Meet Rachel and Stella
Rachel Henderson is a licensed dental assistant in Warrensburg, Missouri, who has worked tirelessly with The Fuller Center of Johnson County to build a simple, decent home for her and 9-year-old daughter Stella. Building a home is not easy, but Rachel would not trade a moment of the sweat equity hours she and Stella spent working alongside local volunteers.
Despite the pandemic that loomed over the final weeks of construction, the Hendersons persevered and were able to move in on April 1. Stella is “super-proud” of her new home and looking forward to celebrating her 10th birthday there next week.
We caught up with Rachel to hear her story and learned how the hard work only makes her appreciate the home even more and why she gets emotional when she makes her zero-percent-interest mortgage payments.
“It’s made quite a difference,” Rachel says. “You’re paying your mortgage, and insurance and tax escrow, and it’s less than my rent was. … And every time we pay we’re getting that much closer to being able to build a house for another person.”
That’s not the only way she’s paying it forward. She also has now joined the board of directors of The Fuller Center of Johnson County with the goal of helping more families in her community have simple, decent places to live.
“After we got our house built, I knew this isn’t where it stops,” she says. “I have to help other people.”