They prayed that it wouldn’t rain Saturday morning and it didn’t. Barely a drop fell from the gray skies over Oak Harbor as more than 50 people, many of them senior citizens, pounded nails into the skeletal frame of a new home.

When complete, it will be the first Habitat for Humanity home built within the city limits of Oak Harbor. Local developer Bill Massey and his wife, Kathleen, donated six lots within the new Redwing Development off Heller Road to the “non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry,” as the organization describes itself.

The modest home will belong to Oak Harbor resident Betty Utt. Standing in the cold Saturday, she was moved to tears when asked what it means to have so many people joined together, working to build her a home of her own.

“I’m just blessed out of my socks,” she said. “They have answered my prayers, that’s for sure.”

The volunteers and donors of Habitat for Humanity of Island County, north chapter, have put up four houses in four years on North Whidbey. It is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, an organization that seeks to end homelessness and poverty housing in the world. It was started in Georgia in 1976 by Milliard and Linda Fuller and then experienced phenomenal growth in the 1980s when former President Jimmy Carter became involved.

“It’s founded on God’s principles that everyone has the right to a decent home,” said Jim Smith, north chapter president. While it’s a Christian organization, he stressed that people don’t have to be religious to qualify for the program.

Local contractor Howard Steiner, vice president of the chapter, explained how the program works. It’s not a give-away. The future owner, it this case Utt, has to work along side all the other volunteers to build the house. Then the house is sold to her, interest free, for about $60,000. That will keep her mortgage payment at a manageable $250 to $300 a month.

“There’s no chance of getting Jimmy Carter here,” Steiner joked. “But we do have a lot of volunteers involved. Right now, the best way for people to help us is to become a Friend of Habitat for Humanity and volunteer to give $25 or $50 per house.”

For Utt, the project means she’ll have to put in 500 hours of “sweat equity” to purchase the house. She isn’t asked to do anything she can’t handle, but she helps out wherever she can. Saturday, she was a busy bee, helping to pack, unpack and haul boxes for a makeshift banquet of bratwurst.

The 57-year-old woman was chosen from a list of applicants who came to a meeting in August.. Due to medical problems that impair her ability to work, she said she never thought she’d own a house, let alone a new one made for her.

The former nurse moved to Whidbey Island from Oklahoma in 1989 to escape a bad marriage. She went to work at a fish processing plant to make some money. Unfortunately, she suffered a head injury on the job, causing serious cognitive problems. She had to learn to read and write again.

Bad luck struck again three years ago. Utt suffered cardiac arrest outside her home and fell unconscious. Nobody found her until the next day. By then, she was in a coma and suffered from hypothermia. The doctors warned her family that she was unlikely to ever come out of the coma, but miraculously, she woke up after a few weeks.

In about four to six months, Utt will be able to move into her brand new, 1,000-square-foot house, along with her Siberian husky, Lady.

“It’s hard not to cry and cry and cry tears of happiness,” she said. “I’m just so overwhelmed by the support of the community. This has helped restore my faith in humanity.”

As Smith pointed out, the volunteers for Habitat for Humanity come from all walks of life. Saturday, retired folks pounded nails beside Navy personnel, blue collar-workers worked beside business people. There was even an individual who was working as part of community service.

Mike Watson, a school district employee, was one of dozens of people hammering away at the house Saturday. “It feels good to give a little bit back to the community,” he said. “We don’t realize it, but we live in paradise in America. … It’s good to pitch in a little bit and get some exercise.”

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.