Julio and Rosa Samayoa

Julio and Rosa Samayoa found out about Nashville Habitat through Catholic Charities and ever since, they have been unrelenting in their devotion to our ministry. Though he worked through the night, Julio showed up day after day to build Habitat homes – even after his own home was finished. On school mornings, he would stop home from work to go over homework with his children an hour before school and then continue on to the Habitat build site. The Samayoas’ strength and dedication are an inspiration to us all.

Rosa and I fled Guatemala many years ago and lived for a long time in California, where our daughter, Mireya, was born. Though we were very happy to have freedom and the possibility of a better life, we had a hard time. We were never able to rent an apartment of our own, so we lived here and there, renting rooms – always sharing an apartment with other families. Life is difficult this way, even as a tiny family of three.

In 1999, we moved to Nashville from California, where we began living in the same situation, but not for long. Soon I was earning enough money to rent an apartment for us where we could live a little bit better. This is where we were blessed with our beautiful son, Adrian, and we were beginning to see our hard work paying off. Rosa was attending St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, where she met Maria Harville, who had worked at Catholic Charities. Maria saw our need and introduced us to Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity.

When we got the call saying we were accepted to become homeowners, it was so hard to believe that we qualified to buy a house. It was a lot of work. I remember well the days I worked my night shift, slept a couple of hours, and then showed up at 7 a.m. for a long day of building. But wherever Habitat was building, there I also had to be.It was all worth it. Now we live happily, without worries, with plenty of space and are comfortable. Our other son, Edwin, came from Guatemala two years ago to live with us. My life is full. I pack hardware during the week, work full time on the weekends and spend my free time helping my kids do math homework or draw pictures. We are forever thankful to God, Habitat for Humanity, our sponsor St. George’s Episcopal Church, and to all those people we don’t even know who gave us a hand in the construction of our home.

“When we got the call saying we were accepted to become homeowners, it was hard to believe... I remember the days I worked my night shift, then showed up at 7 a.m. for a day of building. It was all worth it. Now we live happily, without worries, with plenty of space and are comfortable.” – Julio and Rosa Samayoa