Habitat for Humanity makes waves for new homeowners

Photo features New Waves homeowner, Afghanistan native Khan Totakhil

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

Two new families are moving into the New Waves neighborhood in southeastern Leelanau County. The Habitat for Humanity project welcomes Misty VanderMeulen and Jedidiah Spiers and their three children, and Khan and Razma Totakhil and their five kids, with a dedication ceremony Oct. 10.

It’s been a challenge for both families. Misty and Jedidiah—Jedi for short—met while working at Bill Marsh. At the time, Jedi and his young daughter were living in the basement of a rented home with several other roommates. At the same time, Misty was leaving a toxic relationship. She ended up packing up some clothing and essentials for herself and her two children, then moved into a shelter.

Their relationship grew while they lived in separate apartments in the same low-income facility. After two years they decided to search for a home with enough room for their blended family of five; they are currently living in a two-bedroom rental home in Interlochen, using the unfinished basement as extra bedroom space. The have now been together for six years and are newly engaged.

Both work fulltime, which means they haven’t spent as much time working on their home as they’d like. “We haven’t been able to work on the house during the week. We have done team build on Saturdays to help paint, put in trees and plants,” says Misty.

She says they are excited to have their own home. “We’ll enjoy our brand-new house with brand new appliances. There’s a warranty for a year,” she says, the excitement obvious in her voice.

Misty says their new home is only a short drive to their workplaces, hers at Great Lakes Orthopedics and his at Empower Automotive. They are currently dealing with the road construction on US-31 in Interlochen.

For Khan and Razma Totakhil, dealing with road construction would be only a minor inconvenience. Their journey to their new home began more than 7,000 miles away. Khan worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, and when the Americans left in 2021, he was able to get a visa. He says the opportunity for a better life for his family was the overriding factor in leaving his home country.

He’d originally planned to relocate to the Dallas area, but one of the service members he’d encountered in the military was from this area and recommended it, saying it was a beautiful area and the people were welcoming.

So far, that’s just what he and his family have encountered. Even though his one friend had gone back overseas, they opted to stay. “Their families were waiting for us, and it was like instant family,” Khan says.

While he had spent time in the United States previously while receiving training, everything about America was brand new for his wife and their five kids. “My family had never been outside Afghanistan,” he says.

They faced a number of difficulties. “The food is different, the language,” says Khan. They spoke no English when they arrived, and he says it was very hard on his wife. Their children adapted more quickly, attending Traverse City Area Public Schools. Their oldest daughter has since graduated and is attending Northwestern Michigan College and working at Munson; she hopes to attend medical school in the future.

While they worked on integrating into the community, their living situation has also been challenging. The family of seven is currently living in a two-bedroom rental apartment with one bathroom. “Finding a home is hard,” says Khan. When they applied for and secured a Habitat home, they were happy and relieved. “We are excited.”

The project dates back to when Habitat for Humanity—Grand Traverse Region began working with New Waves United Church of Christ. NWUCC wanted to provide home ownership for people who might not be able to afford to purchase or build through conventional means. The church received a land grant from the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ and donated six lots to Habitat.

“We broke ground on the first house in November 2023,” says Tom Kachadurian, the director of marketing for Habitat for Humanity—Grand Traverse Region. The first Habitat New Waves homeowners closed on their affordable mortgages in 2024.

In 2024, Habitat purchased the additional seven lots from NWUCC, with 50 percent of the funding coming from the Leelanau County Land Bank Authority. Today there are 13 lots designated for homes on the 20-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Bugai Road and M-72, with nine acres reserved for trails, preserves and public open space. Six are completed, with seven under construction, including these two. The remaining five are all slated to be completed by sometime next year.

While all the homes are identical or mirror images of one another, with three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms, the homeowners can put their own stamp on them in terms of décor and landscaping. The Totakhil home is the exception: Theirs is a four-bedroom, two-bath home to accommodate the size of their family.

“There’s a lot of pride,” says Kachadurian of all the homeowners. “They all worked hard to get here.