do it again, even after they say they will.
That was the extent of my “formal” training. Nobody lies about their inexperience. I was shocked early on, shocked as I am now as people are that I take a dog I have never met, that has pulled on the lead for years, and within minutes I have them walking on a loose leash without saying a word, on one finger. More importantly, I can then hand them back over to their owner and do the same thing. There is no other explanation other than the fact that the Lord gave me the spiritual gift of working with dogs to heal and love people. It brings peace to both of their lives. Having a walk with your dog is something that is free and easy to do, can be done almost anywhere at any time. It grounds you and causes you to be mindful. Dogs done care about what just happened, or what is going to happen, only what is happening. Dogs respond to stability with stability. You are your dog’s God; they count on you for everything. When you consistently meet these needs the dog learns to trust you without question in any circumstance. This gives the dog peace and lessens the chance of them overreacting in a such a way that causes permanent consequences. When your dog has you not much the world can throw at them is a big deal anymore. Their presence will calm other anxious dogs. Having someone to count on that has been where they are and is doing better gives you something to focus on. Do the same things consistently and get the same results. This is called recovery and recovery is nothing more than discovering new ways to deal with life’s issues that are simple, healthy, and repeatable,.
For a long time I have been back and forth about writing this article. I mean what if people read this and they don’t believe in God and they don’t hire me to work with their dogs? How will I support my family? The problem is that I cannot take it any more and I am convicted to tell you some of the many confirmations I have seen in such a short time.
First of all, I am a broken man, a sinner. A once decorated police officer, I was forced into retirement early due to PTSD. I used isolation, booze, and pills to survive. I left my wife Lisa a single parent to Elizabeth, Frank, and Emilie. Frank with serious medical issues, and Emilie with severe intellectual disabilities.
This is a testimony of how God used Odin to heal me and show me my mission of healing others through their dogs. If people thought their dogs were perfect, they would never call me. Nobody seeks recovery until the pain outweighs the fear of getting help.
The first weekend that I had Odin I went to Shades Fest in Red Lion and ran into Aaron Smith the Associate Pastor of Freedom Biker Church York. He invited me to check out the church. After a few weeks, Pastor Jim Quoss asked me to head up the security team. Before long, I was attending Celebrate Recovery for PTSD. I stopped drinking and taking pills on June 18 2017. On August 27 2017, my entire family was baptized and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. Now, I train dogs full time. My son Frank is my other trainer, and has his own dog sitting business and my wife Lisa is the office manager. Elizabeth (Sissy) is not out of the Navy and is the VP or Social Media & Marketing. Now, I am a leader in Celebrate Recovery after completing my second step study, and currently running my third one. I am the York POC for Broken Chains, an organization for bikers in Celebrate Recovery. My relationship with Lisa and the kids is fully restored. I now have the type of Brothers I longed for in the police department. Most importantly, I have freedom in Christ. None of this is my doing.
My father was raised Catholic, my mother was raised without any religion. My grandfather died on My 3rd birthday. After my Dad had graduated high school married Mom who was only 17, he was drafted. That was pretty much when he stopped going to church. The death of his father left him very angry at God and he would only go when I made my communion, confirmation etc. His father was a non-believer but my Grandmother was devout. She always made him go and the same with me when I was little. I enjoyed it, the whole deal, CCD, being an altar boy. Since I was young, I always wanted my friends to enjoy the things I enjoyed. This simply was not possible being Catholic. Even at a young age I realized how out of place my friends were when they would go to church with me when sleeping over. I felt like I could not just invite just anyone. Now I would describe it as more cultural than religious. Looking back noone ever spoke about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I never understood why the priest had to wear a costume since as far as I could tell Jesus didn’t. I can vividly remember feeling what I know now as the spirit and wanting to sing and move around and knowing that would be frowned upon.
When we went to my Grandmother’s to show her Lisa’s engagement ring, we told here we were going to have a non-denomination wedding. She said she loved us and wished us the best of luck but said that unless it was at a Catholic Church she would not be there. Growing up my parents worked nights and swing shift, so I was with my Grandmother often. It was because of her I got to play sports, do scouting and other things. She and I were very close. Without much coaxing Lisa, whose only real religion had been being shipped off to Sunday school on a bus on Sundays along with her siblings, decided to attend RCIA to become Catholic. So, we were married Catholic. We had spotty attendance at best but started to attend frequently when Elizabeth started CCD. Now is where my memory gets cloudy, after we had Frank and then Emilie we tried to stay in the church, but Emilie’s unpredictable movements and sounds were not appreciated. We tried some other churches, but nothing really fit “us”. It wasn’t until we found Freedom that I felt comfortable at home as did my family. It was the first time I had heard the gospel and that as a believer we were supposed to take the word to the world, the great commission. Sometimes I get a word for someone, or the Lord tells me to reach out to someone. When I hear another voice telling me not to be weird or not to do it for some other reason, then I know to do it, because that is the voice of the wicked one trying to suppress the living word. The more he does the more I know that I have so share it.
