Church, community team to provide comforts of home to great-grandmother and youngsters

At an age when most people are doing well to take care of themselves, Bessie Walls, 93, is doing much more. Walls has been raising four great-grandsons, ages 11-16, in conditions many would find unlivable. Since losing her home to a fire several years ago, "Miss Bessie" and the boys have lived in a small trailer with structural and plumbing problems.

Photo by Stan Carroll
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Malisa Chisum talks with Marquis Walls (left) and Dyquan Dodson (right) outside their trailer, which is in such bad condition it will be replaced by the community.

The living situation, thanks to an Olive Branch church, is something that is about to change. Members of ARK Church and the Center Hill community have raised more than $10,000 to buy the family a "new" used mobile home.

"I didn't ask them for it, but I feel so happy and so good. I thank God for it, and I thank these people who are going to do this for me," Walls said.

The church, with a congregation of about 40 people, heard about the family's need through their contacts at Center Hill Elementary School.

"It first came to my attention because the boys said they didn't have a shower at home. So we wanted to see what we could do about that," said Tiffany Hamilton, counselor at Center Hill Elementary, where all four boys have attended.

Hamilton said she and Center Hill principal Rebecca Dearden immediately thought of Chris Holmes, lead pastor of ARK Church.

"They are always asking us what they can do to help. 'ARK' stands for Acts of Random Kindness, and that has been what they have done for our students, whether it's last-minute Christmas presents or other items," Hamilton said.

After a visit to the home, Holmes told Hamilton that installing a working shower was out of the question. The trailer was too unsafe to even think of doing any construction. Instead, they would buy Walls a used mobile home that the congregation and other volunteers could improve to meet the family's needs.

"We went to take a look at it and it's amazing that she does so much with what she has. But, we came to the realization that we couldn't do anything to fix it as there was so much messed up," Holmes said.

Walls' wish list is modest. She would like to have two rooms for the boys with two twin beds each. In the old trailer, they had to share. She'd also like to have an electric stove and heat, because a lot of her meager income goes to pay for gas.

That is exactly what the church is providing.

Last week, Walls moved in with family members while the church members and volunteers from the community and Center Hill Elementary moved all of the family possessions into a PODS container.

This week, the volunteers will move the new trailer to the site and begin work. They are changing it over to electric heat and installing an electric stove. The new trailer has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, laundry and dining room.

"Once we have it fixed up, we are going to take this one chair she likes to sit in and move that in first. Then we are going to let her direct us as to where she wants everything else," Holmes said.

Holmes said the whole process has been a wonderful experience for him and his congregation.

"What is amazing is that she has had this great attitude and has shown us so much gratitude. She's not someone that is looking for a handout. Her attitude has made it a blessing for our church," Holmes said.

Walls, who was born in 1918, said she has 13 children: six boys and seven girls.

She said she tries to keep the boys happy. "If they are happy and they have some things, they don't get into bad things," she said.

The boys' mother, one of Walls' granddaughters, helps out as much as she can, but she has some difficult circumstances of her own and cannot provide the boys with an environment as stable as the one they have with Walls, Hamilton said.

"I know the best for the boys is to be with Miss Bessie. She takes care of them, and they take care of her," Hamilton said.

ARK Church is at 11109 Miss. 178, Suite 103. For more information or to volunteer or contribute to Walls' new home, contact Chris Holmes at (901) 652-0202.

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Church, community team to provide comforts of home to great-grandmother and youngsters