Volume XV, Issue I

Love Thy Neighbor Minist r ies

t The Good Neighbor

January,February,March 2019

Ministry Update Steve Kacprzak, Executive Director

“Stand up in the presence of

the aged, show respect for

the elderly and revere your

God. I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 19:32

The last quarter of 2018, as

always, was very busy for us

with normal ministry

opportunities, preparing for

and implementing three successful Good Neighbor

Get Together events, and two distinct Christmas

gift offerings for residents: hand-made gift items

and a Blessings in

a Bag Christmas

sweater drive.

The hand-made

gift items - which

included knitted

and crocheted lap

blankets, sewn

quilts, leg

warmers, walker

pockets, hats,

wheelchair pockets and bags, activity aprons for

those coping with dementia and Christmas

ornaments - came from our Stitches For Love

program volunteers. Other volunteers donated

special hand-made Christmas cards, scrunchies,

jewelry, key rings and journals, and we provided

giant print Bibles. These gift items

totaled 1,715.

The Blessings in a Bag gift program

in 2018 focused on keeping nursing

home residents warm by asking folks

to buy sweaters. As in past years, we

had four Christmas tree locations -

Calvary Christian Fellowship, Vistoso

Community Church and Golder

Ranch Fire District (2 locations). The

program generated 285 sweaters

and other outerwear.

Thank you for your generous gifts. Every hand-

made item and sweater was cherished by our

residents. Casas Adobes Rehab is blessed to

have your support year after year.

Cass, Activity Director

Thank you Love Thy Neighbor Ministries!

Without your love and generosity Park Avenue

rehabilitation would never have been able to

reach so many people during the holiday

season. Many of our current residents are

people that are discharged back on the streets

and they will have something warm to wear.

And many of the people we work with have no

families or money and feel unloved. Thanks in

large part to your help we were able to put

together a Christmas with love and respect for

our residents.

Brenda, Activity Director

Thank you for

providing large print

Bibles not only in

English, but also in

Spanish for our

residents at Pueblo

Springs Rehab. Let

me tell you a special

story: When I told

our Spanish-

speaking residents that Love Thy Neighbor

Ministries was going to provide us

with Spanish Bibles I was in awe of

the response I received. One

resident, who is partially blind and

only speaks Spanish, immediately

came to my office. She said, “I know

there were many who raised their

hands being interested in a Bible but

I want you to know I had been

praying that somehow I would be

able to read the word of

Continued on page 3

“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.” Acts 10:4b

PAGE 2 The Good Neighbor— January,February,March 2019 VOLUME XV, ISSUE I

Love Thy Neighbor Ministries, Inc., is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation registered in the state of

Arizona. It is overseen by an independent Board of Directors which has full and final authority over all corporate

assets, personnel and affairs. Contact us at P.O. Box 68830, Tucson, AZ 85737 or call (520) 742-5548.

Our Wonderful Sponsors

Our heartfelt “Thanks” to each and every one who gave a financial donation to Love Thy Neighbor Ministries in 2018.

SmileAmazon .com Peter & Noel Andersen Ben Astenius Robert & Linda Boettcher Ken & Jackie Budd Calvary Christian Fellowship Carlton Village Senior Care Harry & Diane Carpenter Anna M Chamblee Marquis Chamblee Colleen Kriz Gilbert Costa Matthew & Tanya Cuthbertson Jorge & Charlene De La Garza Diane Dennison Beverly & Larry Dick Virginia Dixon Scott Ehrsam Carolyn Farley Kathryn Farris Ann & Bob Fortenbaugh David Geoffrey

Ronald Mumford Linda Nickles Lucy Phelan Kevin & Karen Redig Patsy Reynolds Ray & Carole Rogers Daniel Sakall Susan & Brad Soland Robert & Wanda Stauffacher Pauline & Gary Suerwier Karen & Mark Tenace Kathy Thomas Susan & Tom Tjossem Vistoso Community Church Gain & Bill Von Fabrice Patricia Wait Kevilee & Steven Watterson Lisa Weir Bunny & Hank Welle Shirley & Carl Whitcomb Tim & Heather Wilcox Don & Carole Young

Enrique & Sandra Gonzalez Mary Ann & Peter Greenawalt Margaret Haack William & Dionna Hardwick Jennifer Harris Terry & Carol Henrichs Donna & Donald Hess Tom & Luanna Hruska Morgan & Sharon Hunter Stephen & Virginia Kacprzak Ken & Ella Kunkle Kay & Peter Lamm John Lever Earlene & Scott Lewis Don & Cindy Majewski Atria Management Co Sue Martin Thomas & Arlene Mazur Joan McGee Benoni McKnight Charles & Mary Mills Sally Moore

Memorial Gifts Received since our Last Newsletter

In Memory Of: David Wait From Patricia Wait

From Don & Carole Young From Diane Dennison

From Colleen Kriz From Morgan & Sharon Hunter

From Bunny & Hank Welle From David & Frances Bryniarski

In Memory Of: Richard Nichols

From Linda Nichols & Ricky Nickles Jr.

