Habitat for Humanity celebrated its first wall raising on a new home since the COVID-19 closures.
While fewer volunteered during the shutdowns, the construction continued.
Susan Moffitt led the way for her future home and the 89th wall raising for the mid-Yellowstone Valley Habitat for Humanity on Saturday.
"It's really special," Moffitt said. "It's really cool. It's like, ah, it's all finally coming together. It's going to be my little piece of heaven. It's really nice. It's overwhelming. It's just very exciting, It's God and His work."
Moffit will live in the home with their three children, and that's the motivation for the volunteers, including those from Church of Christ, where she attends.
"They give up their time and talent, their money to come out here and make these homes a reality for deserving families," said Jim Woolyhand, Mid-Yellowstone Valley Habitat For Humanity. "For children to have safe, simple decent affordable housing, a warm home, a safe home."
The plan is to build 21 homes in the Founders Park Subdivision, and even over the last year, it hasn't slowed down too much for Habitat for Humanity.
"Right now we are back on our normal construction schedule," Woolyhand said. "We've got three houses that we're going to close and dedicate before June 30."
"It's been very challenging because a lot of times, the job site got closed down," Moffitt said. "And then when it did reopen we weren't able to have volunteers out here, so it kind of slowed some stuff down. But as you see they kept going."
Some volunteers signed special messages.
"One of the traditions that we have here at Habitat for Humanity is that we sign the walls at a wall raising," Woolyhand said. "So to know that those messages, those words of love will always be in their home is something really special."
"Just knowing that they're there, that all the love is on the wall, means a lot," Moffitt said. "Not many people can say that they got to be a part of something like this."
"We're looking forward to good things to come for 2021 and beyond," said Woolyhand.
Moffit and her family will move into the home in June.
Woolyhand said two other homes will also be ready at that time.
