A Sheboygan Falls family whose lives were forever changed by tragedy is speaking publicly in an effort to heal.
Chris and Kristi Maki lost three of their four children in a house fire in January of 2016. On Sunday, they shared their story with the community they say helped them stay strong.
There are times when the heartache Isn't as strong.
"There are days where we can just get up," says mother Christi Maki, addressing the crowd at Crossroads Community Church's Sunday service, "and go about our day like normal."
Other days are still a struggle.
"Seeing other kids the same age as my kids," says father Chris Maki. "I was sitting in the back of the chapel, and I looked out, and there was some of Ben's friends that were the same age as him, and he should've been there. I just sat in the back of the chapel for a while and cried."
For Kristi, the nine-month anniversary of her children's death was especially difficult.
"And it was heartbreaking," says Kristi. "It was like this terrible milestone."
The Maki family lost three of their children--11-year-old Natalie martin, 10-year-old ben martin, and 7-year-old Carter Maki--in that January house fire.
Consumed by grief, Chris and Kristi say they soon found comfort from neighbors and strangers.
"And, when we got to St. Nick's [hospital], there were people already in the parking lot waiting for us. After Carter had passed, we came out into the lobby, and the lobby was just full of people," says Chris. "Half of them I don't remember calling."
"The only way to get to healing is to walk through the pain," says senior pastor Jeff Jaeger after Sunday's service. "What they've ended up doing is taking one step forward each day."
Organs donated by their son, Ben, have also helped five families.
"There's a child who.. has a heart that beats strongly, who isn't on medication. There's people who have been saved from a life of pain, or their life has actually been saved because of our loss of Ben," says Kristi, "and that's a miracle that's sometimes hard to acknowledge, but it really is one."
Kristi says there's also another miracle from that night.
"Jenna is still with us," says Kristi. "The fact that Jenna got out of that house alive is an absolute miracle."
One year later, the Makis are asking the same community that supported them to find others in need.
"[God] wants us to be that church to pepole--the one that reached out in all times," says Kristi, "not just the catastrophic ones that make everybody look. The ones that are quiet, and private, too."
