Spreading love.

Yesterday afternoon, I went with the Pastor's wife of my church, Mrs Cristiane, to visit residents at a Nursing Home. Prior to the visit, I was given a list of the first names of all the residents of the section we were going to visit. This was so I could buy, wrap and present them with a gift individually. For those who could still read, they were presented with Bibles. The others received bath/shower gift sets, and pampering gift sets. Each one was wrapped with love and a sincere prayer for God to bless them and above all lead them to accept and know Him.

Our time spent there was enjoyable and precious. We talked with them, laughed and sang with them. We also felt their pain. For those who could not speak, through their eyes, I could see a cry for help and for the pain to end. If we were allowed to, I would have laid hands and prayed for their healing and freedom. But that did not stop me from praying within me and they will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Those who received the Bible said “thank you for the beautiful gift”. Beautiful indeed, is the Word of God. Another precious gift given to all was our time. The time we took to sit with them, listen to them and comfort them with words of love and hope. Below are some pictures I took whilst preparing the gifts and also of our visit to the Care Home :)

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Reaching out

Stepping into unfamiliar territory can be daunting. Not knowing what to expect or how you will fit it creates anxiety. How do they live? What are they like? Were questions running through my mind. Such thoughts to suggest they were different species from another planet. But no, they weren’t. They are just like me and you. They are often forgotten about, considered a burden to some, despised and lonely. They are the elderly community.

Today I visited Churchfield Park care home and spent the morning with some of the residents there. I came across a mixture of elderly people but all had an interesting story to tell, experience and wisdom to pass on to me. Ronald, Ralph, Elouise and Jean are the ones I got on very well with and spoke with for quite a while.

Ronald had a very good sense of humour. He has served in the Army in Germany. He told me all about his hobbies and the places he has travelled. I really liked Ronald and he had so much to say. Ralph was quite reserved but we did speak for a while. He doesn’t like being in a retirement home, not because it is horrible but because there is nothing for him to do but watch TV and play board games every day. He misses the freedom he once had. He misses being able to go to different places and work. Elouise treated me like I was her granddaughter. She took my hand and sat me down. She showed me photos of her daughter, granddaughter and great grandson. She suffered a stroke 10 years ago and although she recovered physically (she can walk with a frame and move about) her communication skills, notably her speech were affected. When you speak to her, it takes a while to register to her brain and then for her to comment back. She was very frustrated because she could not say the words properly. I emphasized with her as I suffered with a speech problem since birth and trying to get your point across with delays can be frustrated. I see she is an intelligent woman and very bubbly. She wants me to come back and I will.


Then there was Jean. She is an intelligent woman who had a good job. She does not complain much because she is grateful to be alive. She is grateful for being in a home as she was struggling to take care of herself. She showed me photos of her granddaughter and her new great granddaughter who was born 3 months early. She was worried about her but I told her to believe and have faith that she will be ok. I made a prayer for her great granddaughter too.

All in all, I enjoyed my time at the home today. It was an overwhelming experience for me and I learned a lot. They were not particularly impressed that I had not yet got my driver’s licence as I should have one at my age. I see this is something for me to work on. From all of them, I learned the importance of making the most of my life whilst I am young and grabbing hold of opportunities that come my way. What I loved about them all was how gracious they were. They answered the care home workers as Ma’am or Sir, even though they were younger than them. They had manners and charisma that nowadays is rare to find in society.


I look forward to going back next week and every Tuesday from now one. I will also be helping with coming up with different activities for them to do throughout the day, to make their day more exciting and enjoyable. I am very grateful for this experience.

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