Volunteer Up!

The Hunt Family Habitat House is Online!

To register to volunteer go to: http://www.volunteerup.com/Login.asp?w=i&o=175

Register to create a user name and password to log into the system

(Be sure to mark the "Family Partners and Friends" box)

Our friends and family can put in up to half of our sweat equity hours!

Log in and look at the calendar for "Sign Up" opportunities at 140 N Channing

Select the Shift on the day you want to volunteer

It will be under the "Family Partners and Friends" choice

Come and join us!

A Look Inside

The gutted inside...

A covered window...
2nd floor gutted...

A Look Underneath

Hidden Potential...

A look underneath...

The siding comes off...

The Great Unveiling

Good news! On Saturday, October 29th there will be a "Great Unveiling" ceremony at our house site. Elgin city officials, Gifford Park historical society members, employees of Omron, the corporate sponsor, and our family will all be present. A small portion of the particularly ugly white vinyl siding will be removed to reveal the original wood exterior.

The work will continue after the ceremony, the goal being the complete removal of the vinyl siding. This process, along with a planned new roof done by a contractor feels like a real breakthrough. After watching, waiting, and praying, it seems that the work is really getting started! Initially, there will be more done by professionals, with volunteers coming on site in December at the earliest. Friends and family are welcome to come the the unveiling, the ceremony with be in the morning but the time has yet to be determined.

"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Dreams and Visions...

The plans are being made right now for changes that will take place both inside and outside of our future home. My husband and I along with our children are very excited as we all have dreams and visions for what home will be like. My mind loves to think of interior colors and decorating options, while my husband talks about a place where he looks forward to being for quite some time. My oldest son wants a blue room, while the girls argue whether the room they might share will be pink or purple. And my middle son just wants to be sure his most precious possessions (his Cars bed and stuffed animals) will be there waiting for him when we move in.

It is very exciting to have these dreams and visions for a season, but we are more ready than ever for our season of waiting to come to and end. Making plans into a reality is where we all really want to be, waiting is usually not our first choice. We trust that this is still a good season, and that once we are working away on the house that time will fly along faster than ever. We would hat to rush through, and miss something that God is doing in our lives while we do wait.

We know that the plans will ultimately work together for our good, as God has promised in His word. We pray our faith would grow through the seasons, spring...summer...fall...and winter. We also know that in the end it will be worth the wait.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Amazing Trasformation

We had a chance to look at some of the plans for the house this past Saturday, and we were so excited for the amazing transformation that it will go through in the next year. The house we see now will no longer be there, as the changes that are planned for both the outside and inside are truly incredible!

To turn such an ugly house into something great is quite a process, an amazing transformation like this will take time. The pictures here show the house we have accepted as it is today, and a house in the neighborhood being used as a model for the reconstruction. Everything that is done will be historically accurate, and much will be added in order to do this. A small front "porch" or stoop with a roof will be added, the roof will be removed and a peaked roof with gables added, a bad addition will be taken off, giving the house a new and more interesting shape, and a side porch in the front and back will also be added!

Not to mention everything on the inside will be redone, electrical, heating, and plumbing are all getting torn out and replaced. The work on the roof, and these inside components will all be done by contractors. Volunteers including us will not be able to get onsite until mid August at the earliest. Once it is completely gutted, we will get a chance to look at more specific plans for the rooms on both floors.

This amazing transformation will allow us to walk into a beautifully restored home, with every part of it new and functional. This is not unlike Gods work in us, taking the ugly, unusable things and making them not only usable but beautiful. For this work in our future home, and more importantly in us we are truly thankful to God.

"And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

2 Corinthians 3:18

Hurry Up...and...Wait

Sometimes Chris and I joke about how we get the kids moving telling them to "hurry up" only to make them wait once they are ready. Do you remember being at a big fun party with friends or family and having this happen to you? Your parents are riding you to get ready to go, only to leave you waiting in your warm coat at the door?

After an exciting season of activity with Habitat we find ourselves waiting now, and I feel a little like a kid getting too hot in a coat waiting by the door to go. A bit anxious...'

Don't get me wrong I know that we are so blessed and I am thankful for all that God is doing in all the areas of my life. I think I was just excited to see the house get transformed, and so waiting on this process as left me feeling the way I do. When driving past it yesterday it felt a bit surreal, the idea of ever living in THAT house seemed very far off.

We know that there will be some work done by contractors in June and July. By mid August the partnership with Omron should be in full swing, as they supply volunteers on a more regular basis. This is a big cooperate partnership, and so that is an exciting prospect in the future. As I understand it, Omron is supplying finances and volunteers for our Habitat house project. The total project time start to finish should be about 1 year from when we walked through the house, so if all goes according to the plan we should be moving in by this time next year.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-8

GUT IT OUT

With two 30 foot dumpsters just outside, a team of dedicated people officially kicked off the work at the house today. Although we will not have a mortgage on the house until we move in, it will be ours when it is finished. We signed and mailed the paperwork accepting this home, and that makes it official. So, when we went by OUR HOUSE today we saw all kinds of junk being dumped out of it from the 2nd floor window!

Sometimes in life we have to "gut it out" when going through a difficult season or trial. A dry time in our marriage, with a child in a challenging stage of development, or even through a work-out we know our out-of-shape body desperately needs. God uses these things to make us into the people he desires us to be, and "gutting it out" is often the best thing to do. So, today our house is getting gutted out so that it can be the best house for us in the future. It looks painful, as walls and all the rest get taken out but it is necessary.

It is exciting to think of all the possibilities once the space is opened up. Now that we have accepted the property, we will have a pre-construction meeting with the project manager. This will be our opportunity to discuss the possible layout of the house, including the number of rooms and their dimensions. This vision, as well as the removal of the ugly vinyl siding should really give us a taste of the potential that is in what is now our future home.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

- Hebrews 12:11

The Foundation

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."

Matthew 7:24-25

A Diamond in the Rough

When I say, "diamond" I think there truly is one buried under all that ugly in the picture you see below. It is covered up by all that "rough" covering! This house is in a historical district on the east side of Elgin. If we sign the paper work with Habitat this week, it will be our future home. We are family partners with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter and this is the house they plan to rehab.

What will change? Everything! This 1890's house has lost most of its once great character, and will be completely gutted and redone in every way possible. Even the ugly bushes are doomed! The outside structure will be changed back to the original "footprint," a side porch added, a new roof put on, and so on. The inside will be totally gutted, and new everything will go in. Electrical, plumbing, walls, you name it.

The process will take 10-12 months, hours and hours of work, and our own sweat equity. Work days will be Wednesdays and Saturdays. We will be alerting all our friends and family as soon as we know more about the volunteer opportunities. Of the 500 hours Chris and I are required to contribute on site, 250 of these can be done by our friends and family. That's where you come in!