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JULY 2008 NEWSLETTER

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me. Matt: 25:40

Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living

Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home

The months are flying by so quickly, it’s hard to believe August is already here. We had great services during the month of July, especially in the homes where the children participated. We have so many comments from the residents when the children come; it just brightens up their day. Thanks to Jacob Miller who sang a special number at Salem Nursing Home, you did a great job Jacob and we look forward to hearing you again. At Paradise Park we had three special performances. Hannah Cherry did a great job playing a special number on the piano, Rhys Fuller sang and, as always, he did a beautiful job and Sam Lutchman played a violin special and it was beautiful. We are looking forward to hearing you all again. What a blessing when our children are involved and have a heart to serve.

We enjoyed special music from some of our other Nursing Home partners as well. Jack and Ruth VanDeLinden and Carol Stevens sang a couple songs that really blessed our hearts. Thank you so much, we loved having you participate. Please come and join us again.

We continually give “Thanks” to God for all our Ministry team who so faithfully serve week after week after week. It’s so easy to get burnt out or find other things to do, especially in the summer months, but we truly appreciate all of you who are so faithful. It’s a great testimony and you are all such a Blessing.

The Sunday we were at Paradise Park, Nancy shared her story with me. She is a Physical Therapist and she had a hole in her heart which caused her to have a stroke. She is paralyzed on one side of her body and she will be transferring to Rosewood for 6 weeks of therapy. She is a very happy lady, positive about her future and looking forward to walking once again. I watched her through the entire service; she sang and had a big smile on her face which seemingly nothing could erase. After the service was over I hugged her and told her she was such a Blessing, even with all her problems, her smile was so contagious. She then shared with me that her son from Chicago had just called her prior to the service and told her he had gone to church with his friend and invited Jesus Christ into his life. What a Blessing to hear those kinds of stories. The Lord just fills our hearts with joy every time we minister to these Nursing Homes. We come away so blessed and lifted up.

The story was told of a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began…..but No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. The crowd talked among themselves saying, “It’s way too difficult”, “They will never reach the top” or “Not a chance they will never succeed”, or “The tower is to high”. One by one the tiny frogs began collapsing, many of them grew tired and gave up as they continued to hear the crowd shouting, “It's too difficult, and no one will make it”.

All the tiny frogs had given up except one and he continued to climb until he reached the top of the tower. All the other tiny frogs wanted to know how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal??? It turned out….. that the winner was DEAF!

The wisdom of the story is: Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic…..because it will destroy your energies and your strength, as well as, the Joy and Blessings that God wants you to receive. Everything you hear affects your actions. There is no room for anything but the positive. If God has called you into a Ministry of serving, listen to your heart and rely on God and Him alone.

We all go through trials, heartaches, sacrifices and the devil is constantly trying to attack. We live in a world of change but God hasn’t changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. We must stay focused on Him and Him alone. He will lead us to even higher levels of service.

The exciting thing about going to new levels or new heights is, “We have never been that way before”. It’s all new. As a result of that, we need greater dependency upon God to lead us. When we need greater dependency upon God, we began to pray more and read His word more. It is so important that we walk close to Him and lean not upon our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths.

If you want your life full of joy, contentment, and perfect peace, Dr. Henry Blackaby writes in his book, “Experiencing God” – “Find out where God is moving and join Him”

The Nursing Home Ministry has been one of the greatest Blessings of my life. I am so glad that we live by faith and not by sight. If I had looked ahead in time and saw the big picture of what God had called the Ministry team to do, perhaps I would have been like the tiny frog and thought of all the negatives that could happen and the big job ahead and lost my strength to go forward but I thank God that when He calls you to do a service, He also sustains you.

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, (regardless of what the situation is) trust Him fully and let go. Only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He’ll catch you when you fall, or He’ll teach you how to fly!

I thank God that He is teaching me every day, how to fully lean on Him.

PLEASE NOTE: All contributions to our ministry should be made payable to “Sonshine Outreach Ministries”. You can mail them to c/o Joyce Mancke, 509 Rhonda Dr., Lockport, Il. 6044l. If you are a member of First Baptist Church of Lockport, and would like to give through the church, just indicate on your offering envelope the amount you want to designate to the ministry. All other gifts should be made payable to Sonshine Outreach Ministries. Your gifts are tax deductible and you will receive an end of the year statement.

EXERCISE DAILY, WALK WITH THE LORD.

Our schedule for August is as follows:

Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – Aug. 3^rd @ 2:30 p.m.

