Amanda Gudas and her four children are the recipients of Fulton County Habitat for Humanity’s 19th home, which will be located at 529 W. Sixth St., Rochester. Habitat had a groundbreaking ceremony for it on Tuesday, Sept. 3. In the first row from left are Savannah Gudas, Amanda Gudas, SJ Gudas, Seanna Gudas, Searra Gudas, Habitat Board Assistant Treasurer Andrea Stineback and Habitat Board Member Marci Murphy. In the back row are Habitat Board Treasurer Sharon Van Sickel, Habitat Board President Andrew Horstman, Habitat Board Member Karmin Reeves, Habitat Board Member Daniel Butler and Habitat Board Vice President Ryan Utter.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — Amanda Gudas said getting a new home from Fulton County Habitat for Humanity is “an overwhelming blessing.”

Gudas and her four children, Seanna, Savannah, Searra and SJ Gudas, are the recipients of the organization’s 19th home in the county. A groundbreaking ceremony for it was held on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a full basement will be located at 529 W. Sixth St., Rochester. Work on it should start next spring.

To receive the home, the Gudas family is required to do 250 hours of community service, with them already doing 216 of those.

Gudas said after the ceremony that receiving the home “seems surreal.”

“Little by little, it all feels real,” she said. “This makes it feel real. Mowing every couple of weeks on the property, you get to kind of think about what the future’s going to be like and stuff.”

She spoke to family, friends, community members and Habitat for Humanity board members at the end of the ceremony.

“I’d like to thank everybody who’s prayed for us, believed with us that God would make a way when there was no way,” said Amanda. “He made a way. I want to thank my church family who helped us with our property cleanup. I want to thank Fulton County Habitat for Humanity for giving us this opportunity and making it all happen.”

She read the Bible passage Numbers 6:24-26, which states: “May the Lord bless you and protect you, and may the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.”

“I believe that God really has been with us even in times that we haven’t saw Him working or didn’t feel Him working. He was still there with us,” said Gudas. “I truly believe He has and will continue to bless us and make His face shine upon us, on my children and their children, and I want to dedicate this property and the future home that will be here back to Him. It’s His, for His glory.”

During the ceremony, Aimee Stewart gave the Gudas family a wood plaque with the words “Gudas Est. 2024/2025” and a cross on it.

Stewart herself received the third home Fulton County Habitat for Humanity did.

Gudas’ grandfather Lloyd Ezra and her pastor at Heartland Church of Rochester, Jim Howard, also spoke and prayed during the ceremony.

Habitat Family Support Chair Marci Murphy read the Bible verse Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you and to give you hope and a future.’”

Karmin Reeves, who also works on family support with Habitat, gave the family a golden hammer.

“This symbolizes that Amanda and her family have already had over 75 hours of volunteer service in order for this to occur,” she said.