Prohibition

Thanks for your prayers. The donor event at our subdivision in Oxford, Ohio went very well today. It was a time to celebrate what God has done so far and a time to look forward to future of the Reckford Woods subdivision. I am also glad to help tell the Habitat story and to spend time with Partner Families. It was a great time for me to do both this afternoon.

I just finished watching the first episode of the new Ken Burns PBS documentary Prohibition. I found it fascinating. I love history and there is no one like Burns to really help bring it alive. This first episode set the context for the social, cultural, religious, and political environment that led to the passage of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
I was surprised to learn that Ohio was such a key state in the temperance movement and Cincinnati was a major battleground for protests and conflict between the "drys" who supported prohibition and the "wets" who did not. I had known that it was in many ways a movement led by Christian women, but I had no idea how much it was linked to the women's suffrage movement.
One fact that absolutely amazed me was that by 1830, the average American over 15 years old consumed nearly seven gallons of pure alcohol a year - three times as much as people drink today. This first episode gave startling facts about saloons and bars that were both community centers in many cities and a source of all kinds of vice. Corrupt politicians looked the other way because they financially benefited from the saloons and the brothels that often accompanied them. Beer barons bought elections and controlled entire communities with their wealth and influence.
The dry movement also had some less than pure motives and practices. Prohibitionists spread false information about the impact of alcohol on the body. They also destroyed property by walking into saloons and smashing bottles of alcohol. As World War I began, they used anti-German sentiment in America to fuel the cause of prohibition.
I am looking forward to the next two episodes of this documentary. I am always grateful for programs like this that both entertain and educate. If you want to know more about this program, check out this website:
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/prohibition/
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Postcards and Prayers

Thanks for your prayers for my brother-in-law Rob. He came home from the hospital today. I ask for continued prayers for his recovery.

Today the printer finally delivered the 30,000 postcards that we will be mailing to residences in targeted areas around our Habitat service area. It was quite a delivery. I don't think I've ever seen that many boxes of postcards before. I'm grateful for the delivery guy who wheeled them in and unloaded the cart. I'm going to start printing the labels next week. Our Volunteer Coordinator is working on recruiting volunteers to stick on all the labels. We estimate it will be at least a two day project. I have a feeling labeling postcards is going to be in my future. I continue to ask for your prayers for this big outreach to families living in poverty and substandard housing in the TriState region.

On Sunday afternoon, I'm attending a donor cultivation event in Oxford, Ohio for TriState Habitat for Humanity. It will be a chance for people to see the first house that we are building in our twenty home subdivision in Oxford. Two of our Habitat Partner Families will be present to meet people and thank them for their support. I ask for your prayers for this event. It's the first event like this we've done since I've been at TriState Habitat. I am hoping it will be a blessing for those who attend and for TriState Habitat for Humanity.

Beyond the event on Sunday, I don't have much planned for the weekend. I think I'm going to just relax and take it easy. I'm sure Netflix will be a part of the weekend. I hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Another New Home Owner

We had another Habitat family become a home owner today. We closed this afternoon on TriState Habitat for Humanity's 200th home. It was really exciting for me to witness this one. It's been a long process for this family who have been living in some pretty awful conditions. It was so cool to get to see the new home owner sign her closing documents and get the keys to her new safe, decent, affordable home.
While I get a paycheck for my work with TriState Habitat for Humanity, days like today are my real pay days. It fills me with such joy to know all of the time, energy, volunteer hours, and donations have been building up to this one moment. It was truly a time to celebrate and thank God for what God has accomplished in this family's life through the ministry of Habitat.
I continue to be honored and humbled by this work and ministry to which God has called me.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Waiting on the Printer

I continue to ask for your prayers for my family recruitment efforts with TriState Habitat for Humanity. We are getting ready to do a big push. Right now I'm waiting on the printer to print and deliver about 30,000 postcards that we will be mailing out. This is by far the largest bulk mailing I've ever done. I can't begin to imagine how I'm going to get the thing to the post office. I am also awaiting approval from the school administration of the Hamilton City School District. We plan to send a family recruitment flyer home with every student in the district. That will be about 8,000 flyers. There are other areas that I want to target and other ideas I want to try for family recruitment but I really want to see what the response will be after these mailings. When we sent the last big mailing to several apartment complexes in Butler County, Ohio, we got a really good response. We will see what happens with this next round.
So, right now, I'm just waiting on the printer. Then we will have volunteers in the office to slap mailing labels on like there's no tomorrow. Then, somehow, I will get all these postcards to the post office. Then, hopefully, the phones in our office will be ringing off the hook. That's my hope and plan. I will let you know how it goes.
Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

