EVANS, Ga () – A local veteran injured in combat and his family were surprised with the home of their dreams Saturday afternoon.

A Soldier’s Journey Home is a volunteer run organization working to build dream homes for worthy veteran recipients across the country.

Retired Sergeant First Class David Mathis, who deployed multiple times to Iraq, lost both legs after sustaining severe injuries from an improvised explosive device in 2017.

After walking through his new home, he says he was overcome with emotion. Saturday he saw his new home for the first time.

“I never anticipated such things happening, and it’s beyond words,” Mathis remarked.

The house took two weeks to build and is entirely wheelchair accessible.

During this journey, Mathis received support from his new neighbor, Monte Latka. Although unfamiliar with A Soldier’s Journey Home initially, the organization moved Latka so much that he now plans to volunteer for their upcoming project.

“It’s just an absolutely fabulous deal and I’m excited to have them as neighbors. I’m going to do what I can to help out going forward with this cause,” Latka said.

The Evans High School Jr. ROTC raised the American Flag officially welcoming the Mathis family home.

Mathis says he cannot thank enough the organization and people who helped for building a home for him and his family.

“These people came from all across the country to do this work for me who they’ve never met, who they’ve never seen, and that’s respectable and commendable,” Mathis said.

If you wish to learn more about A Soldier’s Journey Home you can find the link here.