Wednesday, February 9, 2011

How God is Working Here.

The following is a letter I wrote to one of my professors last semester. God has used it for the purpose of reminding me of the passion for this ministry and the way He is wanting to work through it.

Dr. K,
I began making trips to Mesa at the first of August after a family asked me if I would be available to visit their great aunt in the city where I go to school. She did not have any children, and because she did not have any extended family members in the area, she rarely received visitors. They offered to pay me twenty-five dollars each week to go and visit her, be sure she had everything she needed, and email them a report of how she was doing.
In the beginning, visiting "N" was a little more difficult then I had originally expected. With every new visit I had to start from “square one” in developing a relationship with her due to her Alzheimer’s disease, and I found it very difficult to connect with her. However, I continued to go out of duty to her family. When my first check from her family arrived in the mail I couldn’t cash it. God convicted me of the fact that if I really wanted to bless her family, I would return the check. In addition, I was hit with the realization that it would be difficult for me to truly love and serve "N" if payment was in any way attached to what I was doing. So I sent the check back. From that moment on my service to "N" and her family became authentic, and God began to do incredible things in my life where I never expected Him to. God began to humble me by reminding me that it was HIM loving her, HIM meeting with her. It was HIM brushing her hair, rubbing lotion on her hands; it was HIM tucking warm blankets around her, HIM encouraging her to eat her food; HIM hugging her and kissing her on the forehead – and NOTHING of myself. I was only the vessel He was using to love "N" through.
That brings me to the purpose of this letter. As God has been taking me through a period of growth and development in Him, He has made me aware that Mesa Nursing Home is to be my mission field for the remainder of my time here. As I was reading the parable of the talents, I realized that I did not want to be the servant who hid what my Master had asked me to look after for Him under the sand; returning to Him, untouched, only what I had originally been given. But instead, I wanted to take the opportunities and direction He had given me and invest it in lives, returning a profit for His kingdom. God has placed me in a mission field that is often forgotten about; a mission field where one of the most marginalized groups in American society resides, and I feel honored to spend much of my time amongst these people. My heart is so attached to these people, and I cannot ignore the need or God’s calling to take a small part in meeting it. And God had been incredibly faithful in opening doors.
I was not aware of how great the need for visitors was at Mesa until I met with the activities coordinator there. Since our initial meeting, she has taken me to meet many of the residents who are confined to their rooms and have few visitors. They include an old rancher whose wife is still living but never visits; another man who was at one point a state representative, and has a deep appreciation for jazz music; and a sweet elderly woman, who came to the nursing home hoping to feel less lonely, but has instead only became more lonesome and jealous for a family that would visit her more often, or someone to genuinely care. These are just a few of the real people and needs that occupy Mesa, there are many more with different stories and just as genuine a need.
The way I hope to meet this need is by making people aware that it exists and providing those who would like to serve in this area an opportunity to get connected in this mission field. I firmly believe that building relationships with these people and demonstrating God’s love to them through serving should be the primary focus. In order to do this, I would like to match each volunteer with an assigned elderly person that they will visit for an hour or so each week. This not only provides an opportunity for deep connections and relationships to form, but it also fosters accountability in the sense that each volunteer knows that they have someone at the nursing home counting on and looking forward to their visits. In addition, the volunteers could work their visits around their schedule; going to visit on a Wednesday afternoon of one week, and a Friday morning of another.
Thus far, there has already been a volunteer who visited her elderly person for the first time on Saturday and has committed to do so every week. In addition, another girl has decided to go back to another nursing home she visited freshman year (after hearing about what God is doing at Mesa) and pursue the ministry opportunities that are there. I have also talked to John, director of the BSM, who has agreed to help provide platforms in getting the word out and a basis through the BSM on campus. Furthermore, the activities director will be providing me with a list of those who need and would like to receive visitors, and I am developing a short information sheet for volunteers so they can be better matched with a resident of the nursing home. God has already done such amazing things in preparing a way, and I am excited to see what He plans to do next. Even if only one other elderly person is impacted through this movement, it will not have gone without fulfilling its purpose.
As you said in class; hearing from God is one thing, but following God is an entirely different endeavor. The task of discerning God’s purpose and calling is not all that is required of us as Christians. He calls us to far more than that; He calls us to live out that calling. Through the years, I have learned that when God reveals His plans to His creation it does not end there, it begins there. I am not sure why God lead me to bring this to you; maybe it was just so you could partner in prayer about it, or maybe He has a unique purpose in this ministry regarding you. However, I do know that nothing that is done in this ministry is going to be as a result of me, or you, or anyone else- but completely by His strength and His faithfulness. He doesn’t need me, He could do this without the help of man; I am just so humbled that He is choosing to use me and I pray that when this is all said and done He can say to me and those involved “Well done, good and faithful servant”.
I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to what is on my heart, and greatly appreciate the godly counsel you have offered.
Lauren