September 30, 2002
Layman opens door to Georgetown Habitat house
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___GEORGETOWN--Jimmy Jacobs looked at a concrete slab and saw a home.
___Now Elva and Jesus Velasquez and their three daughters live in the completion of Jacobs' vision.
___Jacobs, a homebuilder and member of First Baptist Church in Georgetown, coordinated the resources of his workers, vendors and other laborers to donate the Valasquez's new Habitat for Humanity home.
___Habitat for Humanity is the largest builder of homes for poor families around the globe. Normally, local Habitat affiliates raise funds and coordinate legions of volunteer workers to construct the houses.
NEW HOMEOWNER Jimmy Velasquez saws the board, held on the left by Ed McCrary and on the right by Habitat for Humanity board Chairman Chris Brown as builder Jimmy Jacobs looks on . This final act of dedication is the traditional ribbon cutting for a Habitat home.
___With Jacobs' help, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Georgetown recently built its fifth home quickly, with professional labor and without the usual outlay of cash.
___ The Velasquez's home started rising the day Harold Steadman, a board member for Habitat of Georgetown, called on Jacobs for specific help.
___Habitat of Georgetown wanted Jacobs to use his construction industry contacts to purchase building materials at a discount, and Steadman stopped by Jacobs' office to ask for help.
___"Jimmy asked lots of questions about Habitat. He visited the latest build site, only a concrete slab at the time," reported Charlotte Watson, minister of missions at First Baptist Church in Georgetown. "When Jimmy looked at that slab, he saw a beautiful house where a family would live someday.
___"I don't think he wanted the limelight; he wanted to help a family. This was a Christian putting his integrity, quality of workmanship and Christian walk on the line, saying, 'I'm willing to do this.'"
___"Jimmy's been very successful building homes here in Georgetown, and he'd been thinking about that," added Bill Peel, executive director of Habitat of Georgetown. "I think God laid it on him that he needed to do something to give it back."
___Jacobs told Steadman he not only would help with purchasing, but that he would think about building the house. However, he needed to contact his vendors, he said, promising to provide an answer by the end of the week.
___But he woke Steadman with a phone call early the next morning, committing to donate the house.
___Jacobs is matter-of-fact and humble when he recalls that commitment.
___"They were in a position where they needed to get the house built. It was the hot time of the summer, and they had a backlog, and they wanted to get it done quickly," he explained.
___"I just wanted to do this with Habitat. It's a great organization. They do a great job of helping people.
___"So, I just decided to go ahead," he added. "We used all our vendors and all of our labor. A lot of people donated time and material to get this house built. What they didn't donate, we picked up."
___The new 1,070-square-foot home will make a huge impact on the Velasquez family, Peel predicted.
___"They lived in an old trailer, and I can't describe how bad it was," he said. "This is a working family, and they had a hole in the floor. The three girls were sleeping in one bed.
___"What they needed was not a 'gimme' but a 'hand-up,' and that's what Habitat provided. When we dedicated that house, I can't tell you what joy was in that family. I think everyone there was crying."
___Most of the time, congregations sponsor construction of a Habitat house, Peel said. In Georgetown, First Presbyterian Church is a key sponsor, the Methodist church has provided funds to build a house, and First Baptist has placed Habitat in its budget for $100 per month and has supplied volunteers for some of the Habitat homes.
___But Jacobs, Peel and Watson said the pattern of a lead contractor backing a home could be a model for other Habitat affiliates to copy.
___"Other Baptist churches across our state can think in terms of this," said Peel, a member of First Baptist in Georgetown. "I know how Baptist budgets work; it's hard to get in budgets these days.
___"But a lot of churches are getting above and beyond budgets. ... Someone might say, 'What can I do by myself?' Not a lot, maybe. But if you get 10 or 20 or 40 people together, God can work a miracle."
___"Builders have the best access to resources, and it's a good opportunity for vendors and labor to give back to the community," Jacobs added. "I'm surprised it's not done more."
___Habitat projects also provide an opportunity for Christians to express their faith to the community, Peel noted.
___"It can change our whole Christian witness," he said. "It's where people of other faiths and no faiths come together in a common endeavor that unites us. That's the exciting thing that Habitat is all about.
___"In the coffee shop, folks talk about fishing and hunting. But on a Habitat site, we have a devotional every day. We see people in need and we talk about people's needs: 'Are you saved? What do you need?'
___"We earn the right to witness, to ask people about their relationship to the Lord."
___
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