ROUND ROCK, Texas (ABP) — Wednesday mornings at One Way Baptist Church are filled with laughter and fun. Tables in the fellowship hall are filled with people sharing stories and smiling at thoughts of days gone by.
A woman recalls stories about relatives who have passed away. Another person breathes new life into the jungles of Vietnam through tales of his war experiences. A man recounts his daily workout routine, then demonstrates each of his exercises.
These are the narratives of their lives. Each anecdote has a special meaning to the storytellers. But each tale must be taken with a grain of salt.
The people sharing stories are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Their memories come and go; reality intermingles with fantasy. Some participants even acknowledge it occasionally, saying, “My memory isn't as good as it used to be.”
The gathering is one of the Austin area's few Alzheimer's respite programs, which provide caregivers a break each week. Five clients make up the group. A list is forming of people who want in the program when more trained volunteers come forward.
Every caregiver who brings someone to the group also is a relative of the client. The caregivers spend the overwhelming majority of every day watching over those they love. Those can be long, isolated days. “It's like having a kid at home all day,” said Debra Schultz, whose husband, Bob, has Alzheimer's.
The church program frees some of Schultz's week so she can run errands or take a break without worrying about her husband. Each of the church's volunteers is trained to care for people with Alzheimer's.
The church provides breakfast and lunch, as well as a variety of activities. The group creates crafts, sings favorite songs, exercises and spends time working in a garden on the church grounds. A devotional also is given each week.
Geraldine Hines, who directs the program, said she can see the ministry's impact on its clients. They become more comfortable conversing with others. Their moods are lifted.
The ministry gives Bob Schultz “the opportunity to socialize with others,” Debra Schultz said. “You can say it keeps him busy, but it's more than that.”
For One Way Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas, the program represents several aspects of the congregation's ministry, said Pastor Bernard Buhl. Members are encouraging fellowship and demonstrating Christ's love for people by caring for those in the community. “It's an outreach on our part,” he said.
While the ministry is for people with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, the volunteers say they are blessed by helping. Smiles come across their faces as they discuss working with their clients.
The people who serve in the ministry are not simply volunteers; they are people who care. Each client is greeted with a hug every week. If a client has car trouble, a church volunteer will pick him or her up. Hines creates a compact disk of pictures for every client's birthday. It helps them remember the past year.
“It's just very joyful,” she said. “I rarely feel sad. I know the clients as they are now. I don't know them as they were. I accept them as they are.”