ASHLEY, ND--A devastating fire left a young mother and a toddler homeless in Ashley, North Dakota.  Pastor Thomas Carlson made a call to his colleagues of the Legacy United Methodist Church Partnership and three suburbans full of donations were collected along with cash for the victims of the fire.

Photo:  Firefighters watch for flames after a long night of battling the flames.  The home of a young mother and toddler was a total loss in Ashley, ND.  Photo courtesy of Ashley Tribune. 

The Ashley Fire Department braved the bitter cold on November 16 for approximately 15 hours on a house fire. The two-story structure was total loss. The first call came in around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, November 16. After two hours of controlling the smoldering upstairs, fire fighters thought they were done for the evening, but were called again in less than an hour, this time with a fire in the basement. An electrical issue is believed to be the cause.

Courtney, a 20 year old single mom and 24 month old Chloe lost everything in the fire.  Courtney works as a waitress at a local resturant and was not home at the time of the fire. 

Pastor Thomas Carlson, Edgeley-Ashely UMC felt a need to help out the fire victims so he contacted the administrative council in Ashley.  The council saw Carlson's request as a great way to reach out to the community and be the church. 

"Courtney is not a member of the church.  But she needed our help, " said Carlson.  So Carlson phoned his friend and colleague Pastor Cory Thrall, Washburn--Turtle Lake--Center UMC to pray for the family.

Thrall saw an opportunity for the churches he serves and those that are connected to Legacy UMC in Bismarck to reach out to a family in Ashley.  Legacy UMC in Bismarck, ND provides leadership, resources and connection for several churches including; Moffit, Ashely, Edgeley, Washburn, Center, and Turtle Lake. 

Photo: (Left to Right) Rev. Kermit Culver, Pastor Cory Thrall, and Pastor Thomas Carlson stand by some of the donations that were collected by the Legacy Partnership for fire victims in Ashley, ND.  Photo courtesy of Legacy UMC.

Rev. Kermit Culver, Legacy UMC put the call out to members of Legacy.  Thrall posted the following message of Facebook:  "A family needs your help! Last night there was a fire in Ashley, ND and a young mother lost everything in that fire. I am calling on everyone in the Legacy partnership to help, if you can. She is in dire need of clothes and baby items. The baby is 24 months, so clothes of appropriate size for a 24-month-old girl. The mother is size xs in tops and 0 to 3 in pants/jeans. Anything will help. Please let me know if you would like to help and I will relay that information to Thomas Carlson who serves that area of Legacy Partnership. Thank you, and know that you can spread the love and peace of God in this young lady's life."

Clothes, household items, toys and much more started pouring in.  In addition, Thrall set up online site for cash donations through a tool called Go Fund Me.  Click here to see the online giving opportunity.  Churches from beyond the Legacy Partnership joined the effort.

Carlson said the response has been tremondous and he could not be more plesed. "We didn’t this because we want her to come to our church. We did this to show the love of Christ.”