It is all very clear to me why this all happened. From the time I was a little kid, I knew that I was going to be a cop and put everything into that. In 2007 when the rug was pulled out from under me, I was shattered. I had worshipped being a cop, not the Lord and my family. Unfortunately, I continued to mourn the passing of my career for another 10 years until I got Odin.
The Lord used a dog when no human could reach me. He showed me the unconditional love that only comes from two places, dogs and Jesus Christ.
Every morning when I get up, I submit to the Lord and tell him that my wish is to serve him and not myself. I ask that he put me in the path of people who need to feel love, not be told about Jesus, but to feel him.
In spring of 2020 something came over me. I am sure it happened overtime but I did not sense it. It was a depression like no other that I had ever felt before. For six months I could not sleep and fought the demon of suicide literally minute by minute. I was separated from God and could not feel him no matter how much I prayed. I lost interest in all things and could not feel the love of my family. Elizabeth came home on emergency leave. I lost 60 lbs. There was no way I could smile. The idea of training a dog made me nauseous, I could not feel the spirit that guided me with the dogs. I knew that like electricity God was there even if I could not feel him. It was much worse than even what my wife, family, and congregation thought. I was on the razor edge and stepping off. I had no hope at all but I kept praying. Then one day in October Lisa watching the baby of a friend. She asked me If I wanted to go for a walk with them but I said no. As she was walking out the door I remembered someone saying that if you don’t feel like doing something just say “4,3,2,1” and stand up and dog it. I went for that walk and when we got back home I was 100% cured. Not a little, totally, like a light switch. I posted on Facebook and everyone from Freedom Biker Church was in Ocean City for Bike Week. They all knew I was healed. There are details of that time that only Pastor Jim & his wife Jackie, my therapist Julie from Katallasso Family Clinic and Lisa know, well besides the Lord.
What I learned was this. No matter how much you pray, God will not move towards you. He is always right there, you must move towards him. I was in a cell without bars and as soon as I reached out his hand was there to lead me.
Why the Lord allowed Satan to put me through this was very clear. First it was to harden me for my mission of bringing people to him through Christ. Second it was to understand that when someone is at that level they are incapable of reaching out. So we must stay in fellowship and learn to know each other so that any Brother or Sister is never allowed to get to that level of desperation. Don’t wait for them to reach out, reach in. This led me to start the Iron Sharpens Iron men’s group that meets every Tuesday night at 7 at the Freedom Biker Church. It is informal, not churched up and a place for any Brother to seek comfort, safety, and protection among other men of God. No judgement, only grace, acceptance and love.
What occurred happened in front of the entire congregation over six months. The Sunday after I healed I addressed the congregation to thank them for all their prayers and shared what I had learned on this journey that the Lord sent me on. Julie, my therapist calls me Lazarus.. It was ten times worse than anything I had ever been through, but above all else it was my biggest blessing, my life will never be the same.
If you are reading this and wondering if God is using me to talk to you the answer is yes. No matter who you are, no matter what you have done, the Lord is ready for you to come home. Everyone suffers from hurts, habits, and hang ups. Unfortunately not everyone is ready do do different to get different. If you are find a Celebrate Recovery by you. The entire time I was on my journey I never missed a meeting. The program works if you work it. If you need to talk email me at mercop27@gmail.com
Of course, well up until now, not everyone who schedules an appointment knows about my mission. They call me because they are having an issue with their dog. This is causing them anxiety and stress on top of everything else the world has to throw at them. They are in a word…overwhelmed. I take this opportunity to share a message.
Upon my arrival, I ask them to take me to wherever it is that they relax when they get a chance. I encourage the entire family to sit down, relax. I tell them no talk, no touch, and no eye contact with the dog. After a few minutes, the most hyper dogs relax. When they see their dog relax by not talking to them, they learn the power of just being still and quiet. I put a lead on the dog and walk out the door without saying a word. The dog follows. Over the next 15-20 minutes, we walk without saying a word and the dog relaxes. Then I turn it over to the owner. They relax even more. Once back home, we walk them on the loose leash without any pulling. This is when lots of owners begin to weep. Not cry, weep. They are weeping because for the first time they see who their dog really is on the inside and realized they just needed love & leadership. Love is an action, not just a feeling.
In recovery, which is nothing more than an ongoing intentional decision to choose how you allow circumstances to affect you, you meet people where they are. You cannot expect people to use tools they never had before. That is my approach to dog training. No shame, no guilt, over what happened before you asked for help. Asking for help is the first step in moving the needle in the right direction. Stress comes from being presented with a situation that you are either unable to control or are able but don’t know how. This is the issue with unwanted dog behaviors. If you don’t know what to do you will try hard when overcome with emotion. The bottom line with dog training is that if you are trying hard you are doing it wrong. Having to work hard to do something you have to do every day is exhausting and people just give up.
