The wall-raising marks the beginning of construction on the home, which will be completed in ten weeks. Hundreds of members of Westlake Hills Presbyterian will work hand-in-hand with future Austin Habitat homeowner Martha Garcia to complete construction.

By summer, Martha Garcia and her two teenage sons will finally have a home of their own in a safe neighborhood.

Garcia's home is Austin Habitat's first to be fully sponsored by a single church. At their Christmas Eve offering, Westlake Hills Presbyterian collected $58,000 of the necessary $65,000 to build the home. This total is four times the typical collection of years past.

"We were amazed and thrilled," says Mark Charbonneau, director of local and regional missions. "Our members really rallied behind the idea of building an Austin Habitat home and connecting with this one family."

As a result of their successful collection, Westlake Presbyterian decided to expand its goal, and build not only locally, but globally. They are now funding homes through Habitat for Humanity International in Afghanistan, China, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Zambia, as well.