Thursday, June 15, 2006

Ground Breaking Ceremony...


So here's the whole new family...somewhat of an interesting and motley extended crew we are. But the make-up of a quaint little new neighborhood.
I thought a few of you might be wondering the story behind this building project of ours...Will actually applied to get into this Mutual Self-Help housing program a couple of years ago and it just wasn't quite the right time yet. He needed his building partner to enter into his life. That would be me. :)
So in March of 2006 we decided to reapply to see if we fit the status of what they were looking for considering we had no clue how to buy a house these days. Being newly married, with Will in ministry and that all that goes on in the pocketbook (or lack thereof) with those qualifications, we squeezed into the income bracket, miraculously that is, and were approved to start building with 9 other families to create a new little neighborhood in Green. We all build together on each other's homes under the direction of a head contractor who teaches (babysits) us along the way. At the end of the projected 10-12 month project, with each family working 35 hours/week, we all get to move into our humble little abodes while receiving a lovely $30K down-payment for our sweat (literally) equity. We then receive a loan from USDA's Rural Development office at an awesome 5.75% interest rate. Who ever said the government never did anything for them is crazy, I say!
We are so excited and praying for unity amongst the group as it could potentially turn into quite the dramatic reality show. We've been surprised a few moments already that we haven' t seen any cameras around yet.
P.S. 10 of the 35 hours/week that we have to put into the home can be done by volunteers...So, if you feel so inclined to swing a hammer in support of the Irwin's, please email: krystalk@lycos.com We would be so honored by ANY efforts!

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Building a Home!!


Here we are Will and Krystal Irwin on May 19, 2006 at our Ground Breaking Ceremony--and yes we know we're a wee bit crazy to be building already. We just figured that building a marriage wasn't quite enough, we needed a home to be swinging hammers at too!:)
And yes, we have counted the costs of this extensive building project, our own new 3 bedroom/2 bath home that is, and we are incredibly blessed as we realize what a gift of God this will be for us. Foundation pouring has already been backed up a couple of months, so we hope to start building on this lot #9 on Bunting Court in the Green district of Roseburg, OR around July 1, 2006. We are fully aware how building projects go and just entrust that timeline into our God who holds time in His hands.
Be praying for us as we both know that...unless the Lord builds the house, it's laborers labor in vain.