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FEW YEARS AGO, one of our church members, Monica,


wrote a note on her prayer request form that her step-grandfather needed a visit because he had cancer. He had no church family and she wasn’t sure about his rela- tionship with God.


This man, Darrell, fell into the cat- egory of my Senior Adult Department, so I went to visit him. When I arrived at his stepdaughter Pam’s home, I introduced myself, and she led me to a bedroom where the 54-year-old cancer patient sat. His face was frail, his head bald from chemotherapy, and his skin pale. After a short visit I asked if I could have prayer with him, and he said yes.


As I prayed, Darrell cried. He said, “Will you please come back soon?” I promised I would, and continued to visit him at least once a week unless I was needed elsewhere. When I missed several days, he would say, “Where have you been? I’ve missed you! I look forward to your visits so much.” Darrell lived several miles from me and I had no other seniors to visit in his area, so he knew that when I came to visit I came just to see him. I also learned to love Darrell’s step- daughter, Pam, during these visits. She was taking such good care of him that it made her easy to love. Pam’s mom had died a few years earlier and had been cremated. Darrell loved Pam’s mother so much that he kept her ashes in an urn on his television set. For Pam, her mom was still there. Her death had no closure. One day I asked my friend Ruthie to start going with me to visit Darrell. I knew she and Darrell would hit it off because she had also lost her hair due to chemo treatments. Ruthie was funny and gave Darrell some- thing he desperately needed—laughter! If she did not go with me, he would miss her. When Darrell’s cancer progressed to the stage that he could no longer tolerate solid


food, I made potato soup for him and his family. Ruthie and I persuaded him to eat even though he had gone four days with- out food. Pam could not believe it! We had learned to love Darrell, and he knew it. Darrell died, but not before Monica, Ruthie, and I made sure that he knew Jesus as his Savior. Friendship came first, then Christian love, and then witnessing. At first I was just a lady from Monica’s church, but before he died we were all true friends.


Pam gave me a picture of Darrell, which I cherish. The picture was taken at the Daytona 500 a few months before I


with her over the last several months of her life, I saw a remarkable transformation. She changed from a woman who was so angry at life that she could hardly speak without cursing, to a sweet, godly lady. Through these experiences I have learned so much about building rela- tionships. Without love and friendship first, witnessing cannot take place. As the relationship grows, Scripture can be used to bring comfort and hope. Follow- ing through with prayer and consistent support is the final step in developing a relationship that shows the love of God to those who are suffering.


Darrell at the Daytona 500


met him—before the cancer had started destroying his body. He was a handsome, smiling man.


Pam buried her mother’s and Darrell’s ashes together. She was finally able to find closure for her mother’s death, and Darrell is now with Christ and his earthly love, Margaret. He will never know heart- ache or pain again!


A few days after Darrell’s death, Ruth- ie said, “We need another Darrell.” Soon, a beautiful middle-aged woman named Betsy moved in next door to Ruthie. She would be our second “Darrell.” We learned to love Betsy just as we had loved him. She was diagnosed with a rare can- cer a few months after we had become friends. Betsy received Christ as her Savior before she died.


A few weeks after Betsy’s death, my third “Darrell” came into my life. Her name was Betty. As I visited and prayed


If there is no time to develop a rela- tionship with a critically ill “Darrell,” pray and ask God to prepare their heart before you meet them. God only requires you to do your best for Him. You can only encourage them to pray, but the Holy Spirit can work until the last breath is taken.


All Christians should have a “Darrell” in their lives. It is through these oppor- tunities that God demonstrates His great faithfulness to the weak as well as to those who come to serve them. When sitting at the funeral of a “Darrell,” nothing in this world can compare to knowing that you have been used by God to help another soul gain everlasting life. As 2 Corinthians 4:16 reminds us, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (NKJV). One of my favorite hymns says, “Great is thy faithful- ness, Lord, unto me!”


We may take heart in knowing that Christ will never disown us and will always carry out His promises!


Katherine Breeden is con- tinually searching for another “Darrell” as she serves as pastor for senior adults at the Loxley, Alabama, Church of God.


EVANGEL • JULY 2010 9


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