Salem Village, Joliet – Aug. 10^th @ 2:30 p.m.

Rosewood Rehab Ctr. – Joliet - Aug. 17^th @ 2:00 p.m.

Paradise Park , New Lenox – Aug. 24^th @ 2:00 p.m.

Please come and 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

JUNE 2008 NEWSLETTER

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me. Matt: 25:40

Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living

Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home

The story was told of a farmer who had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and posted the sign to a post at the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post he felt a tug on his overalls and looking back, his eyes met the eyes of a little boy. “Mister” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies”. “Well”, said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a lot of money”.

The boy dropped his head for a moment, then reaching deep into his pocket; he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. “I’ve got thirty-nine cents”. Is that enough to take a look?? “Sure” said the farmer, and with that he let out a whistle. “Here, Dolly!” He called, and out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence, his eyes danced with delight as the dogs made their way to the fence. But the little boy noticed something else still inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball of fur appeared this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the other puppies doing its best to catch up.

“I want that one”, the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, “Son, you don’t want that puppy, he will never be able to run and play with you like these other puppies would”. With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling one leg of his trousers up. In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, “You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands”. With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup, holding it carefully, he handed it to the little boy. “How much?” asked the little boy. “No charge”, answered the farmer, “There’s no charge for love”.

The world is full of people who need someone who understands and who needs to know someone loves them. As the Lord uses each one of us in the Nursing Home Ministry, may God’s love shine through our lives that they may come to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally. We must love one another as Christ loves us and gave himself for each one of us individually. We are responsible for our efforts, not the outcome. The outcome is in God’s hand but we, as Christians, must make the effort to share God’s love with others.

We enjoyed a short month during the month of June, having two Sundays off. Rosewood Care Center has their own Father’s day special program so we enjoyed having Father’s day off. Then, as you are aware, June had five Sundays and we are free on the 5^th Sunday each quarter. Now we are rested and ready to go for July and will be singing a lot of Patriotic songs. Come and join us and share your talent. Just e-mail me or give me a call so we can place you on the program. We are looking for young people who would play an instrument or sing.

We had great attendance in June at the other Nursing homes, with our record attendance once again, at Paradise Park. It’s a great way to serve the Lord, ministering to others. As we have said so many times, we go, in hopes that we will be a Blessing to others, but we always leave the homes feeling that the Blessings are ours. It is like kindness, it is difficult to give it away because it just keeps coming back.

PLEASE NOTE: All contributions to our ministry should be made payable to “Sonshine Outreach Ministries”. You can mail them to c/o Joyce Mancke, 509 Rhonda Dr., Lockport, IL. 6044l. If you are a member of First Baptist Church of Lockport, and would like to give through the church, just indicate on your offering envelope the amount you want to designate to the ministry. All other gifts should be made payable to Sonshine Outreach Ministries. Your gifts are tax deductible and you will receive an end of the year statement.

Pass the Newsletter along to others or let us know if you know someone who would enjoy receiving it. Our list continues to grow and we are Thankful to God and Him Alone.
You can also check out our “blog” at; http://www.sonshineoutreach.blogspot.com/

EXERCISE DAILY, WALK WITH THE LORD.

Our schedule for July is as follows:

Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – July 6th^, @ 2:30 p.m.

Salem Village, Joliet – July 13^th @ 2:30 p.m.

Rosewood Rehab Ctr. – Joliet - July 20th @ 2:00 p.m

Paradise Park, New Lenox – July 27^th @ 2:00 p.m.

Please come and 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

MAY 2008 NEWSLETTER

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me." Matt: 25:40

Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living

Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home

The story was told of a little boy who was visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with, out in the woods. He practiced in the woods but he could never hit his target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back home for dinner. As he was walking back to the house he saw Grandma’s pet duck and just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see his sister watching.

Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” But Sally said, “Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.” Then she whispered to Johnny, “Remember the duck?” So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.”

Sally just smiled and said, “Well, that’s all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help.” She whispered again, “Remember the duck?” So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a big hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

Whatever is in your past, whatever you may have done…..and the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ….whatever it is….You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God’s grace and mercy that we are saved. When Jesus died on the cross; He was thinking of you! And He was thinking of the many other people who do not know him. Be a friend and make a difference in someone else’s life today.

Over and over people tell us, “I don’t know how you do it. How can you spend so much of your time working in this type of Ministry? Where do you get the energy?” I had three people tell me that, this week. I praise the Lord that when He calls you into a ministry, He also sustains you; He gives you strength that only He can give. He will never call you to do a service for Him and then leave you to do it alone. We are never alone, He is always with us directing our every step and He just keeps on Blessing and Blessing.

