Apostle's Build

St. Andrew’s has been invited to participate in the Habitat for Humanity Apostles’ Build 2023. Putting God’s love into action, Habitat brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.  Every other year, 10-25 local churches partner together to sponsor a Habitat Home, and we call this the Apostle’s Build. Each church gives a financial gift and the funds from each church are pooled together to sponsor a home.

The Apostles Build is Habitat-Roanoke’s special bi-annual project where local churches of all sizes and denominations come together to fund and build a home for a local family.  This is not a free home.  The homeowner does purchase this home from Habitat, but the Habitat program ensures that the purchase is affordable.  The homeowner family provides “sweat equity” by working on their own home as well as the homes of other families.  They also participate in mandatory classes to prepare them for homeownership.  The Habitat process usually takes 14-18 months for most families.

Participating churches can then send groups to work on this home and take part in the kick-off and dedication ceremonies. Construction on the 2023 Apostles’ Build will begin in the spring, with completion in the late summer.

Our build day was June 17th, 2023!  Thanks to everyone who participated.

I am happy to introduce the family that St. Andrews will be partnering with on the 2023 Apostles Build.
 
Aubrey is a native of Tampa, Florida. While in elementary school, her family moved to Roanoke, Virginia.   She went on to become a hairstylist as a natural outpouring of her creativity and desire to help people. 

Aubrey was blessed with her son, Ryden, at sixteen years old. “Although single teen- parenting is tough work, being a mother is one of the greatest privileges I could’ve ever asked for.”  Ryden will be 12 years old when they move into their new Habitat home.
 
In December 2019, Aubrey began using the Dave Ramsey plan, a program to follow for getting out of debt and increasing financial freedom, to guide her in paying off all debt, creating monthly budgets, and investing in her family‘s future. In May 2022, after making her final student loan payment, Aubrey officially became debt-free! This achievement allowed her to start saving for a down payment towards a new home, something she began doing at “baby step three“ of the Dave Ramsey plan.

While discussing the goal of homeownership with her mom, Aubrey‘s mother suggested she look into Habitat’s homebuyer program. Coincidentally, Habitat’s summer application period had just opened. She applied and put the rest in God‘s hands. In July, when Habitat Family Services Director notified Aubrey that she had been approved for partnership, Aubrey screamed and danced around the busy hair salon that day.  After sharing the good news with her mom, Aubrey‘s mother said she cried, happily, on and off the rest of the day. 
 
Aubrey concluded: “I thank all the Habitat employees, donors and volunteers, who are making this miracle happen for me and my family. This will be the first home my family has owned in decades. Your energy and love-in-action do not go unnoticed. I also want to thank my mom, Jeremy, my sisters, and all other grafted-in family for helping me and Ryden reach the finish line. Lastly, I pay reverence to Jesus Christ for being our stable, miracle-working, all-providing God and lover of our souls. Thank you.”