From Patsy Reynolds

In Memory Of: Mary Lever From John Lever

In Memory Of: Lawrence Reynolds

From Patsy Reynolds

In Memory Of: Their Parents

From Morgan & Sharon Hunter

In Memory Of: Mary Boldrick

From Steve & Virginia Kacprzak

In Honor Of: Pete & Sandy Schwarz

From David Geoffrey

Also our warm “Thanks” to the following folks who gave material and/or service gifts. These include such things as

hand-made items, professional time, gift items, materials, meeting room, etc.

Corinne Blake Debbie Bohl Vickie Brennan Anne-Marie Braswell Calvary Christian Fellowship Elsie Calvin Golder Ranch Fire District Janet Huizenga

Morgan & Sharon Hunter Irene Kacprzak Steve & Virginia Kacprzak Colleen Kriz Denise Melnick Barbara Montgomery June O’Brian Pam Owens

June Parker Carole Reidner Patsy Reynolds Dan Sakall John Silva Sharon Stark Vistoso Community Church Kevilee & Steven Watterson

PAGE 3 The Good Neighbor— January,February,March 2019 VOLUME XV, ISSUE I

Continued on page 3

God.” She continued, “Yes, family

comes in and reads and translates the

Bible for me, but for me to actually be

able to read and see the word of God

for myself would be one of my prayers

answered. Would you consider me to be

one of the first ones to be able to use

the Spanish Bible?” When she expressed

her prayer to me, tears of JOY just ran

down my face. I had not realized how

important it was to these residents and

patients to have a Spanish Bible for

their use. Thank you for all you do for

our residents.

Liz, Activity Director

To all who in 2018:

· Visited nursing home or assisted living

residents

· Reached out to the at-home caregivers

and their loved ones through our Good

Neighbor Get Together Program

· Made a lap blanket, walker or wheelchair

pocket, hat, or other special article

through our Stitches for Love Program

· Led or assisted a small group Bible study

· Entertained residents and guests with

music, miniature horse or service dog

visits

· Participated in our fund-raising events to

purchase Giant Print Bibles

· Donated all those personal journals

· Provided a location with amenities,

allowing us to present, to the public,

training videos on caring for those

stricken with dementia, and all who

assisted in these presentations

· Donated gifts, provided tree locations,

assisted with gift collection, bagged gifts

and delivered them to the residents

through our Blessings in a Bag Program

· Supported this ministry through prayer

· Financially supported the work of this

ministry and to each

And every one of our wonderful volunteers,

thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

You made 2018 a very special year of

service to the Lord.

Fun at the

Good Neighbor Get Together

Wonderful entertainment

Fun and games. Shown here: playing

“Pass the Christmas fruitcake” and air

hockey.

Food and

fellowship

Love Thy Neighbor Ministries recruits, trains and empowers Christian volunteers to bring the love of God to our often

lonely and forgotten neighbors who live in the nursing homes and assisted living facilities in our community.

P.O. Box 68830 Tucson, AZ 85737

520-742-5548 www.LTNM.org

t

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the

first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On

these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

Laughter Is Good Medicine

As the pastor took his seat on the airplane, he noticed that the woman beside him had her Bible open and seemed to be reading it and praying fervently. When the plane began to taxi out to the runway, she appeared to become anxious. Then, as the plane took off and gained altitude, she became more tense and grabbed the armrests tightly as sweat poured down her face. It was obvious that the higher plane climbed the more distressed the woman became. Finally the pastor turned to comfort her. “There, there,” he soothed, “you needn’t be afraid. After all, remember that Jesus said, ‘I am with you always.’” “That’s not what Jesus said,” the woman replied. “He said, ‘LOW, I am with you always.’”

Our Mission is to reach out in Christian

love to residents of nursing homes,

assisted living facilities and those who

are homebound.

Our Vision is that through our visits and

other ministry programs we become a

blessing to everyone God places in our

path.

Coming this Spring:Coming this Spring:Coming this Spring:Coming this Spring:

The next program in our dementia care series, “The Art of Caregiving.” This is a 2½-hour DVD

training program featuring Teepa Snow, a nationally acclaimed Alzheimer’s and dementia care

specialist.

In this program you’ll learn such things as:

• hands-on caregiving techniques to ease daily tasks, such as moving assistance, bathing,

eating, transfers and dressing.

• how best to approach and interact with someone

who has dementia.

• why knowing a person’s personal preferences and

personality traits matters.

• how to minimize resistance and increase positive

interactions.

• managing stress and the importance of caring for

yourself.

Contact us for date, time and location: 520-742-5548.

PAGE 4 The Good Neighbor— January,February,March 2019 VOLUME XV, ISSUE I

Love Thy Neighbor Ministries