Sue Tom

 Sue Tom has been honored as "Woman of the Year" at the state capitol in Sacramento. A film on her family, "My Flesh and Blood," took the grand jury prize for documentary direction at a Sundance Film Festival and has aired on HBO.

On Aug. 2, the 50-something single mother from Fairfield returned to a new home - one built in five days, courtesy of the ABC-TV reality show, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Being whisked away for a Hollywood-style dream vacation while cranes crunch your home doesn't happen every day. And while the bright lights have been dazzling, ask anyone who knows about Susan Tom and the story of her 11 adopted children, and you will hear that what makes her happiest is being a mom.

For three decades, Tom has been opening her doors and her heart to children who might not otherwise have a chance to live in a family. Friends and members at Fairfield Community United Methodist Church say she lives the meaning of compassion. Because they know her, friends say, they are the better for it.

Her gift of giving to children began after she raised two birth sons and realized she wanted to do more. That was more than 20 years ago.

Now her children include Hannah and Xenia, who have no legs; Libby, who is in a wheelchair because of spina bifida; Cloe, who can't bend her elbows and knees; Katie, who is mentally challenged; Faith, who was burned as a baby; and Margaret, who wants to become a pediatric nurse. In August, if all goes as planned, a three-month-old baby will join the family.

A UMNS photo by Rosie Aron

This "before" picture shows the former home of Susan Tom and her 11 adopted children in Fairfield, Calif.

Rosie Aron, Tom's neighbor and friend for more than 20 years, worked as the children's nanny for seven years. "Just being around Susan and the kids, you're able to accept yourself better," Aron said. "She's taught the kids and everybody compassion. She doesn't like the special needs label. She teaches the kids that they're special, because they are as God made them. That is how she sees the world, and that's how the kids see the world."

The Tom story is not all TV happy endings. Three of the adopted children have died. But even during their passing due to illness, said Aron, their mother imparted to her kids a love that has kept them growing even in the midst of pain. "When (little) Susie passed away, all the kids were involved in it," Aron said. "It made it very personal and easier for them to think about Susie in a personal way."

Tom has no steady source of income, and her husband left after the second child was adopted, according to a feature on her at Satyamag.com.

At the Fairfield church on July 31, Aron was a blur of blue and tan, wearing an "Extreme Makeover" T-shirt and slacks. She had just enough time to finish church and get breakfast before heading back to the construction site where she would join several hundred volunteers, designers and construction workers building the Toms' new home.

The "Extreme Makeover" show was the talk of the town beginning July 29 when the TV cameras, crews and requisite police security commandeered a Fairfield neighborhood near Travis Air Force Base. The TV producers welcomed the help the volunteers and construction teams who worked around the clock. They first demolished the old home and then built the Toms' a three-story, state-of-the-art house.

A UMNS photo by Jeneane Jones

This "after" photo shows the new home of Susan Tom and family.

"I left it at noon on Friday, and they'd just finished the foundation and started building the walls," Aron said. "I went back on Saturday and the house was done. The windows were in. It was painted on the outside - three stories of this gorgeous shade of brown."

The day before the Toms' return, crews were setting out shade trees and finishing landscaping. An elevator was being installed in the house, and an outdoor pool was being completed. Those were among the surprises awaiting the family's return.

The Rev. Tom Kimball has been the family's pastor at Fairfield Community United Methodist Church for just a month. It didn't take him long to see what makes the Tom family stand out. He looks forward to offering a blessing on the new Tom home in the days ahead.

"Everyone loves them," Kimball said. "Church members say they hear about the problems the children have and think it must be very sad. Then they see how well-adjusted the kids are, how loved and loveable." On Sundays, he often finds two or three of the Tom children on the front pew of the church, showing him some love and more than a few giggles.

Aron, her 16-year-old daughter, Jamie, and most of the Fairfield Community United Methodists expected to be in the streets cheering when the Toms returned. Fairfield police planned for several hundred onlookers, well-wishers and the avid "Extreme Makeover" fans trying for a last glimpse of designer heart throb Ty Pennington.

It was the final wrap for the TV reality show that found deserving families and gave them the home of their dreams. For the Toms, it promised to be the start of a new chapter in a life that spills over with compassion, and as one church member put it, "is rubbing off on all of us."

"Sue is more than an amazing woman," Kimball said. "She's the United Methodist equivalent to Mother Teresa."

The Toms' episode is expected to air in September.

*Original story written by Jeneane Jones, communications director for California-Nevada Annual Conference.

This story of hope has been brought to you by
the People of The United Methodist Church.

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