Thrivent Builds 2007Lopez Family
It’s hard to believe that five people live in the small one bedroom place that Maria Lopez and her kids call home. Cramped quarters can make any living arrangement difficult but their situation isn’t difficult, it’s wrong. No heat in the winter, threatening dogs that roam the landlord’s yard, and a neighborhood that is known for drugs and violence leave the Lopez family deserving something more.
Thankfully, something more is being done. Habitat chose the Lopez’s as a partner family and their days of living in a converted garaged in a dangerous neighborhood are numbered. Soon they’ll be able to have the privacy of separate rooms, even enjoy the pleasure of visitors, and the opportunity to host family gatherings. 
To Maria, the opportunity to own a home is more about her kids than anything else. Maria said of Cynthia, Daniel, Kimberly, and Tianna, “I talk to them everyday and tell them that I want the best for them.” The best has been hard to provide while working and raising her children, ranging from 16 to seven years-old, alone. She’ll have to work even harder to put in 500 hours of sweat equity by picking up a hammer like others who volunteer on her house. It’s an investment she’s more than willing to make.
Sitting in the midst of their kitchen that serves as a living room and bedroom, the family is excited to dream about the future. At the mention of a safe place to live Maria’s eyes brighten and her radiant smile shows her thankfulness. When she talks about finally being able to own a home each sentence is littered with thanks. Most of all she speaks about the chance it provides for her children. “This is an opportunity to live better…for my kids to go to school, have a career, and a job,” Maria said. 
That life-changing opportunity Maria speaks of will be realized extremely soon. In accordance with Thrivent Builds guidelines, the Lopez home will be completed and the family moved in by December 31, 2007. Maria, Cynthia, Daniel, Kimberly, and Tianna should even be able to enjoy their first Christmas tree as a family in their new home.
Maria and her family have been diligently putting in their sweat equity hours on their home. |
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