One Story

To give and to receive

Betty was a gift, a precious gift wrapped in a white cardigan sweater. She was 84 years old, suffered from Parkinson's disease, and lived in a nursing home. But she was just what Wendy Francy needed.

Missing her mother, who'd died just weeks before, Wendy came to Christ Fellowship in 2005 looking for a way to fill the "huge hole in my heart." Not long after, she learned about the church's Visitation Ministry and asked for an opportunity to "adopt" someone in a nursing home.

That someone turned out to be Betty, a tiny woman who prayed big prayers.

"I would visit her after the church service so I could tell her all about the sermons. She was always so very, very thankful for my visits, and would take my hands in hers and pray for me and my family," remembers Wendy, a divorced mother of three who lives in Jupiter and worships at the Gardens Campus. "Sometimes we would both have tears in our eyes."

Brave in the face of death

Betty never fully recovered from a hip surgery, and eventually entered hospice care. Wendy recalls one of their last visits, marveling at Betty's compassion even when facing her own imminent death: "She opened her eyes and motioned for me to sit next to her on the bed. I put my head on her chest, and she started to pat my head. Here she was, dying, and she was ministering to me. I knew from that very moment how blessed I was.

"I know that I helped fill Betty's loneliness with love, laughter and comfort, and she did the same for me. I certainly know that I am a better person and a much better Christian because of Betty. I know what it truly means to have the heart of a servant."

The Visitation Ministry brings prayer and comfort to people in the hospital and in nursing homes, or those who are recovering from illness or injury. Please contact us for information about how you can serve.