From Bankruptcy to Four Businesses and a Dream Home

The legendary Shelby Cobra is more than a dream car for Richard and Christal Creel. They have the only authorized Cobra dealership in Arizona – just one of four businesses the Creels own. The road to their success, however, was a tough one.

By the time the couple married in 1997, they had already opened a coffee shop. The idea was that Christal would run it.

"The plan was for me to quit my job, and Rich was working at the time, so he basically was going to support us," remembers Christal. "We put everything on the line to open the coffeehouse up."

What they didn’t plan on was Richard getting hurt. He injured his back during a rescue mission while working as a law officer for the Maricopa parks and recreation service.

"I tried to go back to work. Bottom line, it was too painful. I couldn’t tolerate the pain without medication. So I took a leave of absence," says Richard.

His workman’s compensation claim was denied, which left him without medical coverage. There was no income, no doctor office visits, or medication. Everything came out of pocket.

The coffee shop didn’t pull in the money they needed to pay all the bills, including Richard’s medical care.

"We needed at this point to pull the income to keep the apartment and pay for his health care. The money just went a lot quicker than we could bring it in," says Christal.

They closed up shop and declared bankruptcy.

"Literally my world was falling apart, and there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I really started praying because I knew God was the answer. God had the answer," says Richard.

The answer came on The 700 Club.

Christal says, "I was listening to Gordon one morning while washing dishes and having coffee. He just said in such a calm voice, 'The Lord loves you. You can’t out give God, and when you give and you believe, you have to receive.' "

They decided to take God at His word. They started a cleaning business and tithed right off the top of their income.

Richard remembers,"The first cleaning check we received was $70. And so I took that and wrote a $7 check, and I put it in the basket. The next check we got was about $140, so then there was a $14 tithe and a $28, and I was hooked. I thought this really does work. I realized that Jesus was really real to me, and it was working. It took time, but things turned around."

Several business opportunities opened up for Christal. Workman’s comp finally paid for Richard’s back surgery. He also started receiving benefits from an old retirement account. The back pay alone totaled $30,000. Then Christal, who now had her real estate license, closed on an 8.5 million dollar land deal.

"It’s like once the first harvest came in, it was truly a flood gate and it just kept flooding in and flooding in," says Christal.

In addition to their four businesses, the Creels found a dream home, complete with horses for them and their grandchildren. They want to remind people that financial success doesn’t happen overnight.

"I have to keep reminding myself that it is a process of faith, growing, believing, and praying. God is true to His Word where He says, 'You test me, and see if I will not pour out a blessing that you cannot contain," she says.

The Creels saw the rewards of applying the Law of Reciprocity -- "Give and it shall be given to you" -- by giving to CBN. Here is your chance to give to the Lord and see your dollars bring truth to hurting people, feed and clothe needy children, keep The 700 Club Prayer Counseling Center phone lines operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provide medical care to those who need a tangible touch of God's love. Become a CBN partner today!