Planting

Seeds

Love

Planting Seeds Love

Thanks so much for starting this chain of joy!

My boyfriend and I visited your tiny home in late October. We took the $20 you gifted us back to St. Louis, where I gave it to a man named Theo. He is often around my apartment before his shift at the gas station starts. He is currently saving up for a tent.

Thank you. Sending joy : )

Emma

The Berry's

Thanks again for having us! What a fun project you are doing. I was at Target and bought on of the baby formulas and gave to it to a mom in need on our Buy Nothing FB group. She was extremely thankful. Thanks for your kind heart and generosity, I have a feeling it will go a long way. Our family will continue to share light on to another!

San Diego Ehrharts

Great idea about doing acts of kindness to our fellow man, or as we think of it, showing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will find some opportunities and report back on your beautiful postcard. 

Beautiful painting, by the way. 

And thanks for your hospitality.

Blessings,

Laura & Craig

‘A friend left her mom last winter in a very traumatic way. Her dad got a dog to mend his heart.

As we enter the holidays, I recognize how hard it will be for many families for different reasons. I mailed a gift package to their dog from my dog. I don't think they'll know who sent it. I hope it sparks some joy and they pass it on.’ 

Hi Nikki & Curtis!

Thank you for letting us stay in your cabin! I'm originally from Seward, so my friend and I came down to celebrate my birthday weekend! To pay it forward, we were able to tip a little extra at dinner! 

Thank you!

Logan

Thank you for letting us stay in your Airbnb! We had a great time here and are sad to be going so soon.

We've taken one of your post cards and look forward to writing back once we find a good opportunity to help another earth mate! We'll leave the money for the next folks.

Thanks so much! J & C

Dear Curtis & Nikki

Thanks for giving us an opportunity to spread God's grace! We were able to pass on the seed money to Clarence, whom we met at a Fred Meyer in Klamath Falls, OR. Clarence is homeless and had something bothering one of his eyes, so he was going to use the money to get some medical help. We also prayed with him that God would heal him. 

Thanks also for being such good hosts to us when we had the difficulty with the car and illness. 

Ken & Liz Weber

‘I met a woman from Ukraine at a nail salon. She was quiet and a bit sad. I learned Russian many years ago and we talked for an hour about how her family is struggling here and in Ukraine.

She was so happy to be able to communicate with someone since her English is limited. I took her number and promised to help her in some way if I could. I'm not sure what that means yet, but I tipped her $50 and I hope it reminded her she is not alone and supported.’ 

Curtis & Nikki

Our stay in the tiny home was a highlight of our trip! We loved all of the touches especially this lovely painting. We used your money as a donation and a match to one of our favorite local charities that provided lunches to children during the summer.

 Thank you! Kevin & Becca G 

June 2022

Curtis and Nikki,

We enjoyed our stay in your tiny cabin very much and were so excited to be part of your How a Tree Grows project.

When we returned home we spent the next week having the interior of our house painted. While talking to the painter, we learned his daughter and son-in-law were foster parents to four siblings ranging in age from 8-14. The children had gone through some extensive trauma and as a result have had significant mental health and behavioral issues.

Being a foster parent to children with these needs is very stressful and draining, so we added some money to the $20 and sent them a gift card to go out to eat and take some time for themselves.

Joe and Lori

We stayed at your place on May 27, 2023 for the night on our way to Seward. We really appreciate and like this gesture of ‘Giving it forward.’ We used the $20 bill to donate to a charity that supports education of the under privileged children in our home country (India). We were able to increase our donation amount, thanks to this initiative.

Regards, Tonmay & Janhayi

Hi Curtis & Nikki,

‘What a neat idea! My best friend is a single mom who recently lost her job. One of her sons won a competition to go to DC for the next round. I donated the $20 to them in support of the trip!’

Dear Nikki,

Thanks for your grace! We are a student couple in Purdue University. One of our department’s eldest professor passed away at the end of June. He was a really optimistic man, fighting pancreatic cancer for 22 years and 12 years to Parkinson. We leave the condolences to support Lafayette Food Bank and Amnesty International as decided by him. Thanks again! Great project!

Liu & Qi

Aloaha,

I was at Texas Roadhouse in Anchorage and my waitress was pregnant and working harder than the rest of them. I added your $20 to another $100 to give directly to her.

Love, Lyle

Although we did not stay long, we wanted to participate. We plan on giving the money to our tour guide for a tip. Thanks for the amazing stay.

The Darbys

Hi Curtis & Nikki,

First of all, we loved staying in your beautiful tiny home and your ‘plant the seed’ idea.

We took the $20 and gave it as a tip to one of the airline workers as a tip. There were many flight cancellations with the airline (including ours) so we know she had worked many long hours with not-so-happy customers. We hope the $20 helped brighten her day.

Thank you and many blessings!

Nolan & Annie Fraaza

Hi Curtis & Nikki

After a long haul we finally arrived back in Australia. The stay in the tiny house was very special and equally so, was your gift of 20 dollars. Not long after leaving we went to Seattle. There were lots of homeless people. A man stood out to us. He was a cleaner and was cleaning up the mess the homeless had left the night before. We observed him for a few days and on the last day I asked him about it. We saw him talk to the homeless as he worked. He had four children and was grateful to work. We gave him the 20 dollars. He was very grateful and would do his best to help someone else too.

