Introduction

"Por que esta aqui?"  "Why are you here?"

The question came from a lovely 15-year-old girl named Haylim as we worked alongside one another building a home for her and her mother in the village of Amecameca an hour north of Mexico City. They had been sharing a two-room house with another family of five and were within weeks of having their own home. I had answered that question many times conceptually, but it was different trying to explain to a young girl why strangers from around the world and around Mexico were there to help her family realize their dream.

I told Haylim that I was there for three reasons: First, because I believe that we are all one in God's eyes and that God cares passionately for every single person in the world. Second, because I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe, decent, affordable home. And third, because every time I have the privilege of working alongside someone like her, it gives me a glimpse of the kind of person I aspire to be and the kind of community we are called to create.

So why am I writing a book? Because this matters. Lives are at stake. I joined Habitat for Humanity a year ago, and both the remarkable ways God continues to work through this ministry to change lives and the desperate need for decent, affordable homes around the world have powerfully impacted my life. My hope for this book is that it will provide a layperson's introduction to the need for decent, affordable housing and, more than that, it will be a personal call to being part of the solution. I also hope it will give people a greater understanding of what we have learned in 30 years of service at Habitat for Humanity and how we are evolving to address the need for decent housing. One of the things that has been reaffirmed is that our mission is not just about building houses, as critically important as those homes are. Our mission is to transform communities.

As I reflect on that experience with Haylim and so many like it, I realize that it parallels my "life verse" from the Bible:

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
—Micah 6:6-8

This has been a familiar passage all my life, though one that has taken on more meaning over time. My grandmother, Millicent Fenwick, was a towering figure in my childhood. A civil and human rights pioneer as well as New Jersey congresswoman, she used to recite it to me every time I saw her. She had an imposing presence. Prior to her public life, she had written the best-selling Vogue Book of Etiquette (a million copies in 1948), so in order to graduate to the "grown up" table at her house, one had to be able to sit up straight, hold one's fork properly and participate in discussions of food problems in sub-Saharan Africa. At some point in every visit, she would quote Micah, which is as applicable to Habitat's mission as it is to each of our lives. So that's all we have to do. Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

I chose that verse to be the organizing structure for this book because it is helpful to see poverty housing through the lenses of justice, mercy and humility – three desperate needs in our world. I'm taking the liberty of following that structure in the way I explained it to Haylim.

Ending poverty housing is a matter of mercy. As we are so blessed, we are called to be a blessing.

Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, said, "Let our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God." Our challenge is not only to get homes built, but to do so in relationship. Chapter 1 calls us to find the current state of poverty housing in our world unacceptable, and Chapter 2 calls us to respond to that discontent in community. Decent houses meet a critical physical need and are part of a greater need for relationship and sustainable communities. As we are the beneficiaries of God's unmerited grace, how do we then become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world? We need to focus both on the end and the means of achieving our goal.

Ending poverty housing is a matter of justice. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live in a decent, affordable home.

If we take Jesus' teaching seriously, it is clear that we have a duty to be Kingdom builders – to do whatever we can to mold our world in God's image and to bring hope, to create God's "habitat for humanity." If one were designing a system for a just society where each person has a proportional chance of ending up in any socioeconomic strata, it is unlikely we would create a world with such an unconscionable gap between the "haves" and "have-nots." Part 2 lays out the staggering need for affordable housing in the United States and around the world and shows the transforming role of decent shelter in helping break the cycle of poverty, impacting health and education for children and providing a foundation for a better life.

Ending poverty housing is a matter of humility. The universal experience of participants with Habitat is that we receive more than we give.

Randall Wallace, the screenwriter of Braveheart (among other films), says it succinctly: "Habitat for Humanity is a perpetual motion miracle. Everyone who gives receives, and everyone who receives gives. If you want to stay complacent and uninspired, stay away from Habitat. Come close to Habitat and it will change you and make you part of something that changes the world."

One of the joys of my work is getting to see so many families whose lives are transformed. A crucial aspect of the way Habitat works is that the transformation takes place just as much in the lives of the volunteers as in the lives of the homeowners. Chapter 5 demonstrates how the process of bringing people together from different races, faiths and socioeconomic backgrounds for the very tangible act of creating or improving a home breaks down barriers and opens hearts.

Another favorite piece of wisdom comes from theologian and author Henry Blackaby who says that if you're not sure what to do, look for where God is at work and join him there. I see God's hands so clearly at work in the Habitat movement and am privileged to be allowed to participate. Habitat for Humanity's ultimate goal is an audacious one: to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the face of the earth by building adequate and basic housing. Furthermore, all of our words and actions are for the ultimate purpose of putting shelter on the hearts and minds of people in such a powerful way that poverty housing and homelessness become socially, politically and religiously unacceptable.

While our tactics continuously evolve, we adhere relentlessly to six core principles that guide how we work:

  1. Demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus Christ.
  2. Advocate on behalf of those in need of decent shelter.
  3. Focus on shelter by building and renovating simple, decent, affordable houses.
  4. Engage broad community through inclusive leadership and diverse partnerships.
  5. Promote dignity through full partnership with Habitat homeowners and future home partners.
  6. Promote transformational and sustainable community development.

It is important to note that I am writing from my perspective as a follower of Jesus. Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian ministry. We are motivated by Christ's call to serve and love our neighbors and are inclusive and non-discriminatory. We joyfully welcome people of any faith or no faith to join in our mission to eradicate poverty. Regardless of your particular faith perspective, I hope this book will spur you to be part of the solution.

So as you read this book, think about the question: Por que esta aqui? Why are YOU here? Chapter 6 provides a series of ways that you can make a difference in the battle to eliminate poverty housing from the face of the earth and to personally experience authentic community. Come help build it!