TGIF

Thank you God for Friday. Thank you for the end of a work week. Thank you for the privilege of having a job when so many people in America are unemployed. Thank you for having a job that brings me joy and that brings honor to your name. Thank you for work that makes a difference in people's lives.
I know that there are some days, even some days this past week, when I felt like I was just spinning my wheels. I wondered if I was really making a difference. It feels like there is so much more need out there than I or Habitat are able to address. There are so many people in TriState Habitat for Humanity's service area who will sleep tonight in some deplorable conditions. It honestly overwhelms me at times God.
Remind me that I am not Superman and my job is not to rescue everyone. You already sent a Savior to the world. My job is to trust in Him and in your unending grace. My job is to use the gifts that you have given me to serve families living in poverty in the best way that I can.
Thank you also God for a week that marked a milestone in my parents' marriage. It's hard to believe that they have been married for 47 years. When half of all marriages end in divorce, their love and relationship has endured. I'm grateful for the example of the love that my parents have displayed and lived out in their lives.
God, help me to find rest and renewal this weekend. I feel like I need to recharge my batteries. I want enjoy Sabbath time and also some play time. I hope to enjoy this wonderful region to which you have led me in some way. I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I trust that you will guide me.
God, most of all, thank you for your love that remains steadfast. You have led me to this place at this time and it has blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined. I am enjoying my work. I'm a part of one of the most gifted teams with which I've ever worked. I attend a church that inspires me and serves the city in some truly amazing ways. I have a family and friends who love me. I am filled with humble gratitude for your faithfulness in the midst of my life.
Thank you God for Friday and every day that are all gifts from you. In Jesus' name. Amen.

A New Home

I was really tired last night and could hardly keep my eyes open when I wrote my brief blog post. It was a long day at the end of a long week. This has been an amazingly busy time for me in my work with Habitat. We have been preparing for three closings. Yesterday was the first of the three. These are always cause for much celebration but also there is a lot of last minute stuff to do and this can be a real source of stress.
Right before I fell asleep last night, I thought about the couple that just closed on their house yesterday. They have six boys and they have been living in a two bedroom home with one bathroom. I cannot begin to imagine what that has been like for them. I tried to imagine what last night in their new home must have been like for this family. I'm sure there they were tired from moving all of their stuff. I'm sure the boys had a hard time settling down for the night as they adjusted to their new bedrooms. I'm sure there was laughter and excitment. However, I'm guessing that there was also a huge sense of peace that settled over this family as they slept in their new safe, decent, affordable home built with love.
Just before I lost consciousness for the night, I said a prayer of thanksgiving for this work to which God has called me. I can't begin to tell you how much it feeds my soul and helps give purpose and meaning to my life. It is really not a job. It is ministry in the best sense of the word. This doesn't mean that there are not difficult days. This does not mean that I don't struggle and feel stressed. However, what I do know with every fiber of my being is that this is where I am supposed to be at this point in my journey.
I don't know what God has in store for me in the future. I'm doing my best to live in this moment as I take big gulps of the grace that God provides for me every day. I feel joy like never before. I feel contentment and peace. I feel grateful for the honor of being able to serve the poor through the mission and ministry of Habitat for Humanity.
With this latest home now completed, I can't wait to move forward with the next application, the next construction project, and the next closing. The process begins again and again as new families seek to live out their dream and move from substandard housing and become home owners.
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Reaching Out to More Families

I continue to ask for your prayers for our recruitment efforts at TriState Habitat for Humanity. I am really feeling some pressure as grant deadlines approach. I also am trying hard to think outside the box when it comes to family recruitment. I know families are out there, I need to meet them where they are. I'm hoping God will give me the wisdom to find them.
We just sent out another direct mailing to people living in Middletown, Ohio. Middletown has had an active group of Habitat volunteers for many years and has built many houses. The challenge is that Middletown is a typical Midwestern city that is in decline. The population of Middletown has decreased 5.6% in past decade. Once home to a lot of industry, many jobs have left Middletown for the sunbelt or other countries. According to the 2010 US Census, 12.6% of the city's population live in poverty.
There is definite need in Middletown, it's just finding families who are willing to do what it takes to become Habitat Partner Families. I am really hoping that this mailing (targeted to renters in the urban center of Middletown) will reach some families who are willing to take the risk to make their dreams come true.
Tomorrow, I will get to witness one family's dream come true. We have a closing for a family whose new home is located in Batavia, Ohio. I am really looking forward to it.
It's late and I need to get to bed. Thanks for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Poverty in America

