They call it the blessing house, the quaint single-story brick-accented beige home lined with shrubs at the end of the cul-de-sac. Each nail pounded in the wall, each stroke of paint, each shingle hammered in place by one-time strangers, now friends, symbolizes a blessing to Harold and Kathleen Moore.

Now, using the Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County structure as a ministry, the Decatur couple aims to pay the blessings they received forward. Since moving to the home in July, the husband and wife hosted a fall festival with stations for pumpkin painting and bobbing for apples and scheduled a Christmas party for the entire neighborhood.

“Where God has planted you, that’s where your ministry is. God planted us here. We want to start being a blessing in our neighborhood. There is so much bad happening in the world, you’ve got nuclear war threat, you’ve got gun violence, I feel like we need to pour more and more positivity into the people around us,” Kathleen Moore said.

That mentality appears throughout the home — in the “Love one another as I have loved you” stencil painted on the wall and the wooden signs with the charges “Pray big, worry small” and “Trust God, love one another.”

Like many families, on Thursday, Thanksgiving, the Moores will gather with loved ones at their southwest Decatur home for a day of gratitude. Looking back at the past year, Harold Moore struggled to put his thankfulness into words.

“Where do I start?” he said with a shake of the head.

This time last year, Harold Moore was receiving dialysis four times a week due to kidney failure, Kathleen Moore was working a part-time job and caring for her husband, and Mindy Thwing, executive director of the Morgan County Habitat chapter, was wondering how she would tell the couple their home would not be built.

“We didn’t have the money to build the house, our donations were low and we didn’t see how we could do it. But, as we were getting ready to tell the Moores about the delay, God, like he always does, appeared. You never know where the funding is going to come from, but it comes. We call the Moore home our miracle house,” Thwing said.

Habitat for Humanity dedicated the Moore home, the 82nd house built by the Morgan County chapter, in July. The night the Moores moved in, Harold, who had been on the transplant list since his kidneys started failing in 2010 after two emergency surgeries to combat a gangrene infection, received a call about an organ. The kidney from a high-risk donor with a history of drug use turned out unviable, but the call from the UAB Hospital transplant team gave the couple assurance.

“The doctor told us the average life expectancy on dialysis is five years. After six years of being on the list and not receiving a call, we get our first call the night we move into this house. We knew he must be near the top of the list. Habitat jokes that they build miracle houses. For us, it is true. This is a miracle home for us,” Kathleen Moore said.

Three days after the first call, the transplant team contacted Harold again. Another kidney was available, this time from a 30-year-old man with a clean history. After three weeks of recovery in Birmingham, the Moores returned to their new home.

“Kidney transplant is not a cure for kidney failure. It’s kind of like dialysis, it’s a treatment. You don’t know if it is going to last two days or 30 years. So far God is blessing us. We’ve only had to do dialysis in this house once and it was the second day we were here,” Kathleen Moore said.

The couple even views the six years Harold Moore spent on dialysis as a blessing. The treatments forced Harold, who worked 12-hour shifts, every day of the week, and Kathleen to re-evaluate their priorities.

“If it wasn’t for Harold’s kidney failure, we wouldn’t have slowed down enough to start going to church together and to really have that relationship with the Lord that we have now,” Kathleen Moore said.

Four months into his recovery, Harold, no longer in need of dialysis treatments, is regaining his independence and Kathleen secured a full-time job.

“We are amazed by how God has blessed us. There is no way we would be where we are today without Habitat. With Harold’s disability checks and me only being able to work part time so I could take care of him, we barely made ends meet. We had plenty of time, but not a lot of money. That’s where Habitat stepped in,” Kathleen Moore said.

The Habitat for Humanity homes, which cost $70,000 to build, are not gifts, they are earned, officials said. To receive a home, individuals must complete monthly budget classes, homeowner education courses and up to 400 volunteer hours at a build site or another nonprofit. They also agree to a monthly 30-year, no-interest mortgage.

The Moores credited their 19-year-old son, Michael, with completing the majority of the volunteer hours.

“Michael is a lot of the reason that we have the home. When Harold was not able to be on site because of his health and I was at work, Michael was out with the crews volunteering. I am so grateful to have a son that has that heart and spirit of wanting to help people,” Kathleen Moore said.

That spirit of helping extends throughout the family. The Moores plan on using their home for outreach. They hope to host Bible studies for individuals with physical disabilities, show movies on a large screen in their backyard and plant an herb garden for the neighborhood.

“We thought in order to do missions we would have to travel somewhere else. We don’t. Right here is our mission field,” Kathleen Moore said. “Our mission is to share his love with other people. God has used so many people to share that love in our lives that we just want to pass that forward.”