I told him it was good to work, as he confirmed the people he cleaned up after did not want to work. He went on his way making sure the ones nearby were covered up before he went.

Regards, Allon & Tracey

Dear Curtis & Nikki

We used the $20 you provided plus $20 of our own money to help a couple named Mandy and Pete who lost their home in a fire on 7-29-23. This couple has five children ages 18, 16, 15, 10 and 6. God bless you both for planting seeds of love kindness.

Julie& Ann

Dear Curtis & Nikki,

Thanks for letting us stay in your tiny house while we were in Alaska. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

I love the plant the seed idea. We used the money to donate to a coworker of mine who was recently in a tragic car accident.

Thanks,

Michelle & Marques Georgia

Nikki,

Great idea about doing acts of kindness to our fellowman or as we think of it, showing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We will find some opportunities and report back via your beautiful postcard.

Beautiful painting, by the way.

Thanks for what you are doing.

Blessings,

The Wilsons

Dear Nikki & Curtis,

I gave your $20 to a houseless man after I returned to NYC, and he was so incredibly grateful for it.

We loved staying in the tiny house when we were traveling around Alaska. Thank you for making our journey special.

Warmly, Mary & Andrew — NYC

Dear Curtis & Nikki,

Thank you so much for an amazing stay at your tiny home! We truly had an unforgettable time there! We ended up using the money to cover our entrance fee to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where we got to see firsthand all the injured & abandoned animals they’re helping. Because of this, we have decided to ‘plant a seed’ and use our Instagram page to drive donations for AWCC throughout the month of October. Thank you for introducing this kindness initiative. We look forward to always keeping an eye out for opportunities to show kindness to others!

CeCe & Finn

Curtis & Nikki

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful tiny adventure home with us.

We are a couple originally from Colorado and Illinois. We were able to spread the seed by donating the money to a military family whose house recently burned down. This will help them rebuild their belongings.

We love this project and will continue to spread the kindness!

Leah

Hello from Michigan!

Having your tiny cabin to stay in was the best first experience we had when we arrived to Alaska.

We paid it forward to our awesome kayaking guide Liz. We took a day trip with her at Sunny Cove Kayaking Tours. She was so friendly and knowledgeable. An amazing way to experience Alaska!

Hello there!

This is Ken. I wanted to pass along that I paid it forward to a team of dog sledders up in the Fairbanks area. They need to provide lots of food for their pups, so I wanted to help them to provide for their kennel.

Ken S. Bensalem, PA (near Philly)

Curtis & Nikki,

I blessed two servers with extra — I gave a waiter in Seward the $20 and was gonna add more to my card, but he wouldn’t let me, so I got a coffee & the young barista had a college fund tip jar, so I left an $11 top! $1 from me & $10 to pay it forward.

Love the idea - Raynell ‘Nellie’

Dear Curtis & Nikki

Sorry we took so long to get this back to you. We’re full-time travelers and kept looking for the right person to ‘pay it forward’. Finally in Calgary we found a street musician who was going back to school to earn a counseling psychology degree. Thought the funds could help him pay the bills while he developed the skills to help others.

Tanis & Brian

Dear Nikki,

Thanks for your grace! We are a student couple at Purdue University. One of our department’s eldest professors, Chris Hoffmann, passed away at the end of June. He was a really optimistic man, fighting pancreatic cancer for 22 years and a 12 years’ battle to Parkinsons. We leave the condolences to support Lafayette Food Bank and Amnesty International as decided by him. Thanks again! Great project!

Hello! We stayed at your AirBnB back in April and held off on passing along the $20 until June. We met a single woman trying to get her new business off the ground. She had such a passion for her idea and it was a really good one. So we shared the $20 plus some additional money to help her move forward. Since then we’ve paid attention to other opportunities to plant seeds. We’ve supported a single (newly) mom of six in securing a vehicle and housing. We’ll keep our eyes open and will continue.

Thank you for planting the seed of generosity! Blessings to you!

Heather & Mark

Curtis & Nikki,

I blessed two servers with extra - I gave a waiter in Seward the $20 & was gonna add more to my card, but he wouldn’t let me, so I got a coffee & the young barrista had a college fund tip jar, so I left an eleven dollar tip! $1 from me & $10 to pay it forward.

Love the idea - Raynell ‘Nelli’

Dear Curtis & Nikki

Thank you so much for sponsoring this - What a wonderful idea! Trevor and I thought for a long time about all the good things with the $20, but we ended up donating it on a whim. We were at AWCC (Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center) just up the road and were really moved by the story of Adonis, their one winged bald eagle rescue. We both cherish our time in the outdoors and AWCC’s mission really resonated with us, so it was an easy decision! Thanks again!

Trey & Trevor

Hey Curtis & Nikki,

We loved our stay at your tiny home! It was the perfect location for our first visit to Alaska.

We noticed a road construction worker who looked to be exhausted and handed them the money.

Thank you!!!

