James and Sheila Boutwell: Big Home, Big Hearts, Big Blessings

Most people would agree that James and Sheila Boutwell have big hearts. They have made a practice of opening their homes to individuals and families needing help. But what many may not know is their hospitality began with prayer.

“Sheila and I got married 16 years ago, with a family, and we were looking at a house … but at the onset, we said, 'Lord, this is your house. Do with it as you want to have done.' That was our full intention upfront," said James.

From the beginning, hospitality was their intention and on their mind. And while James admits he is a collector of things, he did not fully realize that Sheila is a collector of people.

With big arms, a big house, and big hearts, the couple began to invite people they met who needed a helping hand. Over the years, they have affectionally referred to them as the "basement dwellers."

The first basement dweller was a lady whose home burned down, and she had nowhere to go. She lived in the basement for three months.

The biggest event happened in January of 2007, during the Springfield ice storm, six months after they married. The whole city was without power, but the Boutwells had three gas fireplaces, a gas stove, and plenty of room.

"People came over to get warm and ended up staying. They would bring everything from their refrigerator because it was going to spoil, and we set it in coolers on the back patio, and we all just shared food. There was a cooler for juice, milk, chicken, beef, and all types of things.

During the day, the men left with chainsaws, and the ladies stayed at the house and cooked. The number of people continued to grow, including a single mom from the northside of town who heard about them from a friend and brought her three children.

Eventually, 50 people were living in their home, eating together, and sleeping anywhere there was a piece of furniture or floor.

In the evenings, they would do a Bible study. At one point, during a study, someone's phone rang.

"At the very back of the room, one of the ladies' phone rings, and she picks it up and she says, "Oh, hi mom. Oh, no, mom, I'm fine. I'm guessing I probably have power, but where I'm staying is so much fun. I'm not about to go check," laughed Sheila.

That event gave the Boutwells a reputation in the whole neighborhood

"Our neighborhood just knows that if we have cars, someone is visiting or someone new is living with us," said Sheila.

Another memorable guest was a family from Zambia that had moved to the United States and suddenly found themselves out of a job. The Boutwell's know them from church and invited them to live with them.

"They looked at us like we had lost our minds. They asked, "Why?" We're like, "Because we have room and this is Jesus' house, you're welcome to come and stay with us," said Sheila.

The couple agreed that they would. They went to tell their landlord that they were going to move out and explain the situation so that they could get out of their lease. The Hispanic landlord says, "Are they, Black?" They say, "No, White." The landlord says, "A White family said your whole family could come to live with them for as long as you need for free? I have to meet this family because I don't believe you." So when the family moved in, their ex-landlord came with them!

Now, eight years later, that family still maintains contact with the Boutwells, and they have been able to celebrate family and educational milestones with them.

Sheila and James say that every situation has been something God has laid before them, not something from word-of-mouth or requests.

"We try when something shows up to say yes. The details will work themselves out," said Sheila.

In some ways, it has been a ministry of being available.

"Our neighborhood is not our neighborhood. We know our neighbors, we look for opportunities, or opportunities seek us, I'm not sure which," said James. "Really, in most cases, we found an opportunity to help somebody, and we took advantage of the opportunity to help other people. Our goal was to use our house to serve the Lord and look for the opportunities that would come our way."

The couple says they have been blessed and made some lifelong friends.

"My wife and I once calculated that we only spent six months together as empty nesters. There has always been somebody in our house with us. We hope that we've helped the Lord by providing a roof over somebody's head or a meal in somebody's stomach. That's what we've been asked to do, and that's what we have tried to do for 16 years," said James.

There have been times that the guests have been family members who needed a place to stay. Right now, Sheila's mom is living with them.

"We've had people stay with us that were family during those 16 years. The house is still being used, but it wasn't outsiders every time," said Sheila.

Their neighborhood is a bit of a "clicker neighborhood," people drive in, click their garage door open, pull in and disappear.

"We walk with our immediate neighbors. We know them well, and there have been times they have been able to help us and times we have been able to support them too," said Sheila. "We are the newcomers on the block since we have lived there 16 years. They all knew each other well before we moved in."

The Boutwell's say they have no regrets. They get excited by the idea of helping, and they believe that everyone has a gift to share and should be sharing it.

"I think everyone can share what they have and what we have is space. I may not be able to go and pay for someone else's rent for six months, but I could have them come stay at my house for six months," said Sheila. "There's so much that we have, and I think everybody can share something. I think that's what being a good neighbor is. It's not just sharing your time. It's not just sharing yourself, and it's sharing what you have got."

It has been an incredible journey, but the journey began with prayer over the house and how it would be used.

"We pray for our neighbors, our neighborhood, and we pay attention to what God is doing around us," said James. " I would say, begin with prayer. Then keep your head up and be attentive to where God is working around with you and join him in that work."

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Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.