Goodbye Sweet Little Baby

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

When I drove into the parking lot at our hospice, I noticed that something was going on inside.  That’s because it was hard to find a parking place!  That is always a good indicator that a memorial service was going on in the chapel.

            I walk into the front doors and talk with the security guard.  He confirmed that a service was going on in the chapel and that we had a couple of very large families here!  I always enjoy hearing that we are busy.  That means that the patients have family visiting them and I will have lots of people to talk with and to help!

            After making coffee and helping in our busy break room, I walked to the nurse’s station.  That’s when I heard the news that a baby patient had just passed away in the loving arms of one of our wonderful nurses!  When the baby passed, the nurse, who had been rocking her said, “goodbye sweet little baby!” It was sad news that the baby had passed away, but kind of a relief that the baby’s suffering was over.  That’s the mixed feeling of being in hospice care! 

            I had a building full of patients and family member, so, I had to push onward.  After taking an emotional break, I started to visit with families.  We were so busy that day!

            After visiting with many folks. I sat with a Vietnamese lady that I had visited with last week.  She was happy to see me again.  I guess she has been getting bored, since she has been here for several weeks already.

            We talked for a couple of hours about her husband, whom was the patient.  They had meet and married in Viet Nam during the war.  After the Communist takeover of South Viet Nam, it was very chaotic.  When the Communist took control, they people started to suffer oppression.  They escaped by boat to the Philippines, and eventually made it to Los Angles, California.

            As I was leaving for the evening, I was walking through the parking lot, and heard the sound of a goat!  I walked over to a pickup truck, and sure enough, in a cage on the pickup truck was a goat!  Now, that was certainly something different!  This is a big city and very diverse, I guess I should expect anything by now!

            I’m sharing this day of volunteering at our hospice just to relate how different people and their situations can be.  In every room at our hospice is a completely different story going on!  I often take a small break between rooms to mentally process things I seen and heard.  In every room is a different person and a different story.  Some of these stories are good, some are bad, and many are sad!  But in every room a hospice volunteer show love and compassion, and above all, understanding!

Do you raise goats?  Can you tell me about it in the comments section?

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Brother Roop
Oct 29, 2011

My website:
www.billroopministries.com

My other blog:
www.biblicalhermeneuticsposts.blogspot.com

Apostolic Theological Seminary
www.atseminary.com