It was a hot Summer day in March when we walked up to what was serving as Sfiso and Lizzie’s house. It couldn’t have been hotter, though, than the week prior when their house burned to the ground in a fire. The only evidence left in the barrenness were a few charred pieces of wood sticking out of the ground.

As we chatted with Sfiso, you could tell there was a sadness and perhaps even a hopelessness. Not only had he just lost his HOME and belongings in a fire, but he was out of work and couldn’t provide. That’s enough to leave a man feeling defeated.

As we prayed for direction, God said, “Build.”

It didn’t make sense.

Build.

This family, these kids, Nomawethu, Palesa, and Freedom, had a mother and a father in the HOME.

Build.

It didn’t fit the mold of who we build HOMES for.

Build.

So…we started building…and so did Sfiso and Lizzie. They didn’t just sit back and watch someone build a HOME for them. They were out there every single day digging a foundation, laying bricks, cleaning up tools, whatever they could do to help.

As the walls went up, so did their spirits. There was a HOPE in their eyes that wasn’t there before. While Sfiso laid bricks for his HOME, he was watching and learning. He was learning a trade which is so very valuable here in Africa.

Only three months after that first visit, it was time to celebrate by presenting Sfiso, Lizzie, Nomawethu, Palesa, and Freedom with their very own HOME. We not only celebrated the fact that their HOME was finished, but we celebrated Lizzie’s birthday, because as the mosaic on their doorstep reads and as Sfiso so clearly says it, they have become mndeni or family.

The story doesn’t end there which is awesome, because we are all about relationship and the continuation of HOPE here at Ten Thousand Homes. As building has increased all around us, we have seen the need to start our very own brick farm, supplying bricks for HOMES like Sfiso and Lizzie’s as well as expansion on University Village. Guess who is on the brick farm crew? If you guessed Sfiso, you guessed right!

HOPE…

Special thanks to the following for being a part of bringing this family into the Ten Thousand Homes mndeni… 

Write Deeper through photogenX Europe for your donation to build Sfiso and Lizzie’s HOME.

New Hope Christian Church for your donation to buy beds, mattresses, and bedding for the family as well as supply electricity for their house.

Citymark Church for making Lizzie’s birthday wish come true with a fridge and for furnishing their HOME with kitchen cabinets, a table and chairs, and couches.