Joan is younger than some of the residents here. But of course, she is not here for long. When I came into her room she was sitting in her bed looking out the window. Val and I greeted her and she smiled.
We sat with her and talked a bit about the weather and where she was from. When asked about a church background, Joan told me that she was Jewish but that she had never gone to Temple. I asked where she would be going when she left. She told me she would go home to live with her daughter. I said, “No, I mean when you leave feet first.” She hesitated for a moment and then with a hesitant voice, “Heaven?”. I asked her how she would get there. She told me that she tried to do the right thing. As I took her through some questions she became very quiet and I could tell that she was taking this very seriously. I asked her what the Jewish people celebrated at Passover. She said she really didn’t remember.
I reminded her of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and she remembered the story, with a smile. We talked about the preparation that they made the night before they left. How they hurriedly killed a lamb and put the blood on the door posts. We talked about the Angel of Death and how it would pass over the house when it saw the blood. She was listening intently at this point. I took Joan to the courtroom and introduced her to the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world.
Joan began to cry when she realized why Jesus came. She prayed that God would forgive her and she told Him that she accepted Jesus as Messiah!! I asked her if she had a Bible and she said she didn’t. I ran out to the truck and brought in a new large-print Bible for her. We make a label to put into the front cover of these Bibles. They are inscribed "On this day (date) I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior" then there is a line for them to sign their name. Joan took the pen and slowly signed her name. Then she held it to her chest and cried.
We sat with her and talked a bit about the weather and where she was from. When asked about a church background, Joan told me that she was Jewish but that she had never gone to Temple. I asked where she would be going when she left. She told me she would go home to live with her daughter. I said, “No, I mean when you leave feet first.” She hesitated for a moment and then with a hesitant voice, “Heaven?”. I asked her how she would get there. She told me that she tried to do the right thing. As I took her through some questions she became very quiet and I could tell that she was taking this very seriously. I asked her what the Jewish people celebrated at Passover. She said she really didn’t remember.
I reminded her of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and she remembered the story, with a smile. We talked about the preparation that they made the night before they left. How they hurriedly killed a lamb and put the blood on the door posts. We talked about the Angel of Death and how it would pass over the house when it saw the blood. She was listening intently at this point. I took Joan to the courtroom and introduced her to the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. 
Joan began to cry when she realized why Jesus came. She prayed that God would forgive her and she told Him that she accepted Jesus as Messiah!! I asked her if she had a Bible and she said she didn’t. I ran out to the truck and brought in a new large-print Bible for her. We make a label to put into the front cover of these Bibles. They are inscribed "On this day (date) I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior" then there is a line for them to sign their name. Joan took the pen and slowly signed her name. Then she held it to her chest and cried.
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