Once again, we set record attendance in two of the Nursing homes this month, but its not all about numbers, we are seeing lives changed and people in their final stages of life, come to know the Lord as their personal Savior. People experiencing a joy they never knew before.

A gentleman, who was in the Rosewood Nursing home for 6 weeks of rehab, attended the services this month along with his family, and after the service, they told me they would be back next month, even if, he had gone home from the Nursing Home. They just felt a joy and happiness from the singing and the message that they had not felt in a long time. Only God can fill your heart and soul with that kind of joy and we give Him all the Glory.

Natalia Ponce led a lady to the Lord this month at Salem Village. Ruby invited Jesus Christ into her life. Please pray for her that she might grow in the Lord. There’s nothing more exciting, than leading a soul to Jesus.

At Lakewood in Plainfield we enjoyed some very special music at the service. Barb Brennwald’s sons, Scott and Stephen, each played a piano special and what a joy to have our young people participate. They did a great job. Thanks guys. We look forward to the next time.

A couple of the residents played special music with their harmonica. We love it when the residents participate. Dorothy, a resident at Lakewood, loves to sing with Karl and they do a beautiful job each time they sing.

Nellie and Joe Anglin from Phelan Acres church helped us out at Salem Village this month. Nellie sang the song entitled “Just One More Soul” and that is our heartbeat. All of our efforts and energies from the visitations and the Praise and Worship services is worth it all when we see just one more soul come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. One by one we pray that God will lead us to someone who needs the Lord.

Since the service at Salem Village was on Mother’s Day, flowers were given out to all the mothers. Each person was given a carnation and, as always at Salem village, we enjoyed cookies and tea after the service.

We also have a nice little gift that we give out to our residents who have birthdays each month. We present them with a little gift box of sugar free fudge and a “Happy Birthday” tract, which is another way of getting tracts into their hands. We want everyone we meet, to know Jesus.

PLEASE MAKE NOTE: The service at Salem Village will be held at 2:30 from this date forward. We will start singing about 15 minutes prior to the start of the service.

PLEASE NOTE: The Sonshine Outreach Ministries has set up a checking account in the name of the Ministry and any and all future contributions to our ministry should be made payable to “Sonshine Outreach Ministries”. You can mail them to c/o Joyce Mancke, 509 Rhonda Dr., Lockport, IL. 6044l. if you are a member of First Baptist Church of Lockport, and would like to give through the church, just indicate on your offering envelope the amount you want to designate to the ministry. All other gifts should be made payable to Sonshine Outreach Ministries. Your gifts are tax deductible and you will receive an end of the year statement.

Pass the Newsletter along to others or let us know if you know someone who would enjoy receiving it. Our list continues to grow and we are Thankful to God and Him Alone.

Our schedule for July is as follows;

Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – July 6th^, @ 2:30 p.m.

Salem Village, Joliet – July 13^th @ 2:30 p.m.

Rosewood Rehab Ctr. – Joliet - July 20th @ 2:00 p.m

Paradise Park, New Lenox – July 27^th @ 2:00 p.m.

Please come and 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.

Telephone no: 815-351-7659

APRIL 2008 NEWSLETTER

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me." Matt: 25:40

Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living
Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home

The month of April started out with great services at Lakewood. The choir from First Baptist Church presented the Easter Cantata and we had record attendance for Lakewood with a total of 55 present. It was a very inspirational service. At the end of the service as we were getting ready to have the closing prayer, a resident who has Parkinson disease, raised his shaky hand and in his un-steady voice he ask if we could sing a song with him and he began singing “I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand” and Barb Brennewald, being the great pianist that she is, picked up on the tune and began playing softly as the congregation joined in as well, and it was a wonderful ending to a great service and a great day. The ministry continues to grow and the people are such a Blessing. So many people tell us, it is the one thing they look forward to each month and many people have told us that we are the one thing that remains consistent in their lives of uncertainties.

We lost another dear friend and brother in Christ from Salem Village. Kenneth Partin, who always attended our services, passed away a couple weeks ago. He was a great Christian man and a wonderful person, he will be missed. When we brought him down to the services in his wheel chair each month, his oxygen always came with him and we had to make sure we placed him near an electrical outlet, in order to plug the oxygen in. Praise the Lord, he no longer needs the oxygen and he is free from all aches and pains. His body has been made whole. We rejoice in knowing, he is with Jesus. What a day that will be when we all see Jesus.