There are no bad dogs, everything they do is a result of what people have done or have failed to do for them. In a sense they are all strays, just like us. Just like with someone we meet; we will probably have no idea of what they have been through. I don’t subscribe to the typical dog trainer tactic of bending over, talking to the dog giving them treats to make them “like” me. They don’t need a friend; they need someone to lead them down the right path. I have the owner put the lead on because I will not chase them, whoever is getting chased is in charge. Then they hand me the lead and I lead them. You need to be your dog’s God, they have to have faith in you that no matter what happens you can handle it, nothing is bigger than you. You can’t do that with talk, you do that with relationship and consistency. They will resist but you must remain steadfast, calm, confident and unwavering. Sometimes they pull, spin, bite, struggle and otherwise protest. At some point they realize that by just submitting and taking a step towards you the tension of the lead is gone. The more things you face, and they react, but you remain unshakable they realize they don’t have to focus on the world, they only need to focus on you, no tension, no stress. Yes, I am talking about our need to fully admit and focus on Jesus Christ. Who knows what we will face, but what we do know is that he is always there. We change and do our own thing no matter how painful, but he stays the same. When the pain becomes too much to bare, we submit and let him lead, that is where the power of the holy spirit fills us with peace. Once we fully submit and accept the love and grace of Jesus Christ there is nothing that we cannot face with him.
For as long as I can remember, I have been very intuitive. During appointments people become very comfortable with me and tell me things that blow my mind. It still amazes me how many people we end up praying with. Once people are at peace, they relax and share.
Here are just a few recent examples-
We were called to train a dog. The lady knew I was in recovery and asked if I could talk to her boyfriend who had a drug problem. One of his major issues was his adult daughter who lived with him because he felt he was not there for her when she was younger. She was also there and had almost two years clean from Cocaine. Mom admitted that after losing her husband that past summer that she would just lock herself in her room and cry. Frank and I joined hands with the entire family and prayed. Afterwards the daughter came over and hugged Dad. A dog brought me there.
There was a lady who cancelled an appointment for the next day and I asked if she had time that day. She hesitated but said yes. I would learn that she was cancelling for the next day because they had moved up her date for a double mastectomy. We worked with the dog and then prayed. A dog brought me there.
We went to an appointment and found that the lady was very preoccupied and distraught. She was waiting for a call from her daughter about her young grandson who had cancer. They were amputating one of his legs, but he was still not expected to make it. We prayed and he is alive and active today getting used to his prosthetic. A dog brought me there.
We have dozens of stories just like this. We have been so blessed by the people we have met.
No matter how “bad” their dog is, EVERYONE says how sweet their dog is and how much they love them no matter what they have done. Does that sound familiar? Sounds like someone else I know that loves you no matter what you have done or what you do.
Because I believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, I don’t push mine on anyone. But, what you can’t stop me from doing is caring about you and your dog. I have never met anyone who did not liked being cared about.
At the very least, I do my best to destroy the maladaptive behaviors that your dog has that stress you out. The key is to remind people that it took their dog time to develop these issues and only consistent love and leadership will change them. Their dog is actually in recovery, and recovery cannot be done alone. For this to be effective, the owner must intentionally take time to work on those behaviors with their dog. While doing so, they need to learn to breathe, relax, and not to speak a word unless it is a command or praise. With work, this time becomes a coping mechanism and teaches them to deal with the world in the same way.
Maybe there is a reason that Dog spelled backwards is God. Though they may try and it is the goal, I have never met a person who is capable of unconditional love, but I have never met a dog that isn’t, even if it is with one person, and that’s all that’s needed.
December 2023 update– in late June Lisa called me while I was training which was unusual. So I answered the phone and said “what’s the matter”. She said we recieved a letter from the landlord that we had 30 days to move. I said “OK, well talk about it when we get home” and finsihed the appointment. We had been renting for two years and after that it was month to month. The long and short of it is that he wanted to rent to a friend of his wife’s who was coming back to the states from Ireland. I spoke to him, and he gave us 60 days. Our plans had been to move to Fort Worth TX where Elizabeth and DJ moved to when she got out of the Navy. The “plan” was to do that in the spring of 2025.
It’s hard to find a place to rent when you have five dogs, and Emilie is very loud. If we looked for a place locally we would only be looking again in TX in two years. That and everyone who has ever done it knows how bad moving is. Through a friend we found a real estate agent in TX and she quickly found us some properties. We flew down and applied to rent three different places. We were blessed and quickly accepted for the place we liked the most. Moving at all sucks, but moving cross country sucks more. We got a moving company and basically, they ended up strongarming us for a lot more money than was agreed upon to get our stuff. The three-day drive from York to Fort Worth was relatively present. Em was a trooper and so were the dogs.
We have been here since 26AUG23 and love our new house and being so close to Sissy. It will take us time to grow the business here but the Lord will bless us. Stay tuned for 2024.