Written by Samantha Weiler
Tuesday, Dec. 13, students from VCA spread Christmas joy to residents at a local nursing home. “Missions is not a trip,” said Laura Lindgren, Missions Director of VCA, “it’s a way of life.”
The group, comprised of students from Worship Band and math lab, brought the residents of Valparaiso Care and Rehabilitation Center a real Christmas party. The students brought homemade Christmas cookies to share, and read the nativity story to the residents. The group closed the visit by leading the residents in Christmas carols. One such resident, Kathy, said, “I think music is the universal communication in the world.”
The entire group was touched, realizing how much their visit meant to the residents at the nursing home. Sadly, many people there don’t have any family to spend the holidays with.
“These people don’t have anybody,” Hannah Parker said, “and that’s why we’re here. God wants us to reach out to people, even if they’re old.”
This was the third trip a group of VCA students took to the nursing home, and the residents are really looking forward to each month’s visit.
Becky Crain, the Worship Band teacher said, “It’s a good opportunity to go out of our comfort zone, and serve others and think beyond ourselves.”
Each student is growing, not only in their service, but also in the respect they have for others. Greta Schrader, a VCA parent, said, “I know that somebody said, ‘You can tell a lot about someone by how they treat the elderly!’It’s so true!”