We continue to have new volunteers join us and we praise the Lord for you. Thank you for all you do. We appreciate Aaron Czerkies who has played special music at our services this month and helped us in other areas as well. Our young people are so important to the ministry and to the residents.

Every one of us are different, our personalities, our heart beats, our shape, our size. God made us all unique but each one of us can be used of God regardless of what your talent is. I thank the Lord for Kevin Valade, who comes to our service and sits with the residents, what a Blessing he is. The ministry team is running around trying to get everything set up and moving and we don’t always have time to do the thing that is needed most, and that is, just be their friend and listen to them and he has that gift. He and his wife, Margie, are so faithful to the ministry. All of our volunteers are very important to the ministry, we all have different gifts but we all work together as the body of Christ. We love and appreciate you all.

I was visiting with one of the residents after the service on Sunday at Paradise Park and I asked her about her family and she began to tell me her story. She had several brothers and sisters. She was married and had two sons. All her brothers and sisters passed away and her husband, who was a very young man, died in 1966, her mom died in 1967 and her dad died in 1968. A few years later one of her sons died and now the last of her family, a son, is in Manteno hospital, unable to visit or do anything for him. She shared with me how happy she would be when it comes her time to go to heaven. She has no one left down here, just lonely days and long nights.

Don’t you think someone like her needs a friend to talk with, someone who cares. She is just one of many that we see and visit every week in the Nursing Homes. That’s why we feel the Ministry is so important, if we can spread a little cheer or give a little ray of sunshine to someone, and then all our efforts have not been in vain.

PLEASE MAKE NOTE: Due to continuous problems with elevators being in use at the time we need them, we will be starting our service closer to 2:15 p.m. and may go to 2:30 in the months ahead. This will allow the workers to get all the dinner trays back to the kitchen and free up the elevators. They have been locking 1 or 2 of the elevators in order to get the trays back to the kitchen and it is a problem for us to get the residents to the meetings. Hopefully, this will eliminate the problem. (The 2:30 time change for the months ahead, depend on whether the new activity director gives us the o.k. to do so. She has not confirmed a definite “yes” as of the date of this newsletter)

PLEASE NOTE:::: The Sonshine Outreach Ministries has set up a checking account in the name of the Ministry and any and all future contributions to our ministry should be made payable to “Sonshine Outreach Ministries”. You can mail them to c/o Joyce Mancke, 509 Rhonda Dr., Lockport, IL. 6044l. if you are a member of First Baptist Church of Lockport, and would like to give through the church, just indicate on your offering envelope the amount you want to designate to the ministry. All other gifts should be made payable to Sonshine Outreach Ministries. Your gifts are tax deductible and you will receive an end of the year statement.

The story was told of a man who died and upon entering Heaven; an Angel met him and begins showing him around. They walked side by side inside a large workroom filled with other Angels. His Angel guide stopped in front of the first section of the room and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all prayers and petitions to God are received”
The room was terribly busy with many many angels sorting out petitions from people all over the world.

The angel then moved on down a long corridor until they reached the second section and he said “This is the Package and Delivery Section. Here the Graces and Blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them”. This was a very busy section as well, since so many Blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally, at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at a door of a very small station and only one Angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledgment Section,” my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed “How is it that there is no work going on here? I asked. “So sad,” the Angel sighed. “After people receive the Blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments.” How does one acknowledge God’s Blessings? He asked. “Simple”, the Angel answered. Just say, “Thank you, Lord”.

God has been so good to the SonShine Ministry and He just keeps Blessing and Blessing. Please remember to set aside a special time each day and just say “Thank you Lord for all You do and all You continue to do in my life and the life of this Ministry”. He and He alone deserves all the Praise and all the Glory. We are not looking for Praise or a pat on the back, our reward will be, when we see Jesus and we hear Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant”. Keep looking up and stay focused, He’s coming back soon.

Our schedule for May is as follows:

Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – May 4th ,, @ 2:30 p.m.,
Salem Village, Joliet – May 11th @ 2:30 p.m.
Rosewood Rehab Ctr. – Joliet - May 18th @ 2:00 p.m.
Paradise Park, New Lenox – May 25th @ 2:00 p.m.