The U.S. Census Bureau released a new report yesterday regarding the state of poverty in the United States. The report is entitled Income, Poverty and Health Insurance inthe United States: 2010. You can find the press release which includes a summary of their findings here. You can also read the full report here.
Here's a summary of highlights from this report:

• The official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent — up from 14.3 percent in 2009. This was the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate. Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points, from 12.5 percent to 15.1 percent.
• In 2010, 46.2 million people were in poverty, up from 43.6 million in 2009—the fourth consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
• Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 9.4 percent to 9.9 percent), for Blacks (from 25.8 percent to 27.4 percent), and for Hispanics (from 25.3 percent to 26.6 percent). For Asians, the 2010 poverty rate (12.1 percent) was not statistically different from the 2009 poverty rate.
• The poverty rate in 2010 (15.1 percent) was the highest poverty rate since 1993 but was 7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available.
• The number of people in poverty in 2010 (46.2 million) is the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.
• Between 2009 and 2010, the poverty rate increased for children under age 18 (from 20.7 percent to 22.0 percent) and people aged 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent to 13.7 percent), but was not statistically different for people aged 65 and older (9.0 percent).

The sobering reality for me when I read these statistics is that I realize how much need is all around the TriState Habitat for Humanity service area. There are more people than ever before who may qualify for Habitat's home ownership program. It appears that there is an ever-growing number of people who may have need for a safe, decent, affordable home in which to live.

This means there is much work to do. My job is to reach out to these families and encourage them to apply. As I oversee and implement our family recuritment efforts, it is more important than ever to recognize that there is a growing number of people who maybe just a few years ago would not qualify for a Habitat home but now do because they are living in poverty.

I ask for your prayers for our family recruitment efforts. I am beginning to see the fruits of some of our targeted direct mailings but we still need more families in some parts of our service area. We are always looking for families who are in need of a decent home, have the ability to make monthly mortgage payments, and are willing to partner with Habitat by completing sweat equity volunteer hours and other requirements of the program. While our program is certainly not for everyone, I know there are people out there who do meet our qualifications. Please pray that they will be open to applying.

Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Two New Families

Today I had the great honor of telling two families that they have been approved as Habitat Partner Families. I love making these calls. The emotions are always so varied. Some people get really excited and whoop and yell. Other people start crying. Others are just quietly grateful.
I have the honor to be the person who first gets to tell them the good news. I congratulate them and then tell them that now the hard work of partnership begins. They will have to complete 500 sweat equity hours. They will have to attend required classes. They will fill out tons of forms. They will have to recruit others to help them build their homes.
This is really the fun part of my job. It's so wonderful to hear the varied reactions and to be able to offer hope to people who have been rejected and denied so many times before. It's the beginning of a whole new part of their lives. Habitat will walk with them and support them, but they still have to do all of the hard work themselves.
I ask for your prayers for these two new Habitat Partner Families. They have a challenging road ahead of them. It will test their patience. Hopefully, the process will also cause them to change old patterns of behavior and thinking. Most of all, I hope that God will work in their hearts as they work along side volunteers and staff who want to see them succeed. This is a day of new beginnings. It's a day that will launch their path towards becoming home owners of safe, decent, affordable homes.
Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

