Last summer, many of our family gathered in Missoula, Montana for a 5-day, 300 mile bike trip from Missoula to Spokane, Washington. 32 of us made the trip for a unforgettable ride in the mountains and trees of the Northwest. That trip took place following the Blitz Week of 2001. And as usual, John was there giving his time and skill to helping those build. John and Kim were talking about the week and John remarked about a dream of his; that one day the family would sponsor their own house for Habitat. As the conversation continued, Kim encouraged John to go ahead and do it. "If God wants this to happen, it will. Let's go out in faith and commit to sponsoring a house." John thought for a minute, and he shook his head and said, "you know Kim, you're right, let's do it."

And so launched the Elsen Family House. Sponsorship means a commitment to raise $20,000.00 by the time the house is rebuilt and ready to move in to. Kim later remarked that if she knew that it was so much money, maybe she would not be so quick to encourage John to go ahead. She thought we needed to raise only $5,000.00. But God is able and He can easily raise $20,000.00 as He can $5,000.00. So off we go.

24 arrived at John's Baltimore home during the work week. There is an age restriction for those who can be on-site and work. There were 12 of us who worked on the house in Sandtown. There were a couple others who have worked with John over the years that came to help us out. The age restriction didn't stop John though. Several times he loaded up 2 x 4's into his truck and drove 30 minutes back home. There he rounded up the younger children and had them pound studs together which formed the interior walls. They built 5 walls during the week and they loved it. All got to help measure, pound and hold for cutting. Everyone had a part.

Down in Sandtown, our house was originally 2 homes; 1618 and 1620 Calhoun Street. They were abandoned and left to decay and crumble. They were turned over to Habitat and late last year they were assigned to the Elsen Family for rehabbing. During the Spring, John would go down on Saturday's and gut out the structures. He also began the much needed replacing of floor joists and stairs which were dangerously unsafe to walk on. It was also determined that these 2 homes would be combined into one since the added size and additional bedrooms have been in greater demand for the neighborhood.

As we walked into the buildings after removing the boarded up, pad-locked front doors, we looked around in amazement. Bare brick walls. What bricks were in place had the mortar crumbling. Many of the bricks just rested upon the brick below with nothing in between. The mortar had disintegrated during the past 130 years of its existence. John had rebuilt most of the first and second floor of 1618. We needed to put in new joists and floor for the back half of 1620. Walking up the new stairs to the second floor brought your eyes close to a roof that was terribly sagged with light streaming in through cracks and gaps. Broken rafters and birds nests lead one to wonder how long this has gone on. Walls crumbling. Bricks gone. Windows with old, deteriorated frames so crooked nothing new could be fit in. The bricks around the windows are loose, fallen, with no mortar to hold on to. You just looked in wonder without saying much. Wouldn't it be better to just knock all this down and start over? Is this work worth it? Where do you start when there is so much to do? Anything you touch just makes for more work as everything around it just crumbles to dust as you try to fix it.

We all got a dose of reality when John just laughs and says that this place is in great shape...you should have seen the ones that were bad!

But there is hope. Just next door to the north is a beautiful gray stately home which was just as bad several years ago. It was abandoned and Habitat restored it and now a very happy, gracious, and thankful and and his wife live there. they are gainfully employed and proud of their home. We know because Oscar came out several times to talk with us. He showed us the before and after photos and proudly spoke about the flowers he has planted in the boxes around his house and throughout the block as well as taking the old, unused cans of paint and painting the alley to dress up the neighborhood!