Bessie Marshall smiled quietly during the dedication of her Habitat for Humanity house Saturday morning, listening as Dale Pancake thanked all of the people who helped erect with the build, giving John Croft a hug when he presented her with a family Bible for the new home.
And then she got the keys.
“This is mine!” she shouted, tears rolling down her face. “Thank you, Lord!”
Pancake said Marshall and her family – daughter Terri Marshall and grandchildren Jacard Townsend, 16, and 10-year-old twins Ian and Iana Smith – put more than 300 hours of sweat equity into the house, and also has a small mortgage.
Elder Joe A. Curry, Marshall’s pastor at Holy Tabernacle Church of Deliverance, closed the ceremony by blessing the house.
“Let peace and love abide in this home,” Curry said.
Curry said he was pleased to participate in the ceremony.
“I like seeing when God opens doors,” Curry said. “This is something she always wanted. When God blesses someone, it makes me happy.”
Marshall’s is the second home Habitat for Humanity of Covington County has built. Four other families already have been chosen as Habitat partners and have begun building the sweat equity for their homes.