New Phone

Well, I finally did it. I got a new cell phone today. This is a major milestone in my life because this is only the second cell phone that I have ever owned. I got my first cell phone in 2006 in my home town of Mishawaka, Indiana right before I moved to Knoxville Tennessee. The reason that I decided to get a new cell phone was because my old cell phone was having a hard time keeping a charge. I think this might have been what caused my problem earlier this summer when I my phone shut off and I didn't know how to turn it back on.
When I went to the Verizon store today to get the new cell phone, the guy who helped me (who was probably still in elementary school when I got my first cell phone) said, "Your phone is really old." He then proceeded to try to sell me a smart phone with all kinds of bells and whistles. I told him "no." He then showed me their basic phones that were on display in the store. He suggested that I get one with a keyboard for texting and a camera. I told him "no". I then asked him if they had any other basic phone models in stock that were not on display. They had a catalogue and I pointed to some phones and he thought they did have a few of them in the back. I told him I had a $50 credit on my account and I wanted to use that to get a phone and that I hoped that they had phones that would not cost me anything if I used my credit. He went into the back stock room and emerged with my new phone. He told me that I would not have to pay anything for this if I used my $50 credit and that I could walk out of the store with a new phone. The salesman also warned me that this phone didn't take photos, connect to the Internet, or have a flip out keyboard for sending texts. He said it was just a "plain Jane phone." I told him that it sounded perfect.
So, I've spent the evening reading the manual for my new phone. I know. Most people just know how to use their phones and never even unwrap the manual but that's not how I'm wired. I like to read the manual and learn all of the little tricks to operating new phone. Of course, there are very few little tricks because by the rest of the world's standards, I am now the proud owner of the world's most boring phone.
In spite of the fact that I am really excited about my new phone, I also will miss my old phone. I may try to donate my old phone to the Smithsonian. Maybe they will display it next to Dorothy's ruby slippers.
That old phone has been my communication device with the world for the past five years. I think about all of the conversations I have had with friends and family using that phone. I have laughed deeply and shed many tears while using that old phone. I have heard good news and bad news while talking on that phone. I was talking on that old phone when I was offered the Family Services Coordinator position at TriState Habitat for Humanity. I have renewed relationships with old friends and talked for the first time when people who would become new friends. I have made plans and cancelled plans. I have offered and received words of encouragement on that old phone. That phone traveled with me from Indiana to Tennessee to Ohio. It went with me when I traveled. It has been the alarm that has awakened me every morning for the past five years. It has been a faithful companion and I will be sad to see it go.
I am grateful for both my new phone and my old phone. I am grateful for memories and new beginnings. I am thankful for new technology that will carry me into the next season of my life and journey.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Walking Advertisement

I stopped a local restaurant this evening on my way home from work to get some dinner. As I sat down at my table, a woman sitting at a table nearby said, "There's someone from Habitat." I wondered how she knew I was with Habitat for Humanity and then I realized I was wearing a shirt with the TriState Habitat for Humanity logo on it. Duh!
Anyway, I went over to the table and the woman introduced herself and her husband who was sitting with her to me. I introduced myself. We then talked for several minutes and I discovered that this couple volunteers with the Cincinnati Habitat for Humanity affiliate. They are very active construction volunteers and have been volunteering with Habitat for a number of years. In fact, they met for the first time as a single people on a Habitat job site and are now married.
After our conversation, I went back to my table and said a prayer of thanksgiving for running into these two dedicated Habitat volunteers. I was so glad that I was wearing my shirt. I am proud to be a walking advertisement for Habitat. I am passionate about our mission and the work that we do. I want the world to know the difference that Habitat is making in the TriState region, the United States, and around the world. I am so proud to be able to represent Habitat and to be able to connect with others who share my passion for bringing an end to poverty housing in the world.
I also got to thinking about how I am not always the best walking advertisement for my faith. I don't always represent Christ to the world in the most positive manner. I only need to look to my morning commute to recognize this. I am too often filled with road rage and certainly don't offer much grace to the drivers around me who I am convinced are all on the road driving stupidly just to make me mad.
I also am not the best ambassador for Christ when I remain silent in the face of the injustice I see in life. I often times would rather just not make any waves rather than stand up for what I know to be right in God's eyes. I take the easy way out by often people are led to believe that I accept the injustice that is taking place because I am silent.
So, tonight I'm giving God thanks for the opportunity I had to be a witness for the mission of Habitat. I am also praying that God will give me the courage and peace to be a more faithful witness for Jesus in the world.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Great Weekend

I have come to the end of a really great weekend. I got a call from my friend Mari to say she made it home to South Bend okay. We packed a lot of activities into our extended weekend. We had a good balance of tourist stuff and down time watching movies. I'm grateful for Mari's willingness to travel all the way here to visit. I'm also grateful for her willingness to put up with me. I am much more tolerable in small doses so Mari's willingness to put up with me for four whole days says a whole lot about her graciousness.
Now, it's back to work tomorrow. I'm hoping there are new applications for home ownership awaiting me when I get back to the office. I also hope we are able to get a family recruitment direct mailing out this week. Along with some extra meetings, it looks like it will be a busy week.
I hope you had a good holiday weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Interesting Meeting