We stayed in 2022 (July) and used your generous offer to pay for meals for the homeless! (WeFeedtheHomelessPhilly.Org) Honored to be a part of this project - what a lovely idea! We will definitely be back to book a stay.

Happy Holidays, Sincerely the Gigliotti’s

Hello!

Finally completed this wonderful challenge! We live in Salt Lake City, where there is a large homeless population and we used the $20 towards making kits to give out to houseless people we see when driving around. Thank you for this effort to do something positive and a wonderful stay in August 2021!

Sierra & Merina

4/15/24

We contributed to the World Central Kitchen, which provides food relief to communities affect4ed by natural disasters and during humanitarian crises.

Elaine & Tom Reale

Dear Nikki & Curtis,

I gave your $20 to a houseless man after I returned to NYC, and he was so incredibly grateful for it.

We loved staying in the tiny house when we were traveling around Alaska. Thank you for making our journey special.

Warmly, Mary & Andrew — NYC

We went on a fishing trip & tipped our local guide $20 extra for his upcoming wedding!

Matt & McKenna

Curtis & Nikki

Thank you so much for the beautiful ‘assignment’! It was such a joy waiting for God to tell me exactly who to bless with the $20.

Our small town has a very active YoungLife community with several new and very young leaders. I was working at our CrossFit Gym one morning with the head of YoungLife in our community. We were talking about the high school students and their needs. I knew in my heart who the $20 was to go to. I handed it to him to use as he saw fit. The next morning he shared with me that one of his female leaders wanted to take her discipleship group to a pumpkin patch for fellowship, but had no money. He handed her the $20 and she took the girls and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with them there. Thank you for the beautiful and kind gift!

Curtis & Nikki,

Thank you for a beautiful place to call home for the night and an especially thoughtful project you are doing. what an amazing way to spread love and thoughtfulness to those in need. On our way to your tiny home/cabin, I found out a dear friend recently lost her dad in a 3 week battle (final diagnosis to death) to an aggressive form of leukemia. I lost my dad August 18, 2021 and she reached out to me for comfort and for someone who’s gone through it as well. I’m going to use this $20 to buy her books that helped me in my grief. We grabbed both postcards and plan to send you another note from another experience with someone in need.

Theo & Amanda Rich from Idaho

Hello from Rathdrum, ID

We stayed at your place when we visited for a wedding (March 2024) We loved your place and your ‘plant a seed’ idea even more. Sprinkling little bits of love and light is what thisworld needs. We used the 20 dollars you left and bought coffee for some of our fellow teachers. We both teach in the area. It blessed them and helped them feel seen in a dark time in our school year. I pray ‘plant a seed’ grows a large crop of love. God bless you!

Stephen & Ashley

We had the best time during our stay at your amazing tiny house. It was such a surprise to read about this project. On one of our last days of our trip we went to a small sushi place for lunch. We were the only people there and there was one woman working. We decided to leave her the extra $20 for a tip. We keep this project in mind all the time and hope to continue the kindness. thank you s much for everything!

Sophie & Riley

Love this idea! Also love your tiny house! Our 1st pay it forward was paying for the items of an older man who, when I was checking out, the cashier mistook him with me- perfect opportunity and he was so appreciative!

2nd was the amazing godly staff person at a spa we visited in Homer. Both just felt so right. Bless you and all who visit your home!

Rita & Josh B.

Berry Family,

Thank you for the wonderful and peaceful stay in this cabin. This stay brought us joy and a wonderful memory on our trip. We used the fund to find a home made birthday gift for a co worker :) We hope she loves it.

Thank you for what you do.

Curtis & Nikki

I spent today in my hometown (Battle Creek, Michigan), where I hadn’t visited in years. At the brewery where I had dinner, there was a wonderful local band playing. I’ll admit I was a bit eager to leave Battle Creek after high school, but seeing such talented young people and so many smiling faces, I’m reminded there’s beauty in every town. I dropped your $20 in the tip jar and left feeling deeply grateful to have grown up there!

William Ingalls

Hi Curtis & Nikki

Thank you for a great stay in your cabin! We were looking for a good way to pass it forward with the $20 you gave us and were planning on donating it to our curch, Wildwood Bible Church here in Eagle River. We stopped for groceries at Three Bears in Chugiak and there was a ministry asking for food donations for their Adult & Teen Challenge Program. It’s a faith-based ministry to help people struggling with drug abuse. We used the $20 to buy a big box of Gatorade for them.

thank you for the opportunity to serve!

Sarah & Thomas B.

Dear Curtis & Nikki

Thanks so much for your encouragement to pass on joy & our blessings. Your money inspired us to donate $50 to World Central Kitchen, which is supplying meals & cooking with locals in places like Ukraine, Gaza, the Caribbean & more. We have supported WCK in the past, but this donation was totally inspired by you. This is a beautiful painting.

Peace, Julie & Peter Hochrein

Thanks for a great stay in your “Tiny House” and for the $20 to pay it forward. At the time we were staying, there were several huge fires raging in California and other states. We decided to pay it forward and replant some of the fire damage caused by the fire. Our 10 trees will be planted in Oregon from a decent fire. Thanks again for everything!! A & J