Dear family and friends,
Greetings from sunny Florida! As you know, Brad and I live and work at our retirement center for folks who have served as missionaries with New Tribes Mission. Our residents range in age from upper 60’s through 95 years of age, with many in their 80’s and 90’s. I, Wanda have two jobs listed on my name badge, housekeeping and personal care. Our personal care staff, who work in the Assisted Living Facility, all have current Red Cross certification for First Aid and CPR. We regularly have drills for fire, hurricane, and elopement. Patient Elopement is when a resident who is cognitively, physically, mentally, and / or emotionally impaired; wanders away, walks away, escapes, or otherwise leaves a caregiving facility or environment unsupervised, or unnoticed. All of these drills are for the safely of our residents, the training of the staff, and fulfill the requirements as set by the state of Florida.
Personal care staff members receive training on how to meet the needs of the residents. We attend in-service sessions dealing with hearing loss and visual impairment. We have seminars about Alzheimer’s disease which include symptoms, treatments, and caring for people with Alzheimer’s. (Did you know there are 5 different drugs that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat people who have memory issues?) We have been trained in how to deal with challenging behaviors and encouraged to offer meaningful and varied activities for our residents. (Did you know that it is recommended to use music at least twice a day for those who provide care for, as well as those living with dementia?) I think you get the idea. Ongoing training is beneficial and interesting as we desire to meet the needs of our seniors here.
Have you been praying for the Mb people of PNG? It has been exciting to hear reports of how folks have been responding to the truth as missionaries share the Good News of the gospel.
These lessons (about the law) have had a big impact on some here. The people were very miserable after hearing for the first time ever that they had no hope of making themselves right with God by anything they can do. This has been very impacting for a group which has for countless years followed all kinds of arduous self-imposed work which they believe will cleanse themselves. One lady got down off her seat and just sat in the dirt looking down while another one cried. This is exactly what we (the missionaries) were hoping to see – conviction of sin and of their inability to make things right with God. This preparation is vital if they are to understand their need of God’s provision for them in Jesus, and we’re really thankful that they are increasingly asking about the “Deliverer”.
I plan to give some personal salvation testimonies in a future letter. God is at work in hearts as He draws men and women to Himself. Please praise the Lord with us and continue to pray for the Mb people.
Please pray:
- Brad as he writes up procedures for some of his responsibilities in the finance office
- Wanda as she seeks to meet the needs of the residents in the Assisted Living Facility
- Brad as he has outreach opportunities in our local community
- Brad & Wanda as they attempt to lead balanced lives (setting priorities / time management)
Praise:
- We are both well and thank the Lord for the health that He gives.
- We appreciate you dear folks who are reading this letter and pray for us.
By His grace,
Wanda (and Brad) Hull