Serving, A Way of Life

By Resident, A. Grace Wenger

June 2009

More than twenty years ago I opened my Landis Homes mailbox for the first time. I did not know then how many volunteers had worked to get my letter from the Lititz Post Office to that box. Before long I realized that serving is a way of life for Landis Homes residents.

I saw Sadie Yost scurrying about to get residents to appointments with doctors, dentists and other professionals. I discovered how many hours Martha Charles spent keeping the east mail room working efficiently. I saw many more people, men and women I did not know, pushing residents by wheelchairs to therapy or to programs in East Bethany Chapel.

Soon I was pushing wheel chairs too and serving as receptionist at the assisted living entrance. My most challenging service was writing the history of Landis Homes' first thirty years. Then as Martha Charles' health declined, I inherited responsibility for the east mail room.

Also, I learned that service is a way of life for Landis Homes staff. For them, work is not merely a job to do; it is serving residents. The first time I called about a plumbing problem, I was astonished when a jolly maintenance man appeared on the same day. At home I had to beg plumbers to come promptly to do what seemed to them only minor repairs. When my sister who had Parkinson's disease fell, I could rely on immediate and efficient help from a cheerful nurse.

As my ninetieth birthday creeps nearer and nearer, I wonder how soon I should say, "No more." Then one morning I got immediate response when I called the shuttle to take me to sort mail in the east. Later in the day I looked out and saw maintenance men, not only shoveling snow, but taking time to brush three inches of snow off my car.

So as long as my old feet carry me, I'll keep on serving.

back  |  printer-friendly version