Sunny Hill Nursing Home
The years come and go swiftly. They are truly like a vapor, you see it for a moment and then it’s gone as quickly as it came. Once again it is time to reflect on the past and give Praise and Glory to God for all He has accomplished. March will end our 4th year in the Nursing Home Ministry and April will be the beginning of our 5th year. Some people reminded us many times how burned out we would become and warned us not to get involved in more than one home. Others encouraged us and supported us faithfully. We have had all kinds of comments over the past 4 years, some we stored away in our hearts to reflect on them often, others we try not to remember. It’s truly been a great 4 years.
During these past years, we have never had to worry about volunteers, God has always provided laborers and we have a wonderful team of people and the neat thing about it all is, they all have a servant’s heart. We have never worried about money, our needs have always been met and we have been able to purchase a P.A. system, a piano keyboard, a printer, music stands, 2 four wheel carts and a file cabinet. We give out gifts at Christmas time. This past year we gave out over 165 sweaters and blankets. A small box of sugar free candy is presented to the residents for their birthdays along with a Happy Birthday tract. Just another way to get a tract in their hands. A carnation is given to all the ladies on Mothers Day.
Eleven residents have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and I have had the opportunity of presenting the Plan of Salvation to many people, including one atheist. I have held the hand of residents as they took their last breath and stood by many of the families as they mourned the loss of their loved ones. The hardest part of the ministry is seeing residents die and go out into eternity without Jesus.
Most all of the material things that I have purchased over the past 4 years have either been tossed or they no longer have the same value they had when I purchased them. Some of the things, I don’t even remember, they never meant anything to me, it was just something I thought was important at the moment, but the past 4 years have provided so many Blessings. Blessings that cannot be purchased and they will last for eternity. They will never get tossed out into the garbage and no one can take them away, they have an eternal value.
They have brought joy and happiness that material wealth cannot provide and I can truly understand how we will Praise and Glorify Jesus for eternity when we get to heaven. I am so humbled and grateful for all He has done for and through this Ministry and all the Blessings He has given each one of the Ministry team. Our lives have been changed forever and for His Glory. I pray each day that I can see people as Jesus sees them and I can love as He loves. My prayer is that we will always be found faithful, serving Him.
March was a great month; the attendance was really good at all the homes. We always have good attendance and participation at
We had several outside visitors at the service at Rosewood this month and lots of great comments from the residents. Jerry Miller brought his Banjo and did a special number along with Dr.
We moved our clocks ahead to day light saving time on the second Sunday and I was so tired that day, I kept thinking, if I am this tired, the residents will probably be worse and we may not have very many at the service and much to my surprise, when we arrived, several ladies were waiting for us and a couple of them said, “we thought you would never get here”. They were anxious for the service to start and it was a great day. We had several outside visitors attend the service also.
We have completed our second month at Sunny Hill and it is going really well. We had about 45 residents and visitors attend the service. Lots of great comments. Lots of good music and devotionals. Gloria Lee joined us this month and sang, “How Great Thou Art” and Midge Pittman did a great job with the devotional.
Kevin Valade, Tony and Robin Pasderetz are a big asset to the team. Kevin does a wonderful job visiting with the residents and that is such an important thing, making them feel like someone cares. Robin sings with the worship team and we need all the singers we can get and Tony is an answer to prayer, helping load and unload all the equipment. It is beautiful how we all work together and just fit in wherever the need.
Southern evangelist Vance Havner gives us the real key to keeping to our task and finding joy. He said “We are not just looking for something to happen; we are looking for Someone to come”. As we look forward with great anticipation to His coming back, our prayer is that we will stay busy and stay focused on what he has called us to do, and that is, to Serve Him, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Beginning in April, we are planning a Sunday night sing, every 4th Sunday at
PLEASE NOTE: All contributions to our ministry should be made payable to “Sonshine Outreach Ministries”. You can mail your gift to SonShine Outreach Ministries, c/o Joyce Mancke,
Our schedule for April is as follows;
Rosewood Rehab Ctr. –
Everyone is welcome. Come join us, we need your talents. You will make a difference and God will bless you for it.
Respectfully submitted by Joyce Mancke jmancke@sbcglobal.net. 815-351-7659
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