I prayed to God to give me something I could call my own, somebody I could love and who would love me, and he gave me Samaria. This was after the doctors told me I couldn’t have any kids. She has been such a big blessing to me, the Lord’s answer.

When Samaria was three, I found out my mother had complete liver failure. So along with my daughter, I began taking care of my mother and my handicapped brother. I became weak and depressed, very sad for a long time. I had to work and pay bills, buy medication, and run back and forth to the hospital, and I asked God for strength and courage to do all these things. During this time I had another child, Aaron Ross, who is such a blessing to all of us.

My daughter started school, and it seemed like every time I turned around her grades were getting worse. I took her to doctors to see what the problem was, and they told me she has ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and also needed glasses. So there was another problem.

It seemed like every time I thought things were getting better they got worse, so I looked at everything that was going on: staying with relatives in a single-wide trailer with my kids and me together in one room all the time like it was our apartment, living in a drug-infested neighborhood where they couldn’t go outside to play without me worrying if something was going to happen (one of my neighbors was shot right before I moved into my Habitat house), and taking care of all these people all the time. I knew all this was causing me to be sick and I was going to have to do something.

I always promised myself that when I had my own kids I would not let them grow up like I did. I always wanted to be the best mom possible, and knew I had to get a place to call home, a nice neighborhood with a yard to play in. Somewhere we could have peace of mind. I wanted to be well enough to take care of them so they could do better in school.

That’s when I was introduced to Habitat. These people have truly been a blessing to me and my kids. They have provided us with a beautiful new home, a family, and a surrounding of love. These are all the things I hoped for. Now, my family has a life of joy and happiness to share with the world.

Thank you, Jesus. Because I know without God, none of these things would be possible. I know He is an on-time God, because He came right when I needed. for us.

My husband, Edward, just celebrated his 16-year anniversary working for Harris Teeter Inc. Currently he works in the produce department of the Chapel Hill North store. During the day while he works, I keep our two youngest sons, then in the evening we rotate. He then keeps the boys while I work as a waitress. I have worked at both the Pitt Stop Café and the Flamingo Restaurant. Currently I am a PM server for the Holiday Inn in Chapel Hill. Before I was married and had children, I worked in the UNC Hospitals EKG lab and the UNC General Alumni Association.

As you can see, we are very hard working individuals, but we were still living basically paycheck to paycheck—saving some, but never enough to purchase our own home. In addition, I had credit issues that prevented us from qualifying for a traditional mortgage. We moved in with my father-in-law, Adam Austin, when our first son was born. It was a way for me to stay home with him while allowing us to save some money. Soon our dreams of owning our own home started looking more and more impossible. But along came Habitat for Humanity, illuminating our lives and elevating our circumstances.

Through their excellent training programs and workshops, I was able to conquer my credit problems, and we were able to save the closing costs so that we could move into our own home. Recently, I have begun to work with Chatham Habitat as their Rural Church Relations Coordinator. I, along with other Chatham Habitat representatives, travel to local churches and tell them about the Habitat Ministry and the Apostles Build.

This new job gives me the opportunity to do something I love— talk about Habitat— and get paid for it. Whenever I finish speaking with a group of people about my experiences and how Habitat has helped us, I always feel like I should be paying them! Because they...YOU...are the reason we are homeowners today. Without your help and support we would never have had the opportunity to live in our own home.

And what a beautiful home it is. Full of love and laughter. Full of hope and promise. Full of wisdom and blessings from everyone that has ever entered our doors...on the worksite...at the dedication...as a visitor...all are guests in our home. I believe our home captures the essence of every wonderful person that enters it. So I’d like to thank you all for giving us such an inspirational building to raise our family in.

My deepest hope is that everyone will have the opportunity to experience the joy of home ownership. I promise to do my part. Please consider doing the same, for as the scriptures tell us—and it certainly is true—“It is a far better thing to give, than it is to receive.”