Prayer Request

I thought this might be a good way to build up a prayer chain. Sea Island Habitat is experiencing tremendous community support - new people & businesses are wanting to participate & donate seemingly every week!

So why do we need prayer - that's a good thing, right?

It is. BUT - we still cannot get into land that we own to build on. We've owned this one particular piece of land for 5.5 years and the city is still having issues with it. First it's where the road is placed. Then it's which trees to save vs. which ones to cut. Then its the angle of the access road. This is not my area of expertise or understanding, so I can't get specific on what other problems are there. But I will tell you this: We were supposed to "definately" be in & clearing by August of last year. Then we were supposed to "with out a doubt" be in, clearing & building by January '07. We still have not been given the 'go ahead.'

If we do not get in soon, we will loose hundreds of THOUSANDS of grant money dollars that basically have an 'expiration date.' Several individuals have stepped up to personally sponsor & pay for a Habitat house that will again have to be told that their money can't be used yet, plus I have two churches that have blessed us by agreeing to partner & split the cost of a house - but they need to build it right after Easter according to their missions timeline.

We need your prayers that God will miraculously open doors & allow us to begin clearing & building ASAP! Thank you - we know it only by God's grace that we have had our previous success, and we look to Him to be glorified through this, as well.

Cute Habitat Family

I am so excited to have met the cutest future Habitat partner family! I met them last Friday after work to take their picture for a brochure that will soon be mailed out. Their house will be built with funds raised through our golf tournament in June. In the picture, the father & mother's names are Rolando & Arcelia and their children from the baby on the left are: Jennifer, Analleli & Faviola.

When I arrived at their apartment, the girls were outside playing on the car and they ran right up to me and jabbered away, they were so sweet & brought me right in to meet their parents. Rolando is a landscaper on Seabrook Island (where many of our generous volunteers & donors live) & Arcelia keeps the tidiest house you've ever seen! This family has been through a lot, since their former residence was owned by a slum-lord...the guy wouldn't even fix the plumbing that left sewage running under their old house. Currently, they are in a tiny, run-down, but clean apartment. A Habitat house will be heaven on earth to this very deserving family!

Theif!!!

Who gets locked out of their own safe?! Well, after countless years, our safe finally secured itself even from us. Our executive director, Chuck, has been here for 10 years and the safe pre-dates even him. So after much effort, overnighted keys, garbled instructions over the phone & frustration - voila! We finally broke in to it. The picture is of Chuck resembling a theif as he attempts to drill into the safe & break in...maybe he's practicing for a new line of work? :)

Personal Note

OK, so this has nothing to do with 'Habitat happenings' ... but this is just too cool, I had to post it.

So, in the picture below of Buck Lumber receiving the award there is a really tall man. His name is Glen Hoy & when we went to present the award, he invited us into his office where he has pictures of his children on the wall. One of the pictures was very dated w/ the permed hair & neon sweater era written all over it. That was the 'cool' look when I was in elementary school, so this girl was my age.

It only took me a second to recognize that picture to be of Leslie Hoy. Leslie Hoy was in my classes in elementary school. So? You ask? Well - I saw this picture in Charleston, but we were in elementary school together in a very rural part of Frederick County, Virginia! I'm not sure what grade it was that she moved away in, but I certainly remember her! It was so bizarre & really made my day - I just couldn't believe the chances that I would walk into the office of a lumber store manager and he would have a 15 year-old-picture of his daughter - that I would know!!! :)