I had a very interesting meeting this morning. The Habitat Executive Director, our Mortgage Services staff member, and I  traveled to the city of Hamilton, OH this morning for a meeting with the staff of LifeSpan. LifeSpan offers personal financial planning, credit consolidation, pre-purchase homebuyer education, and a lot of other services in Butler County, Ohio and beyond.
We already have a good partnership with LifeSpan. They offer free credit counseling to our home ownership program applicants. The purpose of today's meeting was to learn about how we might better serve our home owners who have been struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments. As you might guess, when the recession hit, many of our home owners were some of the first impacted. Many have had their hours cut back and some have lost jobs. Along with this, because our families are always struggling to make ends meet, whenever the price of gas or food or other every day expenses increase, they struggle even more.
I find it infuriating that so many of the Wall Street folks who helped get us into this mess in the first place walked away with huge bonuses and everyone else, especially the poor, got the shaft. But I digress. Maybe I should save those thoughts for another blog posting. Anyway, it looks like there are some very helpful things that LifeSpan can do for some of our families who are really struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments.
One of the topics that we discussed quite a bit in the meeting is our whole philosophy and approach to working with home owners. One of the LifeSpan staff members laid it out pretty well. She said that we can either be our home owners' friend or we can be their creditor but we can't be both. I think she hit the nail right on the head. We build relationships with our families over time as we partner with them to build their homes. We know their family stories. We know their struggles. We know their financial history. And while knowing all of that is helpful information, sometimes this means that we still think of our home owners only as people who still need our help. This makes it really difficult to hold them accountable when we need to.
This is not to say that we coddle our families. We do our best to hold them accountable to the agreements in their mortgage documents. We do indeed foreclose on families who stop making their payments. We take this very seriously and understand that families can't live in their houses for free. We also understand that our donors and volunteers expect us hold families accountable and empower them to be succesful home owners.
It's a real balancing act. I always like to err on the side of grace if possible. However, I also understand that if I really want to give families a hand up out of poverty, I can help but they need to do the heavy lifting.
So, I'm giving God thanks for the opportunity we had this morning to meet with the folks from LifeSpan. It's a great organization and I am grateful for the partnership Habitat has with them. I am also grateful for the ways in which LifeSpan educates and empowers families to take control of their personal finances.
I hope you will join me in praying for our Habitat home owners and all people who are stuggling during this uncertain economic time.
Thanks for your prayers and thanks for being a part of my journey!

Prayer Request

Thanks for your prayers for the home visit I did today. It went well. I always enjoy meeting applicants and hearing their stories.
I have another prayer request. TriState Habitat for Humanity has a huge need for construction site leaders. These are volunteers who oversee each house construction project. They organize and plan for each project. They help order materials and keep the construction process moving forward. They teach, encourage, and support volunteers as they go about their various tasks. They communicate with our Partner Families regarding the construction process.
Site leaders need to have at least some basic construction knowledge, be willing to be trained, have a lot of patience, and have good people skills. This is not for the faint hearted. It is a challenging volunteer position with a lot of responsibilities. It takes a very special person to be a site leader.
With all of this said, I am confident that just the right people are out there. The challenge is we need to find them and invite them to take a leap of faith and join the ministry of TriState Habitat for Humanity.
If we don't get more people to serve as site leaders, we are not going to be able to increase our capacity to serve more families. Right now, there are parts of our service area in which families are going to have to wait nearly two years before we will even start their homes simply because we don't have enough site leaders. They will have to continue living in substandard conditions simply because of a lack of leadership.
So, there it is. Scripture tells us that we have not because we ask not. Well, I'm asking you to join me in asking God to help us to help families. Please pray that God will send site leaders our way and that we will be able to continue to expand the good and faithful work of TriState Habitat for Humanity.
Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Home Visit Tomorrow

I ask for your prayers for a home visit I'm doing tomorrow in the city of Oxford, Ohio. Home visits are the way in which Habitat for Humanity verifies that a family is currently living in substandard conditions. This is always an extremely humbling experience for me. I will be doing a walk through and explaining the Habitat program to the family.
Please pray that I will be objective and observant. Please pray that I will be a good listener. Please also pray for this family as they live from day to day in some pretty awful living conditions.
Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Just Another Manic Monday

