2010 Thrivent Builds-PAHH Homeowner Chris Sobel
The Light at the End of a Tunnel
(Feb. 1, 2010) “My son, Sean, is my hero,” observed Chris Sobel, the single parent of the 2010 Thrivent Builds-Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity (PAHH) family. Sean, who is 17 and attends Prescott High School, experiences life from a wheelchair. He has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and to accommodate his special needs, PAHH will construct its 2010 Thrivent Builds house in Diamond Valley, AZ, to be ADA (Americans with Disabilities) accessible.
Sean’s disease has given him a unique perspective on life and, according to his dad, it has contributed to Sean’s deep spirituality and close relationship with God. The motivating force behind Chris’ intent to become a Habitat for Humanity homeowner is his wish to spend more quality time with Sean and Sean’s 5-year old sister, Cheyenne. He will be able to accomplish this due to the affordability of his PAHH house. Locally, the cost of decent, safe, affordable ADA-accessible housing is prohibitive, and a sizeable amount of his paycheck goes toward rent. With the considerable financial savings that will occur when the family moves into their Habitat home, the family will be able to have an array of experiences that are now unavailable to them.
Chris moved to Prescott to go into treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. While in recovery, he obtained custody of Sean and Cheyenne. He had a spiritual awakening in the course of his recovery, and he reports that “life has been awesome ever since.” He believes that if he could have written a plan for his life’s journey, he would have sold himself short.
A TV commercial was Chris’ introduction to Habitat for Humanity. It led him to a discussion with his mother and sister about whether he might qualify as a Habitat homeowner. He contacted PAHH, embarked on the orientation and selection process, dropped out, and then recommitted himself to successfully completing every requirement of becoming a Habitat homeowner. He is just hours away from meeting the overall goal of 250 hours of sweat equity towards his house. While helping build houses of other Habitat homeowners, Chris has done framing, hung drywall, and worked at landscaping.
As Sean and Cheyenne continue their schooling in Prescott, Chris is studying for his Associate of Arts Degree and working full-time. His long term goal is to earn a Master’s Degree in Counseling. He and Cheyenne go ice-skating every week, and Sean enjoys playing his guitar and spending time on his computer. Chris envisions that the biggest change ahead for his family is that they will be happier because they will be able to spend more time together.
Chris worked on the Wilson’s house last year, during which time he learned about Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. He feels deeply grateful to Thrivent for their partnership with PAHH that will result in his family’s home by late summer 2010. He appreciated working with friendly volunteers on the ’09 Thrivent-PAHH build and looks forward to working with them on construction of his house, where he will be hard at work each Saturday this spring and summer.
To all those at Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Thrivent’s Mingus Mountain Chapter, and the four local Thrivent Builds participating Lutheran congregations, Chris would like to say an enthusiastic, “Thank you!” for creating the light at the end of a tunnel of life’s challenges. To Chris we say, “May the light burn long and bright!”