Welcome home, Christina

On Saturday, June 11 the Habitat community gathered to welcome Christina and her children home, marking the beginning of a new chapter with a home dedication.

It has been a long journey for Christina to get here. Like many living on a single income, she struggled to make ends meet for herself and her two children. While Christina has been at her job 14 years, she never thought she’d be able to afford a home.

When her brother bought a house three years ago, Christina shared her dream to own a home and he responded with a photo of a friend in front of the home she purchased through Habitat for Humanity. Motivated, Christina went to a Habitat Homeownership Orientation and then started working on her credit to become mortgage-ready.

“I worked so hard to get everything perfect before I turned in my application,” Christina shared. “It took a long time. I had never looked at my credit before.”

Finally, in September of 2020 Christina was accepted in to the homeownership program. “It was the best day ever,” she says.

Christina (L) and Cierra (R)

Christina then invested over 200 hours of sweat equity in building her home and those of her neighbors. Early in the process, she met Cierra, another future homeowner and the two became fast friends. At the time, they had no idea that they would be neighbors.

At Christina’s home dedication, Cierra offered the welcome from the neighborhood. “You and I decided to be accountability partners and I’m so glad we did. We texted each other every weekend to give each other the motivation to get up and work on our construction hours. Rain or shine, we were doing this for our kids. There were so many time you and I wanted to give up, and we talked about it several times—the feelings of defeat and exhaustion, the moments away from our kids. But we also pushed each other to look on the bright side: we are going to be homeowners; our kids will know stability and that we will have an affordable, safe and sustainable environment for them to grow in. We knew from the beginning that this would not be easy, and here you are, two years later. You did it, Christina! I hope you know how proud I am of you and how much you and your beautiful family deserve this.”

Steve Hill, a representative from the Weyerhaeuser Alumni group that sponsored Christina’s home, said, “I just want to say congratulations to Christina. I know the amount of work and sweat equity you put into it. I also know that a lot of people volunteered and there were others that made contributions to this house. But we are glad that we could make a small contribution.”

Christina is excited to see her dream come true, especially for her children. “They have lived in apartments their whole lives,” she shared. “Being in a house is everything to them.”

Addressing the crowd at her dedication, Christina said, “It’s been a really long, hard journey but I did it. Thank you so much. I appreciate each and everyone of you.”

The dedication was closed by a family friend, Alexander, who prayed, “Lord we thank you for this day, oh God. Thank you for this opportunity and for everything that has come about in this process. We ask that this be an experience that keeps giving unto the neighborhoods; keeps giving to families and dreams. We thank you for Christina and the blessing of this house. We thank you for all those that have participated and funded. We ask that you touch each and every memory that’s being built here. We ask that you anoint the family’s feet. Give them a path to walk, oh God, so they are not deterred. Give them strength when they feel weary. Place your hand of protection around this house and around this family. In your name we pray, Amen.”

Christina’s home is the first home in Pierce County built in partnership with Weyerhaeuser Alumni.