Please come and 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. Phone No: 815-351-7659

MARCH 2008 NEWSLETTER

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me. Matt: 25:40 (KJV)
Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living
Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home
What a beautiful month we have celebrated, the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Cantata that was performed by our church choir was beautiful, entitled “Alive in Christ” and the words of each song was a beautiful picture of all He has done for us as it proclaimed the true meaning of Easter. It was a great day.
Several of the choir members joined us at the Lakewood Nursing Home in Plainfield on the first Sunday of March and we sang several songs from the Cantata. The residents really enjoyed it and the Ministry Team was excited to have so many participate. It is such a Blessing to be with people who have willing hearts to serve the Lord and the fellowship is as sweet as we serve the Lord together.
One of the residents at Lakewood enjoys singing and she has teamed up with Karl Darley several times and sang a duet and it is beautiful. She is scheduled to sing again on the first Sunday of April. What a Blessing and they sing so beautifully together.
We had a record high attendance at both Lakewood Nursing Home in Plainfield and Rosewood Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Joliet during the month of March and that was really exciting. We have been getting a few calls from various people who have loved ones they would like us to visit and what a joy that is. We want your calls because that is what we enjoy doing, we love sharing Jesus Christ with them and fellowshipping with them. That is what our Ministry is all about, we have been called to serve the Lord in this way and we want to answer the call and be found faithful so if you have someone you want us to visit, please, give me a call or e-mail me.
The story was told of an elderly gentleman in his 80’s that had a doctor’s appointment to have some stitches removed from his hand from a previous accident. The appointment was at 8:30 a.m. and upon arriving at the doctor’s office, he told them he was in a hurry because he had another appointment at 9:00 a.m. The nurse knowing that it would be over an hour before the doctor could see him, took his vital signs and had him take a seat. She noticed him watching his watch and getting very anxious and nervous. She decided to see what she could do to help him and after evaluating the wound, she saw it was well healed so she talked with the doctor and got his approval to remove the stitches so he could be on his way. While she was removing the stitches, she ask him where his next appointment was and he proceeded to tell her that he needed to go to the Nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife who was the victim of Alzheimer’s disease. As they talked, the nurse asked him if his wife would be upset if he was late. The gentleman replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in over five years now. The nurse being surprised asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are”??? He smiled as he patted the nurse on her hand and said, “She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is”.
This is a beautiful picture of love and reminds me of the Love of God. It doesn’t matter who I am or what I’ve done, Jesus loves me unconditionally. I’m just the clay and He is the potter that is shaping me into the image that He wants me to be. I trust and pray daily that others can see His image in me. The testing and the valleys we go through are refining us into His image and His likeness.
I heard a preacher give a great sermon illustration of how, when we go through times of trials and testing, times when we can’t feel God’s presence and he said “Imagine you sitting in a classroom with other students taking a test. You will notice the teacher is always silent when you are taking a test. It is very quiet, so quiet you can hear a pin drop. It doesn’t matter how much you would like to ask the teacher to give you the answer, he remains silent, and however, it is an open book test. So when you have conflicts and times in your life when things aren’t going right, and times when it seems that God is silent, all you have to do is read the BOOK, the “Bible” has all the answers. It is an open book test.
The Nursing Home Ministry is a great way for all the high school students to earn their credits for community service that is required by the high schools. If you are a student and you would like to serve with us in the Nursing Home Ministry, please get in touch with one of us so we can help you achieve your credits as you help us in the Ministry. There are many things that you can do and we would love having you join us.
We have had 2 weeks off in March and I felt like something was missing. Many of the residents at Paradise Park in New Lenox went out to be with their relatives on Easter Sunday and because of that, we cancelled the service. Then we had a 5th Sunday in March and we are always off on the 5th Sunday, so we are looking forward to the first Sunday in April where we will be at Lakewood in Plainfield.
We continue to visit weekly and have had some great visits, meeting many new people and continuing to minister to the ones we have known for a long time now. Imagine yourself in that situation, in a Nursing Home, just waiting for someone to care; someone to come along that you could talk with. They are lonely and discouraged, they are people just like you and I, but who are at the end of their life. They have so many things to share and we can learn so much from them and at the same time, we are Blessed because we have obeyed the call.
Our schedule for April is as follows:
Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – April 6th, @ 2:30 p.m.
Salem Village, Joliet – April 13th @ 2:00 p.m.
Rosewood Rehab Center, Joliet - April 20th @ 2:00 p.m.
Paradise Park, New Lenox – April 27th @ 2:00 p.m.
Please come and 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

FEBRUARY 2008 NEWSLETTER

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me". Matt: 25:40
Salem Village Nursing Home Paradise Park Assisted Living
Rosewood Care Center Lakewood Nursing Home

