Connections

by Christian Schreiber, staff blogger

Both Wednesday and today have been gray, cool, and rainy, but yesterday the skies parted and a spring sun shone out of fresh blue skies. It was a perfect day for the annual Providence Women's Connection event.

This year's Connection was held at Cantigny, a beautiful park developed on the site of the Robert McCormick mansion in Wheaton, Illinois. Cantigny combines garden paths, museum tours, knowledgeable staff, and patriotic pride to create a setting that is enriching for mind, spirit, and body. The Women's Connection is a yearly opportunity for generations of women to enjoy an elegant lunch together and reconnect over shared experiences. The common bond is Providence.

As one of the staff at the event, I relished the opportunity to interact with these Providence ladies. Some have attended all of our Women's Connections (this was the third); others were new this year and didn't know what to expect. It was heartwarming to see grandmothers, mothers, and daughters enjoying each other's company, laughing over fancy desserts, and raising their eyebrows in surprise and interest during the tours. It was refreshing to walk the paths with them, surrounded by flowers and the smell of new-mown grass. It was touching to watch them dab at tears during our "Gems of Providence" video.

Underneath it all, though, each Women's Connection event is more than a good time or a social day out of the office. It's deeper than that. These women all have walked with their parents or grandparents through lifetimes of triumphs and trials. And most of them have chosen Providence to walk with them when they needed help. And some of them know they will have to make a choice again in the coming years.

These women are also the ones who make it possible for others to experience Providence when they need it. Through generous gifts, faithful prayers, and creative volunteerism, they make sure that Providence keeps growing and expanding to meet new needs in new places. In doing so, each generation ensures we will still be around when they need us.

For the most part, this truth is not specifically spoken during the Women's Connection event. It is simply understood. Like a perfect soundtrack, it carries us along, binds us together, and adds depth to our shared experience without making itself obvious. Everyone feels it, but no one notices it. 

We just enjoy it together.

A special calling

by Christian Schreiber, staff blogger

Nine years ago, Kurt Nelson's mother was dying. Having not experienced a death like this before, the Nelson family turned to a local Hospice organization to help them through this final journey. That Hospice provided medical care, compassion, an intimate knowledge of the dying process, pain relief, and peace. "The nurses were phenomenal," says Kurt. "And I thought, "We — Providence — have got to do this for our people."

As a member of Providence's Board of Directors at the time, Kurt described his personal experience and made a compelling presentation: "We walk with people for years — throughout their retirement, into Assisted Living, and often into a skilled nursing setting. We are there for them throughout the neediest times of their lives — shouldn't we be there at the end for them as well?"

The Board agreed. And Providence Hospice was formed.

Today, Providence Hospice ministers to an average of 35 people each day. A team of nurses, physicians, therapists, aides, chaplains, dietary experts, and volunteers offers the care and knowledge people need in order to prepare for eternity with dignity.

Kurt and his wife Bev have been actively involved as volunteers since the very beginning. Like all Providence Hospice volunteers, they received 8-10 hours of training before they started, and they take advantage of continuing education opportunities each year. While Hospice needs all kinds of volunteers with all kinds of gifts and skills, the Nelsons feel called to serve on the front lines, as companions for Hospice clients and their families. "Sometimes we go and just sit with the person," says Kurt, "so their family can have a chance to go home or take a nap or just get away for a while. Sometimes I'll read to someone for an hour, or we'll just talk. I remember one guy, I would just go there and we'd watch the Cubs games together."

What about you? Do you feel a special calling? Do you want to make a difference when it matters most? Providence Hospice could use you. They need all kinds of volunteers: office help, patient visitors, errand runners, and more. And they'll equip you with all the training, support, and continuing education you need.

To learn more, call Providence Hospice today: 708-331-0400. Or email Volunteer Coordinator Froncell at fkirkling@provlife.com.

"Try it. Do it. You'll be blessed," says Kurt. 

Senior Citizens of the World

by Christian Schreiber, Staff Blogger

Residents and staff at Village Woods, our retirement community in Crete, Illinois, are spending this week learning about the war. Not the war in Iran or Afghanistan, but the spiritual war raging here in the United States as well as in Colombia, Africa, Indonesia, and elsewhere.

You see, Marvin Peterson, one of the residents, used to be a missions conference organizer for Cedar Lake Bible Church and other area churches. When he moved to Village Woods, he brought his organizational skills and his passion for missions with him. Working with Chaplain Archie Bazuin and Community Manager Laura Veldhuizen, he put together a week-long International Missions Conference at Village Woods.

The Missions Conference began yesterday at the Sunday vespers service. Speakers from the Bible League made presentations along with Rev. Steve Bale, a missionary to Africa who happens to be a long-time friend of Chaplain Bazuin. More than 100 residents attended the event.

Later today (Monday, April 27), a speaker from Kids Alive International will speak about the plight of orphans and abandoned children around the world. Marv Peterson's son is involved with Kids Alive, so that ministry was another natural connection for the Village Woods Missions Conference.

The scheduled Tuesday speaker is Lee De Young from Words of Hope, a broadcasting ministry of the Reformed Church in America. Other speakers throughout the week include:

-Brandon Markette, a Chaplain in the United States Air Force

-Brad Harry of Campus Crusade

-Ed and Jan Kotynski, working with Wycliffe Bible Translators

-Igor and Vita Swiderski of Chosen People Ministries

All of these ministries have some local connection to Village Woods, says Veldhuizen.

But perhaps the most local speaker will be Grace Anderson. Grace was a missionary in Colombia for almost 30 years before returning to the States. After her husband died, she moved to Village Woods nine years ago. She still makes occasional trips to Colombia to visit the church leaders she and her husband helped train. Grace is scheduled to speak on Friday, May 1, at 2:00pm, about her career on the front lines of the spiritual battle in Colombia.

The week-long conference will end at the 6:00pm vesper service on Sunday, May 3, with the Swiderski's presentation about Chosen People Ministries.

“It’s really exciting to have these missionaries here," Laura Veldhuizen told me. "They are all 'heroes of faith' and dynamic speakers. And they are all connected to us in one way or another. It's a nice combination of local talent and international missions.”