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As guests arrived they were greeted by Sara's
daughter Lynzie.
Because the lawn around the house had recently been
tilled for grass seeding, the event house blessing event was held
inside and it was standing room only as everyone gathered to witness
the blessing and the delivery of the house keys to Harvey and her
family.
About one year ago, the HFH had hosted the ground breaking ceremony
for this, their 24th build in Logan County. The day was cold and
very rainy as Sara and her daughters Lynzie and Emma scooped shovels
of soil to commemorate the beginning of a new chapter in their
lives.
The house was then the only building project for the HFH for the
coming year. In addition to Habitat volunteers working on this home,
there was once again involvement from the Lincoln Community High
School’s Lincolnland Technical Education Center Building and Trades
class under the instruction of Jack Reichle.
On Sunday afternoon the ceremony was kicked off by
HFH president Bill Sahs who welcomed everyone and commented on the
large turnout. Sahs also noted that Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman was
on hand and invited the mayor to speak.
Goodman said he wanted to congratulate Harvey on her
new home and thank the HFH for the work they are doing in the
community. The Litany of Dedication was then led by Pastor Brad
Curtis of the First United Methodist Church.
Cince Bowns led the Litany of Community Support.
Then Jack Reichle spoke as one of the co-foreman of
the build and the leader of the Building and Trades class. There
were several members of the class on hand for the house blessing.
Reichle called them all to gather around him as he spoke and
introduced each of the students. He noted that this half dozen or
more on hand was only a portion of all who had worked on the
project.
After Reichle, Sahs led the Litany of Hope.
Then Tonita Reifsteck gave the presentation of the
Habitat Children’s book to the Harvey family. Reifsteck said that it
was a book that could be read to or by the children. In addition,
Reifsteck also presented Harvey with a complete set of the Habitat
Children’s books to be donated to Christian Child Care where she is
employed.
Leonard Krusemark then delivered the family Bible to
Harvey, speaking first about being dedicated to reading the Bible
and prayer. Krusemark also spoke to the family about their time of
gathering around the table. He urged them to eat family meals
together around the table and to share their lives with one another.
He also admonished them that the dinner table should
be a time of positivity when each one shared the good in their
lives. He urged them to take complaints and problems away from the
table so that the family joining together in a meal would be a
blessing to each member and to God.
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The delivery of the keys was led by Bowns, who said
that she had known Harvey for a while and was so pleased to see her
achieve this goal. The two shared a big hug as Bowns happily
delivered the house keys.
Harvey was then called on to speak. She made a short
speech mostly thanking all those who had held her up in the work to
be done to earn her home. She made note of some of the labor she had
put into her home and chuckled at herself about working on the roof
and falling off of the roof.
She thanked everyone for coming and thanked HFH for the
opportunities she had been given.
The closing prayer was offered by Pastor Curtis, then
everyone was invited to enjoy refreshments offered by the women of
the First United Methodist Church.
All were also welcome to take a tour of the home.
Waking through, guests found that Harvey’s youngest
daughter Emma was proudly holding court in her new room. She and
some of her friends were in the aqua green colored room, and Emma
noted that she had chosen the color as one of her favorites. She
said she also had good ideas for how she would decorate her room
once her furniture was moved in.
Those involved in the build through donations of time, or
preparation of food or other help included Adam Cheatham, Second
Baptist Church, Cince Bowns, Bob Chamberlain; John, Stacy and Faith
Clinton; Kelsie Doolin, Mike and Becky Eimer and family, Khaled
Fibri, First Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Tom
Frost, Patrick Fry, Joe Funk, Warren Grover, Russ and Ruthann
Harvey, Sara and Lynzie Harvey, Trish Haynes, Erin Huddleston, Dean
Leesman, George March, Ron March, Zach Martin, Lloyd Moore, Spud
Newhouse, Tonita Reifsteck, John Renfro, Bill Sahs, Kagiso Schulz,
Leandra Tate, Trinity Episcopal Church, David Wilmert and Larry
Zumwalt.
Businesses contributing to the build included Ace Hardware,
Alexander Lumber, Ameren Illinois, American Environmental, Area
Disposal, Baker Tree Service, Big R, Carpet House, Conner Foster
Surveying, Contractors Ready Mix, Darrin Coffey Stump Grinding,
Eaton Corporation, Elijah Smith, Howard Goodman Excavating, Lincoln
IGA, Jason Bradburn Concrete, Johnston Real Estate, city of Lincoln
Street and Alley Department, Logan County Housing Authority, Lincoln
Christian University, McEntire Appliance, Quick Comfort Heating and
Cooling, RP Lumber, RR Drywall, Rainbow Guttering, Sherwin Williams,
Tarter Brothers, Attorney Tom Van Hook, Triple S Construction and
Walmart.
LTEC Building and Trades students who participated in the build
included Cody Brady, Brandon D’Andrea, Brenden Eigenbrod, Seth
Evans, Bryson Francis, Dustyn Gaston, Christopher Hackwith, Luke
Hinch, Shane Keller, Nolan Kirk, Justin Nguyen, Trevor Radespiel,
Jamie Swathwood, Brandon Sweitzer, William Trent, and during the
first semester only: Peyton Anderson, Tamirat Belley, Haylee Dunham,
Dylan Duvall and Dreyden Pozgai.
The lot for the home was donated to HFHLC as a portion of the estate
of the late Bernie Behrends.
Sara Harvey was required to put in a minimum of 250 sweat equity
hours in her home and other volunteer opportunities for HFHLCC. She
put in almost double that amount.
Harvey will also now have a mortgage with monthly
payments to Habitat for Humanity. If Harvey continues her good
payment record for a total of five years, the balance of her
mortgage may be forgiven.
[Nila Smith] |
