Habitat for Humanity of Harvey County welcomes our newest Habitat homeowner partners, Barbara Merrifield and 5 year-old son Jonah.  Barbara heard about the Habitat program from a friend. She had been wondering for a while whether or not there was any way she could own her own home after years of renting.  Learning about Habitat gave her hope that it might be possible.

Barbara was born in Wichita, grew up in Salina and then Newton – so other than her 3 year term in the Army after graduating from Newton High School in 2005, she’s never strayed far from Kansas.  Her mother passed away in 2007, and since then Barbara rarely sees her extended family. They do have some older close friends that they spend time with.  Being a single parent has been a big challenge.  Barbara works hard to keep their little family on a schedule and maintains healthy boundaries between work, chores and playtime to make it all work.

She has been working for NMC Health for 3 years as an outpatient-inpatient insurance coordinator.  Prior to that she worked for Pine Village in Moundridge, and prior to that she was an in-home care provider for an adult with Downs Syndrome.

Barbara enjoys reading, spending time outdoors with energetic Jonah and occassionally they watch a movie together at home.  Jonah will be starting Kindergarten in the fall.  He loves running, is very curious and is very much a “people person.”  Noting that her email address contains the phrase, “Intentional Trust,” I asked Barbara if she would mind sharing with me the meaning of this for her.  She said it has to do with her daily faith walk, of mindfully remembering that God is in charge and what that means for her and her daily choices.

Please keep Barbara and Jonah in your prayers.  We look forward to getting to know this young family and supporting them as they build their new home.

If you know someone that would be interested in becoming a Habitat for Humanity homeowner, make sure they connect with us here or on Facebook!

It is with much gratitude and great joy that we introduce you to our 2020 Homeowner partners, David and Kyra Henry.  Like many Habitat applicants, they were initially unsure if they wanted to apply. Would they qualify? What if they didn’t, could they bear another disappointment, especially after a long year of many disappointments, heartbreaks and challenges? Luckily they decided to take the chance, and now here they are, taking their first steps toward home ownership.

David, who grew up in Salina, and Kyra, who grew up in Denver, both relocated to Newton several years ago to be closer to family.  They met through one of those family members, and it wasn’t long before they had fallen in love.  They began their journey together 13 years ago, and have been married for almost 7 years.

David has an adult son who has 5 year old twin boys, and a daughter who is almost 3.  Kyra and David try to stay as involved with them as they are with their two younger children, Amaris and Ella. Amaris is a 7th grader at Chisholm and excels in math.  In his spare time he enjoys skateboarding and riding his bike. He’s very resourceful, building his own ramps from neighbors’ castoffs.  Ella is a 1st grader at Sunset Elementary. She’s involved with Girl Scouts, takes ballet and is a self-proclaimed pop star, belting out her favorite songs on their front porch, not wanting to deprive neighbors of her gift.

David has worked for J & M Ag Service for over 10 years, repairing large ag equipment.  Kyra has been a CNA, waitress, and worked for Walmart. She currently stays home to care for her children and grandchildren.  She has had some physical challenges, but she has an indomitable spirit and has not allowed these challenges to defeat her. The love in their home is obvious, from the pictures and sayings on the walls, to the way they look at each other.

They attend Newton Christian Church and Kyra enjoys participating in their Women’s Encounter events. She also loves movies, in particular Disney movies.  She’s very excited about a March trip to Disneyland their family will be taking – a Christmas gift from their extended family.  David said his favorite three things are fishing, work and BBQ. In that order.

When asked if they had any challenges they had overcome that they were proud of and would be willing to share – they both looked at each other, and shifted in their chairs with obvious discomfort. They did not need to share anything that made them feel uncomfortable.  I sensed that they had a need to share their story, and how they were feeling a fresh sense of accomplishment with how far they had come. They shared a deeply painful, personal incident that occurred over a year ago. Kyra spoke of how angry they felt toward God. They have now released these things back to God, and have a new sense of His will for their lives, and a renewed sense of peace. The incident is far from over, their family will likely be dealing with the repercussions of it for a long time to come, but in the middle of this storm, they know God is good.

Being accepted as our next Habitat owner feels like further evidence of this truth.  They are eager and grateful to be part of our Habitat community. I hope you have the opportunity to meet them soon.

We are grateful for yet another successful fundraiser. On Nov. 21st approximately 200 attendees enjoyed music by Mark & Gail Stucky, a delicious pork chop meal and a live auction moderated by Wade Brubacher. Thanks to our attendees, donors, volunteers and others, we raised approximately $20,000 again this year. We cannot thank you enough. This goes a long way toward building a house every year in Harvey County for a grateful family, like our 2019 family, the Fehr’s pictured here.

If you have not yet joined this most worthy of causes, we hope you will connect with us, and we’ll find a place to put you to work. You’ll be glad you did.

Our 2018 Fundraiser was the best one yet! Thank you to the generosity of our attendee’s and auction item donors, we raised over $20,000. We had some fun along the way too. Please put a reminder on your calendar for November 2019, so you too can join the fun. Exact date to be determined, but it is generally held on the 3rd Thursday.  Stay tuned…