We have just completed another month of “Praise and Worship” services at the four Nursing Homes. February was a month of challenges, as well as, many good things happening. The weather we have had, reminded us that we definitely have a human side as we wished a couple of times, we could stay home and not go anywhere.
We all have our human weaknesses and that’s o.k. as long as we don’t give in to them. The severe cold with the ice and snow is difficult when we have so much equipment to unload. However, we pressed forward and had a sweet sweet spirit within. What a difference Jesus makes in our hearts and lives. He certainly blesses us every time we go.
We had really good services at Rosewood and Lakewood with great attendance and great participation. Salem Village, however, had its problems. With two large elevators and one small one, we only had one elevator that was working for us and believe it or not, it was the small one that you could only fit one wheel chair into. It was a nightmare and we had some un-happy people who really wanted to come to the service and we were un-able to get them all down. We still had a good number of residents who made it down. I believe our attendance was 38, which is not bad.
On a more positive note and forgetting all those things that are past, two new names are written down in glory and they are Ron Smith Jr. and Madeline Thompson. I led Ron to the Lord on Thursday, February the 21st and Madeline Thompson, who has attended our services ever since we started, was saved the first part of February. Her son led her to the Lord. He and his wife attend the Bible Baptist Church of Romeoville and they have been attending our services at Salem Village with Madeline and what a Blessing it was, when he told us he had led his mom to the Lord.
I believe the angels in Heaven are rejoicing over these souls that have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. It makes our labor all worthwhile. I visited with Madeline today during my regular Thursday visits, and she shared with me how she was enjoying reading her Bible.
Chris Stucke donated 50 blankets to the Ministry and we praise the Lord for this gift and for her thoughtfulness in contributing to the Ministry in this way. What a Blessing you are to us Chris and we “Thank you” from the bottom of our hearts. We have a good start for the Christmas season this year.
We just started a new year and the months are already flying by. At the end of March, we will have completed our 3rd year with the Nursing Home Ministry. A lot of good things have happened these past 3 years. Not only have the residents enjoyed the “Praise and Worship” services and we have had 9 people saved, but I believe all the volunteers have really grown in the Lord as we have served Him in this Ministry.
We have enjoyed the fellowship with one another and the exciting part of it all is the unity and love we all share, working together in one accord. It has drawn us all closer to each other and most importantly to the Lord.
We are constantly looking for ways to communicate the gospel more effectively and to reach more people for Christ and get more people involved in the work. We are working on several things as we began our 4th year. Please do not hesitate to volunteer your talent.
Perhaps you like to sing or play an instrument and if so, you can pick the Nursing Home you would like to go to and come join us.
Just call Ben Tan or I, so we can put you on the schedule. You may just want to push a wheel chair or pass out programs or name tags. There are many jobs to be done and you are always welcome to participate.
Our mailing list and e-mail list is growing. We have lots of people receiving the newsletter and if you know anyone who would like to get the Nursing Home news and keep up with what we are doing, please let me know and I will be happy to mail or e-mail the newsletter to them.
Please join with me and the Ministry team and let's all pray the prayer of Jabez in the days ahead. His prayer was, “Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me and that You would keep me from evil?" We all want God’s Blessings in our lives. Our Country, our churches, our homes, our children and grandchildren, the Nursing Home Ministry, as well as, our individual lives need the touch of God’s hand in our lives that He would bless us and that He would enlarge our territory that we may reach out into the community with the message of Jesus Christ.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him". Praise God for hearts that are soft and willing to serve Him. There is no greater blessing, than serving Jesus.
UPDATE:
Four members of our ministry team recently returned from a mission trip to Africa. Ron Lyngen, Kim Brinkman and Kevin and Marge Valade, along with some other members of their church at Grace Baptist, teamed up together and helped complete the basic structure of a church in Africa. What a great Ministry and we thank the Lord for their willingness to serve on the Mission field and also here at home with us in the Nursing Home Ministry.
NOTICE:
Easter Sunday services at Paradise Park have been cancelled as many of the residents will be going out to be with their families. This will give all the Ministry team a very special time to be with their families. We have never cancelled a meeting before, however, this is a different situation since the residents are able to leave the home and go out and what a Blessing that they are able to spend Easter with their loved ones.
Our schedule, for March, is as follows:
Lakewood Nursing Home, Plainfield – Mar 2nd, @ 2:30 p.m.
Salem Nursing Home, Joliet – Mar 9th @ 2:00 p.m.
Rosewood Rehab Ctr. – Joliet - Mar 16th @ 2:00 p.m.
Paradise Park , New Lenox - Cancelled
Please come and 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
Tel: 815-351-7659