It was halfway through our Habitat advocacy day in D.C., and we were really starting to feel the five miles of walking. Our group of eight Minnesotans had split up to meet with our Representatives in Congress, but we were now back together in the offices of Minnesota Senator Tina Smith. She would be joining us in a minute, but for now we were gathered around a conference table, talking with her staffer, Adam Schiff, who focused on housing issues.

This past month on the ReStoration Corner Blog has been all about inspired DIY projects. Whether it's a calendar of crafts, a home filled with reused materials, or a Q&A with our avid-DIYer and staff member Jan, we've got some great inspiration just for you!

We asked Beth Barnes a few questions about her experience with Jordan Week of Kindness and Twin Cities Habitat's A Brush with Kindness program. Here are her responses...

Because buying a home is a big (and exciting!) investment, many people have questions about the finance part of the process. A common question we hear is, "Can I buy a home if I have collections on my credit report?" Fortunately, the answer is yes. But it depends how much money you owe and what type of debt it is.

Here are some things you should know if you have collections but want to buy a home.

Guest Blog by Meghan Longtin

Guest Blog by Brian Juntti
Habitat Staff Member & Global Village Volunteer 

Our morning drive started with the smell of exhaust and the spirited chirp of horns in the scramble of San Juan’s traffic. Before long, we were on weaving country roads headed toward the cloud-covered mountains in the distance.

Guest Blog by Joe Milton
Twin Cities Habitat Construction Volunteer Facilitator 

The sunrise of February 4 rose from the beautiful mountains in the East. The Habitat volunteers woke up with excitement knowing they would make another great stride in building a new home for a wonderful family.

LaShonda was in a bind: with her good job as an x-ray technician, her income was too high to qualify for things like food or housing assistance—but her income wasn’t high enough to afford homeownership. It’s a bind that’s all too common and almost invisible at the same time.

Guest Blog byTom Goodoien
Global Village and JCRC volunteer

Buenas noches to the Habitat for Humanity Global Village volunteers! 

My passion story advice for today and more:

Find a passion that gives your life meaningful purpose…I found it in Habitat for Humanity, an ecumenical movement. A collaborative effort of varied (sometimes ungovernable) volunteers who are habitually, deliberately, regularly kind and generous and want to give back from the abundance they have been given. And serve humanity in a bigger way. ‘Good God I am the luckiest person in the world.’

Guest Blog by by Peter Myers
Global Village Volunteer

Day One of our week in San Juan de la Maguana:

We were greeted at the hotel by our local Habitat coordinator, Nongelys, and our engineer (aka site sup) Roberto. We managed to pack all 18 of our Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity crew into two not-very-large vans for a half-hour ride to an outdoor factory where we'd be making concrete slabs for future houses. It was certainly a new construction technique for most of us ,but after a short training period we got the hang of it.