Since the Christian deaf school was closed for the flu we changed our schedule and made our trek to the local market to see/buy handicrafts and souvenirs. The team got to exercise their bargaining skills and found interesting things to bring home.
After lunch we went to a government nursing home for about 200 elderly people of ages 75 +; one lady is over 100. We had prayed specifically against feelings of awkwardness as we often have with elderly people, especially those who don’t speak English, and how God answered those prayers!! What a sweet time we had!!
The director greeted us, gave us some background on the home and guided us to a porch area of the residential buildings.
Several residents were sitting there in their wheelchairs, and we started to greet them, shake hands, share cookies, and sing. We moved indoors to where several blind ladies were in their beds; some of them were terribly frail and obviously failing, but they smiled as we talked with them and prayed for them.
Music is always an instant draw, and as the guys played and the group sang, more and more people appeared. Some of the ladies left and came back with more residents who clapped, smiled, and even attempted to sing along.
The team spread out to interact with these dear folks and really stepped out of their comfort zones. Dina and I got to talk with Mr. Joaquin, a dear old white haired man who just wanted to talk. He told us about his life, how he was as a young man before he came to know Jesus and how his life changed when he accepted the Lord. Now, even though he is the only one of his family alive, he spends his days praying and praising God. He had cataract surgery on one eye and is set to have surgery on the other eye soon, so we prayed with him for a successful surgery and good eyesight.
There were two special ladies, Consuelo and Lydia, who instantly grabbed the hands of some of our young men and proceeded to walk them all through the compound; these little ladies had quite the grip! Consuelo is not much over four feet tall, was barefooted, but determined to escort the guys around to meet her friends.
Lydia, also tiny, latched onto John and seemed to enjoy following us everywhere. She said she liked tall, strapping Anglos; there’s a morale booster for you!
It was great to see the team respond to these elderly people, in spite of their condition and appearance and inability to communicate. How they loved having the young people there!!
They smiled, sang, clapped, kissed hands, thanked everyone for the visit and did seem encouraged by it all. The home is in a beautiful setting; lush gardens, lots of space to walk/wheel around and didn’t have as much of an institutional setting as we often see in the US. They lack a lot of resources and have sparse dormitory-type rooms, but it was clean, and the director, who has been there 18 years, seemed to truly care for them.
As we reviewed the day, everyone on the team said they really enjoyed being with these elderly people, loved to make them smile, pray for them and just bring them joy. You’ll have to see the pictures to see these precious smiles for yourself. How tenderly God works!!!
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