Ten years ago, my son Sam and I set out on what many people thought was a crazy adventure. Our goal was to hike 486 miles across Colorado while raising $10,000 for Grassroots Community Development.
The trail wasn’t easy. We averaged about 15 miles a day through the Rocky Mountains, climbing steep passes, descending into deep valleys, and waking up the next morning to do it all again. There were days when we questioned why we had started, and days when the views reminded us exactly why.
But the hike didn’t begin when we took our first step.
It actually began two years earlier.
For two years we planned. We studied maps, figured out where we could find water, chose campsites, planned resupply locations, tested equipment, and tried to think through every challenge we might face. We wanted to be as prepared as possible.
Even then, we knew we couldn’t do it alone.
Nearly twenty friends and supporters became part of our adventure. They drove hours into the mountains to meet us with food, clean clothes, replacement gear, and words of encouragement. While Sam and I were the ones hiking, there was an entire team behind us making sure we could keep moving forward.
Looking back, I’ve realized that hike wasn’t just a fundraiser. It was a lesson in how meaningful things are accomplished.
That lesson has come back to me often as I watch Renaissance at Sanger Heights take shape.
People will eventually see beautiful homes, welcoming green spaces, preserved historic trees, and families building their lives together. But what they won’t see are the years of planning and the hundreds of people who helped make it possible.
The journey began with the City of Waco’s vision to transform vacant land into something that would benefit future generations. Neighbors shared ideas and dreams during community meetings, helping shape what this neighborhood could become. Walker Partners designed a pocket neighborhood that encourages people to know one another rather than simply live next door. RBDR took those plans and created colorful renderings that helped all of us see the future before a single shovel touched the ground. Today, JHC is installing the water and sewer lines—the infrastructure that few people will ever notice but that every future homeowner will rely on.
And that’s only part of the story.
Engineers, surveyors, contractors, city staff, donors, volunteers, neighborhood leaders, and supporters have all contributed something unique. Each person has played a different role, but together they are helping turn an empty piece of land into a place families will proudly call home.<
It reminds me so much of our hike.
No one hikes 486 miles in a single day. You simply take the next step. Then another. Some days are harder than others. Sometimes you need help. Sometimes you’re the one helping someone else. Eventually, all of those small steps become a journey worth remembering.
Community development works the same way.
No single house transforms a neighborhood. No single meeting changes a community. No single volunteer, donor, organizer, or staff member accomplishes the mission alone.
But when neighbors, churches, businesses, city leaders, volunteers, foundations, and families all take the next step together, something remarkable begins to happen.
Neighborhoods become stronger.
Families become homeowners.
Children grow up in places filled with hope.
Communities begin writing a different story.
Ten years after that hike with Sam, I still treasure the memories we made together. But perhaps the greatest lesson wasn’t about hiking at all.
It was about people.
Every worthwhile journey is built on relationships, shared vision, and countless people willing to take the next step together.
Thank you for taking those steps with Grassroots. Whether you’ve volunteered, donated, prayed, attended an event, partnered with us, or simply encouraged our work, you are part of the journey. And because of people like you, we’re not just building houses—we’re helping build stronger neighborhoods and brighter futures for generations to come.
