"Had it not been for Thrivent Builds," Rhonda Shoen explained, "Shawn’s house would not have been built—not this year anyway—and I may never have met him."  

"Awesome" is how they describe their new home and their new life together.

Love between the two-by-fours

It is widely known that Habitat homebuyers obtain their homes in part by putting in "sweat equity," that is, helping with construction and attending classes on subjects such as home maintenance and basic home finances. It was at just such a class that future Habitat homeowner, Shawn Shoen took notice of Habitat classmate, Rhonda Dettmer. They had both recently begun the process of building and purchasing homes through the Martin/Faribault County Habitat for Humanity (HFH) affiliate.

Shawn’s Habitat home was being built only because a new program—Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity—demanded that all construction projects funded by this unique alliance between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International be "capacity-building" projects for the Habitat affiliate. For a small, all-volunteer-run Habitat affiliate like Martin/Faribault County, building one home per year can be a stretch. Building two homes in 12 months can tap resources above and beyond conceivable limits. But when Thrivent Builds offered to fund 70 percent of the cost of a second home and area Lutherans promised to come up with an additional 10 percent, the Martin/Faribault County HFH saw this as a chance to take the next step in growing their organization to building two homes annually.

"Had it not been for Thrivent Builds," Rhonda explained, "Shawn’s house would not have been built—not this year anyway—and I may never have met him."

And that’s where this story takes a love-ly turn. Shawn is a single dad with three boys, Rhonda a single mom with two girls and a boy. Shawn was disabled 15 years ago when a drunk driver caused him to lose part of a leg. Rhonda’s seven-year-old daughter, Aleia, was diagnosed with Intractable Seizure Disorder when she was just three months old. Both families struggled to deal with these difficulties and with the seeming impossibility of finding decent, safe housing they could afford. Habitat looked to be the perfect answer and when both were accepted into the program, the families could hardly contain their excitement.

Attending the requisite classes together, Rhonda and Shawn learned about home basics and about each other. Immediately there was a strong bond between the two and before long, it became apparent that building one larger home for the two families and finding another family in need to purchase the second home would be prudent. This would allow Rhonda and Shawn to meld their families, "Brady Bunch" style and offer another family the same opportunity they had been given.

Martin/Faribault County HFH went into high gear. They needed to find another qualified low-income family to purchase the home that had originally been offered to Rhonda. Then, Shawn’s house plans would need to be redesigned to accommodate what would now be a family of eight. It must also have the necessary handicap-accessible features incorporated that would assist Shawn and Aleia in their daily lives and keep them safe.

This was no small task for a fledgling Habitat affiliate, but they rose to the occasion. They were motivated by their desire to give families a hand up and by the love story that was unfolding before them.

Shawn and Rhonda were married on Saturday, September 30 at Evangelical Covenant Church in Fairmont, MN. Their new home had been dedicated according to Habitat for Humanity tradition on Sunday, September 17, just days prior to their wedding. And they were able to close on their mortgage and move into it a few weeks later. "Awesome" is how they describe their new home and their new life together.