Habitat For Humanity

Pearls and Dreams

Well, I'm going to try yet another post, I've tried two postings today, and neither have showed up. So, I'll try my latest news and see what is in the blog in the morning.

My family & I are getting a house through Habitat for Humanity. We have to have 500 hours of 'sweat equity'. We have to pay $500 in an escrow account, at $50 a month. When it is done, we will have an interest free loan and will buy the house at fair market value (minus labor cost, but all other costs are there). It is incredible to me, how much removing the interest makes the difference between being able to afford a house and NOT being able to!!

You can get the sweat equity hours by working in the woodshop, working in the restore, taking a 10 month financial class (required) 2 classes a month, & doing the homework, attending 8 of 12 homeowner workshops & working on homes. You have to have 450 hours before they will start to build your home.

Most of my class has completed their hours, we started last June, our financial class ends two weeks from tonight. Those who have not completed the class, are well over 300 hours. Two are behind me, one is with me, we're always seeming to be neck and neck. (well, I guess, out of a 10 family class ... 2 behind, 1 with, that's only 6 ahead ... so that's not as bad as it felt looking at the board!)
One is behind because she was put on hold & she's WAY behind. She's just started back up a few weeks ago. The other, I don't know why she's behind. You have to have a minimum of 15 hours a month, and she has 15 hours a month ...plus 3.

I have, 231.5 hours as of tonight. My husband, isn't helping much. Granted, he's disabled ...but then, if you read down my blog a bit, so am I!!! If he'd help out around the house a bit, or even encourage me in the hours, I guess it wouldn't bother me so much, but oh well. I finally decided that with him or without him, I need a house. With kids or without kids, I need a house, if I have to do it myself, I will do it myself. Period.
I did get aggrivated at the end of last month (while he was in the hospital and I was having to work the last friday of the month because he'd refused to go in the week before and therefore we were caught HAVING to do it inspite of the family emergency!) when I realized that had he put in the work I had ... we'd have 450 hours ... but, I can't focus too much on that, or I will go insane!

So, tonight, I go to my second to last financial class. I love these classes. Don't ask me why. I do. Everyone else, is glad to be done. I wasn't. The teacher said she had something she wanted to talk to me about. I said what, anything, I could stay for a few classes after. She said "Exactly"
"huh?"
"I want you to keep coming to the classes"
"OK!"
By then, I'm laughing and so is she.
She says "I'm serious"
I said, laughing very hard "SO AM I"
She starts laughing harder and looks at the class who, by now is all laughing and says "she doesn't realize I'm serious yet does she!"

She was! She has asked me to continue on ..because she needs an assistant teacher! She wants me to help teach the financial class, help with the one on one assignements, help with teaching when she has fund raising to do, make copies when she's in the middle of teaching and she needs something and the there have been times she's wanted to break the group into 2 groups, but only being one person couldn't do it, so ..she wants me to be her assistant teacher.

I get hours for it.
I don't know if I get office hours for it, which are straight sweat equity hours, or leadership ..which are 90 minutes for every 60 minutes.

Either way, I feel it's an honor to be asked ...and how fun is that!!