Shanon's House of Compassion

Greetings from Shanon’s House,

This month we have had 14 guests from Madison, Rogersville, Boaz, Ft. Payne, Albertville, Al., North Carolina and Illinois.

When one of our guests arrived at the house she walked in, looked around and said “thank you Jesus, this is such a blessing.” This mother had just been discharged from the hospital and had planned to sleep at the hospital because she didn’t want to leave her baby. This young mother had been through a difficult delivery where her life was in jeopardy and also the life of her baby. She was tired and very emotional. We sat and talked one afternoon and she made the comment that she could tell Mayfair was a very outreaching church. She was so grateful for everything. She commented that Shanon’s house felt like a home away from home. While talking to her she said “I wish I had a good book to read.” We told her about the books that had been donated for guests to read and take with them if they wanted. She said “Your church has thought of everything. God provided even before I knew I needed it.”

During the guests’ stay we try to have dinner with them at least once. This is a time where we really get to know them. Guests will tell us about their lives and struggles. The guests with newborns are all about the age of our children so we can tell them about how God has worked in our lives and brought us through some of the same issues they are dealing with. There have been several times when the guests will come in at night upset and Johnny will ask if they would like to pray before going to bed. They always have said yes. This is such a special time for them and us.

This month we had our first guest who was from out of state. An older couple was traveling from Florida back home to Illinois when they had a wreck. The lady was injured and her friend found himself in a strange town with no family. Cindy Bradley told him about Shanon’s House. This guest has been such a pleasure.

When we pray each day we ask God to send us guests, so each guest that comes to stay here is an answered prayer. We are learning that even though they may look different and come from different back grounds, everyone is touched when kindness is shown to them. We heard a statement once that said “the ministry of Jesus was the person standing in front of Him.” We try to remember this for every guest we have. There have been challenges with this ministry, but with every challenge is a chance to grow and learn. We see God molding us and helping us look at every person as a child that our heavenly Fathers loves.

Johnny and I have come to realize that this ministry is a picture of the parable of the sower. The Mayfair family is helping to preparing the soil for others to come along and plant and water. The words of one of our guests best describes how we feel about the work at Shanon’s house, Thank you Jesus, this is such a blessing!

In Him,
Johnny & Christy