Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are getting their hands dirty in honor of their friend Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday.
The couple — who first met the former president and his wife Rosalynn Carter through their joint involvement in Habitat for Humanity building projects — spent Jimmy’s birthday on Oct. 1 in St. Paul in Minnesota for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Week Project 2024 building the first 30 of what will be a community of 1,200 homes.
“Yesterday there was an eagle flying over the site for the opening ceremonies, and we were all like, ‘That’s Mrs. Rosalynn giving her blessing to this place,’” Yearwood, 60, tells PEOPLE of Rosalynn, who died last November. She adds of Jimmy, who is currently in hospice care, “He definitely wants to know that we’re working and that’s why we’re here. He has a legacy of service and has never stopped serving. He’s not physically standing here building, swinging a hammer, but we strongly feel his presence and that of Mrs. Rosalynn. We are only two volunteers, but everyone who is on this site feels a responsibility to be proud.”
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Speaking about her and Yearwood’s special relationship with the Carters, Brooks, 62, says they bonded over how “ordinary” the former president and first lady were. “Their family, their work ethic, that’s something that immediately appealed to me,” says Brooks. “His sons are out there working their asses off, and Ms. Rosalynn didn’t give up on anything. She might have been the hardest working one of the bunch.”
Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Jonathan Reckford recalls meeting the Carters during his last interview nearly 20 years ago. “They were sitting holding hands in a little double rocking chair and they just couldn’t have been nicer. And I think for them it’s always about that faith in action. And I think they were often asked, ‘Why didn’t you retire? Put your feet up.’ And they were simply amazed by the questions. ‘What kind of life would that be? There are things to be done and people who need help’.”
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Brooks and Yearwood learned valuable lessons about service and work ethic from the Carters, but their greatest lessons were about love.
“Just working with them, one of the biggest lessons you learned was that it’s okay to fight,” Brooks tells PEOPLE. “They would argue about how to build or make something, but it only brought them closer. My favorite thing about becoming Mrs. Yearwood’s partner is the good times, but also going through the bad times together because it makes you one… we have a love that will last beyond this life. I found her in a past life. I’ll find her in the next one.”
Garth Brooks, Rosalynn Carter, Trisha Yearwood and President Jimmy Carter attend the 53rd Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards in November 2015 in Nashville. John Shearer/Getty
Yearwood adds of their relationship: “And at the end of the day, we’re best friends. We actually enjoy each other’s company. I can’t imagine this build without it [him]. I mean, we’re a team and I think that’s definitely something we learned from the Carters. They were a team.”
While many are surprised to see the former president live to be 100, Brooks and Yearwood say they are not surprised. “My money is always on President Carter,” Yearwood says. “I remember being in Haiti and he’s 90 years old and he’s talking about what he’s going to do in the next 20 years. I’m not surprised!”
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Brooks adds: “We’re all betting he’ll be around for a long time and he hasn’t let any of us down or disappointed. The fact that he was there for Mrs. Rosalynn’s funeral was very touching and the fact that he is still with us because he knows she is okay. We are the ones who need help.”
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Source: HIS Education