The different things that we did at the Hospitality Center was basic relationship building with the residents. We played ping pong bouncing games, bingo, ALOT OF CRAZY 8's!, bowling, played trivia games and memory games, and helped transport them in their wheelchairs for activities. We participated in two worship services with them (actually led one impromptu!!). Some helped weed and plant flowers. We even danced the Virginia Reel with some of the residents. It was awesome! But the most important part of our week was learning and listening to them when they were sharing their stories. Not only most important part, but our favorite part!!
Throughout the week, they reminded us to look for God sightings in everything. God sightings are places where you can see God and God working in or through someone. There were sooooo many!
We wish we could have taken pictures but our center wouldn't allow it or even naming the residents.
So our "sightings" are going to be nameless! Sorry!
As we listened to their personal stories and they shared their lives with us, you could see their "younger selves" come alive. It was a true blessing. The activities director kept telling us that "they were our age too once". This small sentence has such big meaning as we built relationships throughout the week.
One lady was just "classy". Beautiful inside and out. She had no high school education. We learned that she was widowed with four young children in her early thirties. She reminded us that she raised kids without TV or microwaves. :) She talked about her job at JCPenny and the "pulley system" they had because their were no cash registers! But the story that lit up her eyes the most was when she shared about her husband. He was off to war, they were dating, and they wrote letters back and forth. He proposed to her in a letter with the words to the song "don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me.......... and will you change your name to mine". Definite God sighting....
There was a gentlemen that spent a lot of time talking with our guys. And with Noah, probably the most. We found out the last day that he never comes out of his room but there was a bond that developed on a single day that they just "brought him out" because we were there. God moment!
A similar experience happened to our girls. We were in the hallway and a resident came up and just started talking to them and asking them questions about if they were athletes, etc. The activities director came up to us immediately and said she doesn't open up to anyone let alone initiate a conversation. That is when she knew we were doing something special here just with our presence. God sighting....for sure!
The first time we met this one resident, we thought "Oh boy, she's a grumpy one!" But she was a favorite when she let her guard down. She was the Crazy 8 Queen. Her humor was amazing and she had us laughing constantly! And then......God sighting!...... She was talking about being Polish and we asked her to say some words.....she spoke the Lord's Prayer. It was soooo cool!
There was one resident who was younger than the rest. She had made a beautiful painting that was displayed in the cafeteria area. She was so proud of it! She and another resident "adopted each other" and called each other "mom" and "daughter". (We think is was two days before we realized it wasn't true! ha ha) This resident was probably one of the hardest to say good bye to. She had an ability to adjust quickly to her surroundings, her memory was amazing and she worked on that daily! Her approach on life was inspiring...... she was patient with people and even the ones hard to be patient with. :) Everyone was a gift from God. She told us that it's not her job to try to change people. She wouldn't want someone trying to change her. It was a decision to be happy in your life and her goal was to touch people's hearts. And that she did!!! The day we had to leave, she had gone to the doctor and we were afraid we wouldn't get to say good-bye. But we stopped by her room and she looked so tired. They had given her medication. We didn't know that she experienced a lot of pain daily in her legs. She didn't like to focus on it. Emotional God moment.
On our last day, we actually left a little late. We couldn't miss the 72nd Anniversary party for a couple who lived there. There was cake and pictures, and a polka band! They may be in wheelchairs but they can tap their hands and feet! Yes, we even tried to waltz! They were so young at heart and they even danced with their wheelchairs. They shared their story and how she had met him for the first time when she was 10 yr old and knew then she had a crush on him. It was pretty sweet. We think we all thought that leaving during the party would help make it easier. It wasn't. There were hugs, there were tears (mostly by us!), God bless you's....and even "love you's". We are pretty sure that they touched our hearts more than we touched theirs. It was life and faith changing.....eye-opening and heart felt! Overall......AMAZING God sightings!!
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