“The letter from Habitat was the best Christmas gift anyone could give us,” said Dan. “It changed our lives.”

There are few men who can say they’ve worked harder in their lives than Dan Wilson. Growing up in a tough, low-income neighborhood, Dan learned early that there were no shortcuts in life—anything worth having he must earn himself..

“With two kids and only working part time it wouldn’t have been enough. This home has been a true blessing for my family.”

With volunteer help from her church, Betty completed her 300 sweat equity hours and moved into her rehabbed Twin Cities Habitat home in the fall of 1991. Her daughters were thankful for the added space along with the fact that they didn’t have to switch schools. This was the first time either girl had their own room.

“It’s given us the opportunity to think big.”

Each year, the U.S. government conducts a Diversity Lottery program that grants visas to randomly chosen individuals. For Abebe Woldeamanuel, his wife Woinshet Tessema and son, Abirham this lottery was the only way to escape the political unrest that was taking place in their homeland of Ethiopia. The family waited and waited. Finally in October of 2001 they were selected for a visa and also received word that a friend living in St. Paul agreed to sponsor their trip to the United States.

“Without that Habitat season in our lives, we wouldn’t be where we are today. It allowed us to afford some schooling, to better my career, and to build our family into what it is today.”

Living in subsidized housing with three small children and one income, Angie and Mike Wurm felt that the dream of homeownership would never become a reality.

A friend of the family told the Wurms about the homebuyer program at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity. " We applied but didn’t ever think we would get it. We felt like good things just didn’t happen to us," said Angie.

“Between the Habitat staff and the AmeriCorps members we got all our questions answered. And the volunteers were always interested in finding out about us and our home. Everyone was extremely nice.”

Since coming to Minnesota the family has increased in size to six while still living in a two-bedroom apartment. Gloria, now with an infant son has spent many nights worrying about the safety of their building. Loud neighbors, frequent police visits and rodents running rampant have made the apartment no place to raise a child.

“My prayers were finally answered. I could tuck my son into bed in his own room on his first Christmas Eve.”

Prior to becoming Habitat homeowners, Jeff and Tabatha Obert were forced to raise three young children in an apartment complex surrounded by criminal activity of all kinds. Things were so bad that Tabatha home schooled their oldest daughter Sabrina and would rarely let the other children outside to play.