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<br />The Heart of T
<br />Habitat StaffWriters
<br />I want to tell you a story.
<br />This is a story about a mother
<br />raising her youngest son all alone
<br />while taking care of his ailing
<br />grandmother. This is a story of a
<br />merciless hurricane that destroyed
<br />a family's home in one terrible day.
<br />This is a story of devastation, loss
<br />and poverty. But it is, from beginning
<br />to end, a story about faith and hope.
<br />It is a story of family loyalty. It is a
<br />story of prayer and community. This
<br />story has a myriad of chapters about
<br />people being transformed as they
<br />gave of themselves. This is a story of
<br />a rag -tag, hodge -podge collection of
<br />individuals who became a community.
<br />This is the story of how Habitat
<br />for Humanity of St. Joseph County
<br />rallied its community together, picked
<br />up roots and rushed down to a tiny
<br />town in Texas to build a house for
<br />Brenda Faye Adams and her family.
<br />The story begins IateAugust,
<br />when the infamous Hurricane Rita_
<br />sweeps through Bon Wier,Texas,
<br />leaving a trail of destruction in its
<br />wake. Before the storm hits, Brenda
<br />Faye Adams flees the trailer which
<br />she and her son, Josh, have made
<br />into a cozy, if small, home on her
<br />mother Winnie's property. The trio
<br />returns to find the trailer in shreds
<br />and the house damaged. Brenda
<br />Faye aches to see her loving efforts
<br />at homemaking spilled across the
<br />lawn and torn apart She and Josh
<br />have little choice but to move into
<br />Winnie's cramped little house,
<br />dilapidated and smelling of sewage
<br />because of a poorly designed
<br />plumbing system.
<br />Meanwhile, in South Bend, IN,
<br />the people of St Joseph County are
<br />trying to figure out what they can
<br />do to help the thousands of fellow
<br />Americans who are left homeless
<br />or jobless after an unprecedented
<br />season of hurricanes. Employees at
<br />Habitat for Humanity keep tabs on
<br />what Habitat International is doing
<br />to rebuild after the destruction, but
<br />by November, it seems that there is
<br />little that such a small Habitat affiliate
<br />can do to help out with the ambitious
<br />project Habitat International has
<br />embarked on.
<br />However, at this juncture, Dave
<br />Hatch gets a call from friends, Juanita
<br />and John Townsell, a Habitat family
<br />here in St. Joseph County, explaining
<br />that a family member, Brenda Faye, is
<br />in great need of help down in Texas,
<br />and they wonder might Habitat
<br />be able to help her out? Dave is
<br />apprehensive but sees a window
<br />of possibility. Maybe this is the
<br />opportunity we've been waiting for,
<br />a chance for St Joe County to do
<br />something about the people around
<br />the Gulf Coast
<br />After a visit to Bon Wier,Texas
<br />and prayerful consideration of the
<br />situation, the Board and staff of
<br />Habitat decide to take on this burden,
<br />and immediately seek out partners in
<br />the broader Michiana community to
<br />make a miracle happen.
<br />The response is stunning.
<br />Businesses calling with offers of
<br />materials.Volunteers offering to
<br />drive to Texas to help. WNDU and
<br />University Park Mall orchestrating
<br />the Wall Build inside the mall. Towne
<br />Air Freight sending a truck to use.
<br />Children giving a dollar and signing
<br />their best - wishes on a stud. Within
<br />weeks the entire home labor,
<br />materials and expenses —is covered.
<br />In Texas the loving and generous
<br />response remains staggering as
<br />volunteers from California, New
<br />Jersey, Florida, and Washington join
<br />the core group from Indiana to
<br />build a new home in two weeks.
<br />-:
<br />Local Texas congressmen, footfall
<br />teams, church groups, relatives, and
<br />neighbors join in as a community to
<br />push forward. Materials keep coming.
<br />Shingles from Lousiana even match
<br />the siding from Indiana. Disastrous
<br />turns become miraculous adventures
<br />as locals hear of specific needs and
<br />step forward to meet those needs.
<br />And then on Friday of the
<br />second week, after many hours of
<br />labor and prayer and waiting, the
<br />home is completely finished; Brenda
<br />Faye and Josh accept the keys to their
<br />new home surrounded by a crowd of
<br />new friends. Everyone is crying- but
<br />these are tears of joy and amazement
<br />at what God has done.
<br />For all of you who played a role
<br />in making this happen: this is your
<br />story, too.
<br />There is another way to tell
<br />the story. "God so loved the world
<br />that he sent his only Son... in order
<br />that the world might be saved:' In
<br />Janurary 2006, He sent his Son to
<br />Bon Wier, TX. He saved people from
<br />poverty, homelessness, loneliness,
<br />fear, doubt, danger and isolation. He
<br />sent you to accomplish his work.
<br />Thank you for saying yes.
<br />Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County —Spring Newsletter 2006
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