Today was a busy, wild day at work. First thing this morning, I was in Batavia, Ohio for a meeting with a Habitat Partner Family for their materials selection meeting. They got to choose their carpet and siding colors and a few other choices for their house. This is always an exciting meeting but it can also be a bit overwhelming for folks who have never been able to make these kinds of choices about their home.
After we got back to the office, I had a staff meeting to talk about current and future construction projects. This is always a good meeting when we have it. It's the way that people in the office find out what's going on at each construction site. I find it helpful so that I can keep families informed about the progress on their homes.
By the time these two meetings were over, it was the middle of the afternoon and I had a pile of work to do. I was excited to see that we had received two more applications for home ownership in the mail over the weekend. While it's a good problem to have, right now, I have a stack of applications that still need to be reviewed. I hope that I will be able to catch up tomorrow.
I'm grateful to be busy with all of this. It feels like we are making progress in the area of family recruitment. There is real energy and excitement within the affiliate as we reach out to more families who want to partner with us and move from substandard to safe, decent, affordable housing. It's a blessing and privilege to be serving in this way.
Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Busy Week Ahead

It looks like this is going to be another busy week of work for me. Tomorrow I am traveling to Batavia, Ohio to meet with one of our Habitat Partner Families. They will be making their materials selection and we will review their house plans as we make preparations for construction of their home. I also have a staff meeting tomorrow afternoon
Tuesday I'm meeting with another Partner Family to talk about the construction progress on their home. Along with this, our auditor will be in the office starting on Tuesday for four days. This is always a bit anxiety producing.
On Wednesday afternoon I am headed to Oxford, Ohio for a home visit with a family who has applied for our home ownership program. I am meeting a new volunteer with Habitat who will be doing the home visit with me. I am looking forward to getting to meet this family and hearing their story.
I also have plans to work on some more family recruitment efforts in different parts of our service area and I still have new applications for home ownership to process.
I definitely don't think I will be bored. I hope you have a great week. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

A Good Morning

It was a good morning today. The wall raising went off really well. We had a good turnout of volunteers, family and friends to support the Habitat Partner Family on this very special day as we raised the first walls of their house. The pastor did a great job in his devotional. There seemed to be a lot of energy in the air. It was also great to have the Mayors of Hamilton, Ohio and Fairfield, Ohio present for the wall raising. After the wall raising service, my friend Karen and I went to lunch. It was nice just to visit and catch up with one another.
I continue to feel so blessed at this time in my life. I am ever grateful that God has brought me to this place at this time.
I hope you are having a great weekend. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

Wall Raising Tomorrow

I am really excited that we have another wall raising service tomorrow for a new Habitat house that we are starting. This house is being built for a family in my current hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. The Mayor of Hamilton will be present for the wall raising service along with some other community leaders. I think it will be a great day of celebration. It's been a while since we finished the last house in Hamilton so I'm glad we are getting started with this house.
This family has waited for a long time to finally see this day come. I know it will be a blessing as the first walls are raised by volunteers to help another family in need move from substandard housing to a safe, decent, affordable home. It will be a true celebration.
I ask for your prayers for this new build and for this Partner Family. I've been with Habitat long enough to realize that nothing ever goes smoothly in construction. There will be delays and set backs and disappointments as we move forward. The family will want it to go faster than it is going. There will be challenges along the way that will test every one's patience. Please pray that the family will experience God's peace during this time of waiting. Please also pray for the safety of our volunteers and staff. Please also pray that God will help this build to be a positive witness to the mission and ministry of Habitat for Humanity in Hamilton and beyond.
Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!

Prayer Request

I have a prayer request. We are getting very close to closing on three Habitat homes. The houses are pretty much done with a few punch list items that need to be taken care of. We are waiting for final inspections on two of them. We also have to collect some additional paperwork hear back from a grant agency on one of them.
This is a time that is filled with so much anticipation for these three families. It is also filled with a lot of anxiety. They all want to be in their new homes tomorrow. They are ready to move. They want to get settled in. They want to get out of their current substandard living conditions. The hard part is they have to wait.
As much as I would love to hand the keys over to them today, we are just not quite there yet. We can see the finish line but we aren't there yet.
So, I ask for your prayers for these three Habitat Partner Families. Please pray that they will be patient. Please pray that they will experience God's peace as they wait. Please pray that we get everything done as quickly as possible so that they can realize their dream of home ownership.
Thank you for your prayers and for being a part of my journey!