Dear Friends,
We are nearing the unveiling of our new and improved website. We really are! I know we have been talking about this for the last month and a half, but the process of converting everything over to the new platform we are using is tedious. As things are taking shape, we are more and more excited about the new look and the fresh interface. Our goal was two-fold: 1) to focus entirely on nursing home ministry on our website and 2) to make it very easy and obvious to find the free resources and materials we have, by the grace of God, to offer.
As we have said many times, our materials – all our materials and resources – are available at no cost to the facilities or the volunteers and staff who minister there. The main reason for this is because all of our work is for the encouragement of the Christian faith of the residents in the care centers. There is no way we want to ever expect the feeble and infirm to pay for being able to hold one of our little hymn booklets in their weathered, feeble hands or sing along with their weak voices with one of our music CDs or DVDs! Also, we ask the staff and volunteers who help us put these materials into use in nursing home ministry to feel completely free to be generous with them. Those who call in or email us requesting our ministry tools often ask us how much we charge for them. It is a great privilege to be able to say, as valuable as they are, they come at no cost to anyone using them in a long-term care setting.
The materials and resources are very, very valuable on the basis of their potential to be a source of comfort and strength, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to the faith of nursing home residents. As we run the printing presses and collate and staple and fold and cut and package and cart the boxes to the post office we are praying over them. We ask God Almighty to bless each one with the anointing of His love and grace; that the residents who sing the hymns or read the scriptures or listen to the sermonettes will be touched by His power to lift them up and lighten their load as they carry on in the pilgrimage they now find themselves confronted with.
How many times has the Lord Jesus picked us up with a song or a scripture or a word from a friend as we struggled with the trials of life? And how much would we be willing to pay for that relief? That is why we say that the materials and resources we distribute are VERY, VERY valuable! They belong to the Master of the Universe and we just lay them at His disposal to use as He sees fit in dining rooms and activity rooms and individual rooms in care facilities all over the U. S. and beyond! Hallelujah!!!
As a witness and a testimony to the blessing the hymn booklets and CDs and scripture booklets can be, we include below this note the text of a letter sent to us recently from an activity assistant working in a nursing home in Pennsylvania. Certainly, paper and ink cannot touch a soul. But as we yield our hearts and our little efforts into the Master’s hand, He multiplies the investment we make into something uplifting and light. You, our supporters, share in this process in a most important way.
It is our honor to say, “Thank You!,” to all who support this missionary work with your prayers and your kind donations. We are humbled by your consideration.
With Love In Christ,
Jerry and Dar Johnson
Dear Jerry and Dar:
Your box full of goodies for our nursing home arrived almost a week ago, but today was the first opportunity we had to “test drive” them in our Hymn Sing. The residents loved the large-print mini-hymnals and I do think it improved participation. There was also great interest in the scripture materials you provided, so thanks very much for including them.
I can’t begin to express my appreciation for your ministry and for your vision in serving the nursing home community. Budgets are very tight and we would perhaps have to do without such wonderful resources were it not for your generosity and of those who support you. Please accept our heartfelt thanks for these materials, which will be an encouragement to God’s children and bring glory to our Savior. May His richest blessings be yours!
With sincerest thanks,
K. A.