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Eyes To See <br />Letter from Executive Director David Hatch <br />Eyes to see..... <br />About a year before she <br />died, during a visit I made to <br />South Carolina, my Mom was <br />recounting milestones in both <br />of our lives. Her meeting my <br />dad. The courtship ending <br />with her proposing. Birth of my <br />oldest brother in Mississippi. <br />The move to Chicago. Death <br />of Allen, her second son. Fights <br />she and I had. My long hair in <br />college. Judy's love. Mistakes I <br />had made. My children. Dad's <br />death. Her surgeries. She <br />smiled and added in her soft <br />Southern accent, "Isn't it great <br />to see what God is doing? But <br />you have to have the eyes to <br />see it, David." <br />She could see it. God working. <br />Not just in the good times. All <br />the time. <br />and here at Habitat. It is not <br />always easy to see, but we are <br />getting better. <br />Like the day we heard that <br />we needed $8,000 - $10,000 in <br />furnace replacement on our <br />new building on Sample Street, <br />and we realized that Dr. Del <br />Pilar had already donated an <br />industrial furnace, and a new <br />volunteer who was a fully <br />trained heating expert allowed <br />us to move forward- all without <br />expense. God working? <br />Or the meeting with that <br />Habitat partner family who had <br />fallen behind in their mortgage <br />payments. With respect and <br />pride they handed me their <br />tax refund check to bring their <br />account current and thanked <br />Habitat for holding them <br />accountable. We hugged. God <br />there? <br />This last year our staff have <br />tried in a new way to "have <br />the eyes to see" how God is <br />working in St. Joseph County <br />Or that call from a Habitat <br />home owner who told me <br />she wanted to sell her Habitat <br />"The Word became flesh and blood, <br />and moved into the neighborhood. <br />We saw the glory with our own eyes, <br />the one -of -a -kind glory, <br />like Father, like Son, <br />Generous inside and out, <br />true from start to finish." <br />home. You see, since she had <br />been in her Habitat home she <br />had met and married a man in <br />her church, she had finished <br />her education which led to <br />a better job, and she was <br />expecting a new child. The <br />family needed more space. <br />They could afford a new home. <br />God? <br />What about that powerful <br />series of articles in the South <br />Bend Tribune by Patrick <br />O'Connell showing us the <br />tragedy of abandoned houses <br />in our area? Not pleasant. <br />Shocking. Sad. But could this <br />be God working to galvanize <br />our community to address <br />substandard housing in new <br />and creative ways? <br />You know, I am more and <br />more convinced that my Mom <br />was right. Everywhere we <br />look God is working. God <br />continues to be concerned <br />about our community, about <br />families, about the type of <br />housing they have. Keep your <br />eyes open. Together, let's be <br />ready to see what God is going <br />to do next. <br />-John 1:14, The Message <br />