Spring 2015 Update

Spring, 2015

Our son, Jason, preaching at the nursing home in Stockton, Missouri

Let me begin by apologizing for not getting an update of what the Lord is doing in our ministry out before this. My computer crashed for the third time (and this time for good!) and we lost everything current associated with our ministry. A friend got me a gadget (I’m not very computer savvy) to extract the info from our hard drive onto the new laptop (which I’m using now). We’re not sure if it’s going to work yet. We left for Missouri/Oklahoma the day after he gave it to me and just returned yesterday, so I haven’t yet taken the time to see if we can salvage anything. I  wanted to get out a quick update just in case the “gadget” doesn’t work!

After spending a day at our son’s house, we all traveled to Oklahoma for the graduation of our granddaughter, Kaitlyn, from Heartland Baptist Bible College. We were able to see first-hand the evidence of the most recent tornadoes that have plagued that area this Spring. Then it was back to Missouri to spend a few more days with our son, Jason, and his family, where we also had a chance to enjoy some fellowship with some folks who were members of the church I pastored in Connecticut (River Valley Baptist Church in Ansonia), who moved out to Missouri several years ago. Among his other many responsibilities at the school and church, Jason has assumed the nursing home ministry of Agape Baptist Church (the church that governs Agape Boarding School/Ranch, where he is on staff). They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and I guess it’s true in this case. He asked me to go with him on Sunday morning, along with our grandson, Caleb, and four boys from the ranch, out to the Lake Stockton Healthcare Facility. He and I were able to sing a duet, and he preached a great message on Elijah. I shared about our work among the nursing homes of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and had some good conversations with several residents in attendance. Whether we’re home or on vacation, I guess we just can’t stay away from the nursing home ministry!

Just before we left for out west, we had a wonderful service at the Ashtabula County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Ohio. At the end of the service, one of the volunteer workers called me over and introduced me to Emily, who had just trusted Christ as her Savior during the invitation. What a blessing! This particular facility has been one of the most fruitful grounds for the Gospel in all of our ministry. The activity director there, who is a Christian, was so excited. Brother Wright, a retired pastor who has become a good friend and who is a resident there  (I’ve mentioned him before), assured me that he would follow up on Emily in the weeks to come. I’m continually amazed at how the Lord works through the preaching of the simple gospel of the grace of God and then has His people in the right place at the right time. At Juniper Village, our newest nursing home in Meadville, PA, we saw several respond to the invitation for salvation just before we left for vacation. The folks there are very responsive. I know we are not the only ministry that comes to these nursing homes, but I sometimes wonder what others are doing in the name of “ministry”. One man told me some time ago that there is a church that comes regularly to the home where he is resident, but whose ministry is primarily music. He said that althought there is a message given, there is “no substance” to what is preached. He thoroughly enjoyed hearing the message of the Bible presented in an uncompromised way. I am grateful to God and humbled for the privilege of being allowed to bring something of “substance” to those who hunger for the Word. There is no time for “entertainment”. Time is short and the truth needs to be pressed home while the opportunities are there.

Speaking of a “hunger” for the Word, we are thankful for a church that has provided us with a case of giant-print King James Bibles for distribution among those who need them in the nursing homes. Residents are always amazed at the fact that someone would provide such a gift a no charge to them. We then tell them that there are churches who are concerned for their spiritual welfare and who have taken care of the cost so they might have God’s Word freely.

Many have enquired about Priscilla’s eye situation. It has improved somewhat. Although her vision will not get any better, the retinal surgeon is pleased that the procedures seem to have stopped the bleeding behind the eye. She will have to continue the “needle through the eye” treatments, but they will now be spaced out a little more over the months. 

Although we were able to enjoy a vacation time with our family, those who reside in nursing homes never get away. Besides that, few ever even get a visitor to cheer them up or let them know what’s going on outside the home. We are thankful to you for enabling us to reach into the nursing homes with the Good News of Jesus Christ, bringing hope to those “living on the edge of eternity”. May God continue to bless you for your partnership with us.

Serving Together,

The Aabyes

"Living On The Brink Of Eternity"

"Living On The Brink Of Eternity!" That's a phrase we often use to describe the condition of those we are ministering to in the nursing homes day after day. The generation that has given us so much is now near eternity's door and someone must reach them with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This was brought to focus recently as I was asked by a nursing home staff worker if I would visit a lady whose physical condition was at the point where Hospice was now involved in her treatment. Of course I agreed to go and found the woman more alert than I had anticipated. She told me her grandson had visited her from North Carolina and had impressed upon her the need to trust the Saviour for salvation. I presented the gospel to her as clear as I could but did not feel she was ready to make a conscious, valid decision to accept Christ as her Saviour. I went back to the nursing home a few days later and she seemed even more alert. But as I again told her about the love of God in sending His Son to die on the cross for her sins, and that she could personally know that eternal life would be hers by trusting Christ, she began to evidence a tremendous lack of clarity in her speech and thought. I left her with a gospel tract and told her again that I would visit her on another day. I expected to see her this week but was I received a phone call from the nursing home today informing me that influenza was making its way through the facility and they were not allowing any non-staff workers into the nursing home. I don't know when I will be able to see this woman again, but if the flu causes the home to shut its doors for any length of time, it very well may be too late to reach her with the gospel.She is literally "living on the brink of eternity", as are so many in the many nursing homes that we travel to on a weekly basis. It is often frustrating to know that there are those who are reachable but cannot be reached. By that I mean that we can only travel so much. If more people would consider the importance of a multiple nursing home ministry like ours, we could see more people reached while there's still time. Often, the 'window of opportunity', to clearly understand their need for salvation, of those whose minds have become affected by dementia or Alzheimer's disease, or by many medications, is very small and opens for a very brief moment. It is imperative that someone be there at that moment with the truth of the gospel.
When we recently returned from a trip out west to visit our son and his family, we learned that a dear man whom we have come to love over the years at one of our larger nursing homes facilities, had passed. Fortunately, he knew the Lord and was prepared to go home. The staff said that he had tried to wait for us to return. Apparently, he wanted me to do his funeral, but it was too late. It would have been nice to have been with him in his last days, but we will see him one day.
The nursing home ministry creates mixed emotions. While we see death all around us, and sorrow that so many either outright reject the Saviour, or are in such a physical condition that they are incapable of comprehending their need, we also rejoice that some have responded to the gospel message and are assured of their eternal destiny. We are grateful for those churches and individuals who consider this ministry important enough to partner with us through prayer, and financially. May the Lord raise up more workers for this field that is continually "white unto harvest".