Dear Mr. Youngman:

Greetings.  I believe you've asked me more than once who you could help. 
In my many years in the false church, I tried to help people in accordance
with the scriptural mandate.  Some of the activities were real ministry,
others were not.  We must be careful that God has called us to do a
particular thing.  Something may seem like a good thing to do, but we must
be called or it is death.

I can remember going to visit the sick.  One woman's father was sick and
bedridden.  She, another woman, and myself went to visit him.  We opened
with prayer, singing, and scripture reading.  The old man (I believe he
had a breathing tube in his nose) began to powerfully testify of the goodness of the
Lord.  I didn't want to leave him, but I guess one of our team had to go.  He 
did not want us to go, truly he didn't. And I didn't want to go.

I can remember going to a nursing home.  I can't remember what we were
doing there.  Maybe the children sang some songs and we passed out tracts
and cookies.  I kissed one old woman slumped down in a wheelchair (I think
she was tied in it) and rivers of tears flowed down her face and she held
my face and kissed me back.  I don't know how long it had been since
someone had kissed her.

The old people are dying and there are those who have a testimony for
Jesus.  Many respond to music.  If you are called to the work, do it and
you will prosper.  If not, you may go in to the nursing home and receive
curses.  The nursing home may give you permission to come in and minister,
but you'll have to figure out how to get the residents to the place of
ministry in the building.  Or you may go to a room to introduce yourself
and someone else in the room babbles or has on a horror movie.  I've seen
all this.  You may go to the nursing home and there are tv's blaring and
you can hardly be heard.

I think most hospitals maintain a list of those who are on-call to come in
and minister when a patient requests religious counselling.  I had thought
about this years ago but didn't do it.

I've also gone to the Old Soldier's Home in DC with a church group.  We'd
go by the beds of the soldiers.  Some of those men had been in there (I
think) since World War II, maybe even World War I.  I believe that Helen 
Keller said that encouraging the maimed soldiers was the most satisfying 
thing that she had ever done.  She visited 400,000 in one month in England (I think).

Old people are on their way out and I am sure that more than a few have
questions about what is going to happen next.  Additionally, many have
some vestiges of Sunday School and Jesus in their hearts and minds.  
Many are oriented toward the scriptures.

If you are called to minister in this way, and you may very well be, take your Pastor's
Prayer, your Bible, your God, and your Jesus into the sick room with you.

for Jesus' sake,
Mephibosheth