United Way, along with our 30 partners, fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person right here in Morgan County.

When you support United Way of Morgan County through your workplace campaign or through a corporate or individual gift, you are helping the most vulnerable among us…the young, the old, the sick, and the poor as well as those affected by both man-made and natural disasters.  Those people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your family members, and your friends.

United, we can win the fight!  Won’t you join us?!www.uwmcal.org

Mental Health is so very important to the overall well-being of a person, and here at United Way we are proud to partner with the Mental Health Center of North-Central Alabama. They help to provide counseling and support to people suffering from mental health issues. Daniel is one of those folks. He was kind enough to share his experience about how the Mental Health Center has impacted his life. This is his story.

My name is DANIEL I've been going to mental health center for 12 years. I've been seeing a therapist for 14 years. I've been diagnosis with bipolar, been in and out of the mental hospital and juvy, as well. I'm just going to tell you a little bit about myself. 

I'm almost 19 years old and I have a full-time job now. I wouldn't be where I'm at today if it wasn't for the people that LOVE ME. I probably wouldn't be here right now. I have achieved a lot of goals in my life and still have a lot to go. Never think there's nobody there for you because there is.

These people at this clinic have helped me when nobody else would. They are the ones that help me achieve my goals. They will help you if you will just open up your heart and tell them what is bugging you and what is wrong. It might take time to get comfortable to talk about what is wrong, because it took me years to open up and to make these people see what I am going through. I tell you this - it’s OK to hold it in but not for too long because if you hold it in too long it will take longer to get better with the depression. 

You might be going through stuff that people don't understand. But these people here will understand what you are going through if you just give them a chance to help you. You might be going through a death in the family or abusive relationship, trouble at school or trouble at work. 

Life will throw you a curveball at some point, but it all depends on what turn you will take, and you don't have to face it alone. 

Always keep your head up high and never look back on the negative.  Always cherish the moment with the people you love, because tomorrow is never promised. 

Today is my last day coming here to mental health center because my work insurance won’t cover it. I still know I need more sessions, but I have to deal with it and move forward with the people I love.  I would like to thank all the people here at the Mental Health Center of North-Central Alabama, who have helped me through some rough times. You will never know how much I appreciate how much y'all have done for me. 

If you are reading this all ways tell yourself there's someone there for you and love you. 

United Way, along with our 30 partners, fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person right here in Morgan County.

When you support United Way of Morgan County through your workplace campaign or through a corporate or individual gift, you are helping the most vulnerable among us…the young, the old, the sick, and the poor as well as those affected by both man-made and natural disasters.  Those people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your family members, and your friends.

United, we can win the fight!  Won’t you join us?!www.uwmcal.org

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United Way, along with our 30 partners, fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person right here in Morgan County.

 When you support United Way of Morgan County through your workplace campaign or through a corporate or individual gift, you are helping the most vulnerable among us…the young, the old, the sick, and the poor as well as those affected by both man-made and natural disasters.  Those people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your family members, and your friends.  

United, we can win the fight!  Won’t you join us?! www.uwmcal.org

Molly Moses knows that she’s lucky to be alive. And she has total strangers to thank for it.

She was just 16 years old and on a family boat ride, when suddenly, the boat jerked. The friend sitting next to her was thrown 30 feet, but Molly landed right outside the boat and was struck by the whirling propeller.

“I didn’t actually feel the pain,” she said, “but I felt a pull on my left leg; so I basically held my leg on with one hand and kept myself afloat with the other.”

Her friends and family got her into the boat and called for help; and the paramedics were arriving when the boat got back to the dock. Her left leg was nearly severed, she had lost a great deal of blood, and they weren’t sure she’d survive the twelve minutes until the Medflight helicopter arrived. But Molly was a fighter, and she held on until they got her to Huntsville Hospital, where she survived an 18-hour surgery to remove the leg and stop the bleeding. That first night, she received 55 units of life-saving blood, provided by LifeSouth to the Huntsville Hospital System and medical centers throughout Alabama.

“Now I see that without that blood…without somebody taking a few minutes to donate…I wouldn’t be here,” says a grateful Molly Moses. So thank you to LifeSouth and to all their amazing donors for giving the gift of life…literally!

United Way, along with our 30 partners, fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person right here in Morgan County.

When you support United Way of Morgan County through your workplace campaign or through a corporate or individual gift, you are helping the most vulnerable among us…the young, the old, the sick, and the poor as well as those affected by both man-made and natural disasters.  Those people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your family members, and your friends.

United, we can win the fight!  Won’t you join us?!www.uwmcal.org

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LifeSouth Community Blood Center Category: Health

It takes 30 minutes to give blood, and it made a lifetime of difference to me.

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