Building on Faith

"Habitat for Humanity has taught me so much. I have always been a caring person but after working with so many Habitat workers (Administrative and Construction), volunteers, and AmeriCorps personnel, I did not realize how many compassionate people there are who are willing to do so much for those who are in need. Thank you again and God Bless."
--Habitat Homeowner, Judith Hartzell

• See Home Dedication Photos
  
• Sept. 19th -- Home Dedication Ceremony @ 10:00am
  
• June 6th -- Wall Raising Ceremony
  
• Meet the Building on Faith partner families: The Carter Family and The Hartzell Family

  
  Put Your Faith Into Action. Online Donation Makes It Easy!

  
  

  Shelter from rain, wind and sun is a basic human need. With your help, more deserving families can have decent places to call home. Give families in need shelter, self-respect and the hope of a better life. Our ministry puts faith into action through empowerment and hard work. And it’s easy for you to help! Just click the links below to learn how you can help. Then put your faith into action by clicking to donate online .

  "Building on Faith" is a program designed specifically to give the Faith Community opportunities to become involved with Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West.

  This year's Building on Faith project consists of two homes in Covington being financed and built by the Faith Community.

  The building has already begun and the Hartzell and Carter families-have started "framing their future" through education and hard work to make these houses, their homes.

  Habitat partners are hard working families who, in some cases, are paying over half of what they earn for a place to live. These qualified families' only chance for homeownership may be through the help of Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West.

  
  

  
  
  • Building on Faith Covenant Package
    
  • Start your own Building on Faith Volunteer Group
    "Thank You!" to Mary, Queen of Peace
  • Join Habitat STW's Faith Relations Committee for the rewarding experience of working with other members of the faith community
  
  
  • Top Ten Ways your congregation can become part of this exciting, faith-in-action ministry!
  
  
  • View 2008 Prayer Breakfast Photos

  For more information about how your congregation or faith-based organization can partner with Habitat STW, please contact Sandee Williamson, Director of Development at 985-893-3172.

  
  View Building on Faith 2009 in a larger map
  View Directions

  “Habitat is not only a partnership with God but a partnership with each other. We might disagree on how to preach or how to dress or how to baptize or how to take communion or even what communion is for. But, we can all pick up a hammer and sharing the love of Christ, we can begin to drive nails. Thank God we can agree on a nail!”
  — Millard Fuller
  Founder, Habitat for Humanity

  
  Building on Faith Partner Families

  Blessings Found
  Judith Hartzell

  Judith Hartzell believes in miracles. She hasn’t led a charmed life; in fact, she’s seen her fill of adversity. But since she has been more involved with her church, she says she has witnessed God’s blessings more and more in her life.

  After much soul-searching, Judith left her troubled marriage after 21 years. Even though it was the best decision for her family, she since has struggled financially and has lived in government assisted housing. “I lost everything but my faith,” she says. “Habitat for Humanity is an answer to my prayers. It will be so nice to live in my own house.”

  Working full time as a physical office manager, Judith could not afford to buy her own house much less to pay for her three children’s college tuitions. It was difficult for Judith to accept that her teenage children were forced to grow up so quickly—working and practically becoming self-sufficient before they left home. “I try to help them whenever I can,” she says, “even though they don’t ever ask for anything.”

  Judith remembers May 2005 as a turning point when she began tithing—dedicating a percentage of her earnings—to her church. “Some people might call it coincidence or good luck, but I call it nothing short of a miracle,” Judith says. Among the bounty received was a notice about her son’s college scholarship after he had already paid for semester on his own and a discovery that reaped $8,000 in back-due child support.

  Along the way, Judith took a new job and was accepted as a partner with Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West in 2007 and by May 2008 she had finished most of her sweat equity hours. She began looking forward to the dignity that comes with owning your own home.

  Perhaps the most remarkable blessing she received after her tithing was her boss’s offer to help find a lot in Covington on which she could build her Habitat home. In December 2008, he acquired the property and summarily donated it to Habitat on Judith’s behalf. The lot was subdivided to hold two Habitat homes, to be built with the local faith community’s support.
  “I feel so blessed,” Judith says. “God blesses families who know they need God.”

  Faith is His Cornerstone
  Jay Carter

  
  Jay Carter is a bit of a “jack of all trades.” Jay loves doing carpentry, gardening and automotive work. He had plenty of practice honing his handy skills at his last job as a full-time grounds and maintenance manager. Now, he likes to help take care of his extended family and friends being the resident “go-to man” for repairs and maintenance.

  Jay also likes to cook. He looks forward to doing something for himself, by making furniture and planning his garden for his new house, being built with Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West.

  He’s definitely a busy man, but, there’s no guarantee the bachelor can do it all in one day. Jay’s work and task schedule depends on the weather—he doesn’t work well in cold, windy weather. And a lot depends on whether he has a doctor’s appointment to attend or has a visit from his Easter Seals caregiver.

  While his interests betray his situation, Jay is bound to his wheelchair after an accident paralyzed him from the chest down in 1993. His faith in God and his family and friends has been the cornerstone of his recovery and wherewithal.

  Jay comes from a large family, with seven brothers and two sisters, who grew up in Madisonville. After Jay’s accident, he lived in and took care of the family house until Hurricane Katrina damaged it beyond repair. Ever since then, he has lived with two nieces and their toddlers in his brother’s two-bedroom home, which fortunately is wheelchair accessible.
  With help from Medicaid, a spinal cord and head injury trust fund, Habitat, his friends and his extended family, Jay is one of the happiest and most peaceful people you will ever meet. He says his family is more like a group of best friends, always helping each other, which adds to his positive outlook.

  He’s looking forward building and living in his new Habitat home later this year. “It’ll be so nice and quiet,” Jay says. “I’m going to build a garage at my new house where I can do my work.”

  Directions
  Directions to Building on Faith 2009 Homes (Lake Reelfoot)
  • Take Hwy. 21 to 1085 (Bootlegger Road)
  • Take 1085 West to Lake Placid Road
  • Turn Left onto Lake Placid
  • Take Lake Placid to Lake Catherine Road
  • Turn Right on Lake Catherine Road
  • Take Lake Catherine to Lake Reelfoot Road
  • Turn Left on Lake Reelfoot Road (Lake Catherine dead ends)
  • The Building on Faith homes are on the Northwest corner of Lake Reelfoot and Lake Tahoe.
  • Please parallel park on Lake Reelfoot
  Questions? Call Sara 985-264-2610