Home rescue in northeast Houston

Before photo of Davis' house

For years, Luella Davis and her husband Alfred dreamed of living in their own home. They had been together since ninth grade and married for 49 years, when Alfred died suddenly in 2016.

"My husband. This is his dream. He wanted to put me in this home" Luella said with fondness in her eyes. It was clear that Davis had an emotional attachment to the home set to move in to, even though it was not completely finished- not even close.

Photo of converted garage Luella was living in

Luella had been living in a converted garage behind her home as it was being renovated. However, shortly after becoming a widow, Davis says the contractor they hired for the house took their money and vanished. She was stuck living in the backyard of her own home while nothing was being done to complete the renovations so she could move in. Full of despair and still grieving her husbands death, Luella didn't know where to turn.

That's when God put Belinda Orsborn in Davis's path.

"It's just so comforting that there are good people in this world, and that we can be a light," Orsborn said. "There was just so much negativity going on, and I just had such a heavy heart. And then pops up a story about Brian, how he's up in the middle of the night cleaning up the graffiti," Orsborn mused. Brian is Luella's neighbor turned friend.

"I got a small business with pressure washers, so I decided to go down there and do my part," Irving said.

"It was just how he did it. He did it with such a kind heart," Orsborn said. Impacted by Irvings work, Belinda Orsborn knew what she had to do. "I was determined to find him and do something nice for this family," Orsborn said.

When she finally got in contact with Irving, him and his wife said they didn't do it for the praise. Brian Irving expressed his sincere gratitude to Orsborn but politely declined her offer.

"Right before we were about to hang up he said, 'You can help me help my neighbor,' and that's when he told me about Luella," Orsborn said. Luella had been recently widowed and the contractor she hired flaked, leaving her needing some serious help. That's where PETRA Built came in.

In no time, neighbors were helping round up volunteers and get Luella's house completed. One of Davis's neighbors, William Ferguson, put out the call for help on Facebook. When PETRA Built's founder, Heidi Breeding, saw the call for help, she couldn't turn away.

"This is what we were put here to do," Heidi exclaims, "to help homeowners in need in any way we can". With that, PETRA Built got to work restoring and renovating Luella's home.

In no time, Luella Davis was out of the converted garage and living in her home, just in time for her and her late husbands 49th wedding anniversary.

"We help whoever God puts in our path, and I'm grateful that he blessed us with the opportunity to help Luella and send her in to her new home sooner than later," said Heidi.

“I”m really blessed. I feel like God is really working in this,” Davis said.