Shanon's House of Compassion

 Greetings from Shannon's house ,
 Since our last newsletter we have a guest from Tuscumbia, Florence, Scottsboro, Grant, Boaz, Danville, Athens, Sheffield, Muscle Shoals, Rogersville, Moulton, Haetselle and Anderson, Alabama and Washington & Texas.

Our guests from Washington were a couple adopting a baby. The husband was in the Navy and they were in the process of being transferred to Memphis, Tn,  when they got the news that the baby they were adopting was born in Huntsville. We enjoyed this family so much.   The grandmother from Texas came to stay with her daughter. Adoptions always touch our hearts. This couple had waited for over 10 years for baby and had come very close several times with adoptions it didn't work out. The baby was able to  go home sooner than they thought would happen. The couple had to stay in state for certain amount of time. She went to a hotel but came back to visit with the baby.

We had a guest from the ICU this past fall.    While we enjoy having couples we also enjoy the older guest. This guest was so kind. We enjoyed visiting with him each day. Once while watching TV, he asked me if the TV was too loud. I assured him  it wasn't. Then he said, " well it would make me feel more  at home if you would holler, turn that TV down!"   We still laugh and remember how much we enjoyed this older gentleman .

 The month of December is one of  our favorite months.   We received cards almost every day during the month.   Here are a few of the notes we received .

" We stayed with you in June of this year while our son was in the  NICU.   I am writing to say thank you for being there for us during such a difficult time. We cannot find the words to tell you how grateful we are to you and your church. We wish for you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. Please extend the same wishes to your church as well as the women he took the time to make our son's quilt.   If there is anything we can ever do for you or your church please let us know.

"A special thank you for the kindness you extended to me during my husband's stay in the hospital.  It was a very stressful time in life because he was so sick .  Thznk you for all the prayers that were sent up to our Heavenly Father.   I also want to thank Shanon's  parents and the Mayfair church of Christ. This is a wonderful and much needed ministry. May God bless you all ."

"I want to apologize for taking so long in writing and thank you for your hospitality while our granddaughter  was in the Huntsville Hospital  and for the beautiful quilt you sent to us. Since the accident the last year has been a blur.  Our granddaughter was flown to Children's Hospital the day of the accident and has made a full recovery.  Our  other granddaughter who was at Huntsville Hospital has made a lot of progress While she is still unable to speak, eat and walk, her smiles and laughter brighten the darkest days. Our precious grandson went to be with Jesus the day of the accident and we miss him so much. The holidays are still very difficult for us.   Thank you again for  providing such a wonderful service for people like us who are in the midst of crisis ."

During the month of December we had two families with twins  stay with us.  One family had twin girls born a few weeks early and the other family had twin boys born very early. It is a roller coaster of emotions for parents when their babies come into the world so early and weigh  just over 1 pound.   Both of these couples were very thankful for Shanon's  house. The couple with the baby boys had one of the babies pass away just a few days after coming to Shanon's house. They were brokenhearted but held out hope for the other baby. One morning everyone was  sitting at the table eating breakfast. The mother was planning to do some Christmas shopping, when their phone rang and  they left immediately for the hospital.   We were  away from the house that evening when we got a call from the couple who had the twin girls, telling us that the other couples baby boy had passed away .   We
left to come home and on the way home the baby boy's father called us to tell us the sad news. They
had friends come and clean out the room, but they didn't want to leave until they told us goodbye. This touched our hearts. Even with their broken hearts they were thankful for Shanon's  house .   When we walked in  they were in the living room and we just hugged them and cried with them. The father said " we had such big plans for our boys ."   We do come to care for the families and hurt with them when they lose a loved one .

 In February we were  blessed to have a couple with a tiny baby born at 25 weeks gestation.  The baby weighed 1 lb. 6 oz. Soon after our guest arrived  she invited me to go see her baby. I never ask to go see the babies but if the guests ask me I always say yes!   Our daughter is expecting a baby and this baby girl was the size of our unborn grandchild at 25 weeks gestation. It's amazing to see how everything was so perfectly formed with this tiny baby that wasn't even supposed to be born yet. Our guest commented on how she couldn't understand how anyone could not  believe in God when they see this precious baby! We enjoyed this family so much. After 11 weeks the baby weighed 5 pounds and was going home. Here's the note she left for us .

" I have been here for 11 weeks and two days. I have enjoyed getting to become part of the Shanon's  house family.   The Sharon's house has been such a blessing to me. I love you both and thank you for the prayers for my baby and for my family."

 While this family was with us they became friends with another couple staying with us. One night the mother came in and was upset, her little boy had a setback that evening. It was a sweet moment when the other mother hugged her and Johnny ask if he could pray for her and her baby.

 Here's the note she left for us .
" we are so very thankful for the Shanon's house. Staying here has made  this journey  so much easier. I truly believe  God put you in our path for a reason. Thank you so much ."

 Both of these families became so very dear to our hearts. One night they came in and said "  we met some people from your church, they came by and prayed with us."  This made  a very good impression on them.   They commented on how they would be coming to visit Mayfair when their babies were older to say "thank you to all of you ."

Recently we had a guest come by from Texas who had stayed with us four years ago.   Her husband had been in Huntsville on business and became ill with the staff infection and was in very serious condition for several weeks. She and her husband were in town last week and she wanted to bring her husband back to see the house. We enjoyed meeting him and visiting with both of them .

 Two years ago a family stayed with us that had a baby in the NICU.   It was during the winter months. They had an eight year old that was out of school because of the snow. While we don't have children stay with us, we made an exception for this family. We enjoyed getting to know this little girl. Her mother contacted me a few days ago and told me her daughter had to do a school project and she chose to do it on Shanon's  house. She won second  place in the district  and was going to  Montgomery to compete at the state level. Her mother sent a message telling me she had won first place in her category in Montgomery and that her judge was very impressed with Shanon's  house!

 This January  we began our seventh year at Shanon's  house. The years have gone by so fast. Shanon's  house is been a blessing to guests as far away as Washington state any one  overseas guest  from Germany.   Shanon's  house has also been a blessing to us.   We have met so many guest who we now call friends. Johnny and I are very grateful to all of our Mayfair  family.   We still tell our guests how all of you are part of the Shanon's  house ministry and how Mayfair is a very loving and giving church. We know that we could not do this without God's help and the support of our church family.
 Thank you again for your prayers, financial support and continued interest in this ministry. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless all of you as you have blessed us and all who have and will come to Sharon's house of compassion .

 In Him,
Johnny & Christy