Women Offering Women Support

Please let me introduce and make you acquainted with Tammy Pearson.  She is the President and Founder of Chrysalis House in Sulphur Springs, Texas.  Chrysalis is the name of the building that the Lord blessed Tammy with to carry out the mission she envisioned.  The word chrysalis describes the transformation a butterfly undergoes, a transformation which is representative of what Women Offering Women Support hopes to help women achieve.  The building that was donated is 27,872 square feet on 9.4 acres of land.  Chrysalis House was formally used as a nursing home. The building, which is in the process of being remodeled, will serve 12 counties surrounding Sulphur Springs.  It includes 46 rooms, a kitchen, dining room, chapel, outer courtyard and two common areas. When completed Chrysalis House will accommodate 108 women and children. Let me tell you Tammy's story.

Tammy accepted Christ as her savior at a very young age.  She fell in love with Jesus and surrendered her life to the foreign mission field.  As an adolescent who was just beginning to learn what Christ wanted for her life, she made mistakes.  Her spiritual pride and arrogance made her think that she was not subject to the same mistakes that other young people make.

  God humbled her very quickly when she fell in love with the preacher's son, became pregnant and was married a week before her 16th birthday.  She could not face her friends and fellow classmates because of her shame and humiliation.  She had blown her witness to those who had believed in her.  More importantly, she felt that she had let God down.  She didn't think that God would ever forgive her because she couldn't forgive herself.

She hit rock bottom spiritually and suffered from deep depression that lasted for years.  Seven years into her marriage, she had an affair and her marriage fell apart, ending in divorce.  She was a single mother of two and months behind in her house payments.  Back taxes had to be paid or the house that her Dad had built for her would go into foreclosure.  In desperation, she finally turned to God knowing that if she was to keep the house and get on her feet, it would all be His work.

 On her own for the first time in her life, she had no education and was scared to death that she could not support her children and herself.  She waited tables to catch up on her house payments and taxes and care for her family.  The work was hard but she gained acceptance from the people she worked with.  Her self-esteem was still very low however.  She did not feel that she could ever experience the happiness she saw in the lives of others. 

She longed to have a husband to take care of her and share the burdens of life.  She believed that she would have to settle for anyone as long as they liked her.  She didn't ask if they loved her because she didn't love herself.  She prayed that if the men she dated weren't who God wanted for her that they would break it off.  She was hurt many times as God weeded out those relationships, showing her over and over that this was not what He wanted for her. 

After a couple of years, she finally met someone who she thought was "Mr. Right".  They dated for a year although she was full of guilt and conviction over the relationship they had.  After praying to God for strength she finally told the man she was dating that they either had to get married and make their relationship right or break up.  Just two weeks after they broke up, she found herself pregnant again and not married.

After her baby was born, she thought she was through with men.  She was finally okay with being single, though she still yearned to be with someone who would love and value her.  She prayed that if God had someone for her He would literally set them on her doorstep.  One month later, she met her future husband on her doorstep, just as she had prayed.  It wasn't love at first sight, however, they became friends and eventually she fell in love with his heart.  He loved the Lord, and like her, had made many mistakes.  The thing they had in common was that they both yearned to live for the Lord.  They dated for two years before getting married in 1996.  He had 2 girls and 1 boy; she had 1 girl and 2 boys.  They were a slightly altered version of the Brady Bunch.

Looking back on the years as a single mom, she developed a passion to help others in that situation.  She wanted to let them know how much God loved them and wanted His best for them.  God began placing her in the lives of struggling single moms.  Drawing on her past experience she began to share with them and encourage them as much as she could.  As she searched for what God wanted her to do with her life, doors began to open that led her to search for ways to really help these women.  The Lord impressed upon her heart the need for a place where single mothers could come and stay until they could get on their feet.  She envisioned a place where they could become grounded in God's Living Word while living in a supportive, Christian atmosphere.

She knew that she could not afford a place like she envisioned on her own.  She approached her pastor and asked if there was a program that he could plug her into to gain experience.  He suggested that they start a ministry for single moms which led to the beginning of WOWS, Women Offering Women Support, in February 2003.  The church advertised in the surrounding counties in newspapers, television and flyers announcing a weekly meeting for women and their children to share a meal, have Bible study and share our concerns.

The first night that WOWS met they had one person show up.  She was a little discouraged until the following week when she was watching "The Miracle Worker" on television.  The Lord drew her attention to Ann Sullivan.  She was only one person working with one person, Helen Keller.  Both teacher and student have had a lasting impact on the world.  The Lord's message was clear, "If you will be faithful with the one that I have given you, I will be faithful to you."  She was excited though their growth was slow.  She knew in her heart that this could become something larger than one or two moms meeting together.

In September 2003, she was compelled to find out more about a former nursing home in Sulphur Springs, Texas that had stood vacant for a long time.  She contacted the owners in California and asked if they would consider donating the building as a tax deduction.  She shared her testimony and her vision, then her prayers were answered.  They agreed to donate the building and they quickly moved to form a board of directors, incorporate and file for tax-exempt status.  Thus the creation of Chrysalis House.  The shelter Tammy had invisioned.  God moved Heaven and Earth for them.  He has moved so much among His people that it blows her mind daily. 

People have asked Tammy, "how do you go about doing something this big".  She tells everyone, "it is not me but God who is doing this through His people".  She believes every word He has said in His love letter to us.  Many try to complicate the Bible, but you must read it as a child to discover His unconditional love.  It doesn't matter what your background is or what you have done in the past.  It is about where God can take you from where you are.  She prays every day for God's guidance and for God's people to see that He is the same God yesterday, today and forever.

Women Offering Women Support with its home in Chrysalis House is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  They are happy to accept all donations.

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