Caregivers in the Kingdom of Tonga

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This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a caregiver. Now, I often say there are 65 million Americans serving right now as caregivers, because this program is mostly heard in the United States.

But there is one place that listens to this that I wanted to introduce you all to today. And that is in the kingdom of Tonga, all the way across the entire globe. And my friend, Lynn Van Der Woude Aho, she is a missionary over there with her husband, Ali.

And they've been over there for many years. Lynn is originally from the Nashville, Tennessee area, where we knew each other. And I'm very close with her folks and her whole family. She's joining me all the way from the kingdom of Tonga, where she says she listens to my program, but she's also incorporated a lot of things. We talk about this program in the community that she serves as a missionary.

The connection is a little bit weird at times. So you will be family as you listen, but I'm actually doing this all the way literally across the globe. So I think it's amazing that we're doing it all. But Lynn, welcome to the program. Thanks, Peter. I'm so delighted to join you all across the airwaves. It sure saves my arms from flapping to fly there.

So I'm really excited for this opportunity today. You've got a beautiful backdrop of palm trees. I live in Montana now, and you're in Tonga, and we don't have palm trees in Montana.

That's just the way it is. I don't think we had many in Nashville, but it's beautiful where you are. Tell us a little bit about Tonga, the things that Americans may not know and people around the world may not know. You just had a visit from the Deputy Secretary of State of the United States, but you've also had some very big challenges this year with the tsunami, with the volcano and all kinds of things. So bring us up to speed on a lot of things going on in Tonga and things that maybe we don't know. Sure.

Thanks, Peter. This archipelago of 72 islands, 36 to 40 or so, are occupied. We think maybe a few more have a few goats on them, but we have more water than land in our nation.

And we have 100,000 people or so that live here in Tonga, and about that many in the Tongan diaspora in New Zealand, Australia, America. And as you said, in January, we started a new year with a big bang, literally on the 15th, our Hungahapai-Hungatonga volcano erupted. Now we have been watching this for greater than six to eight weeks, these amazing plumes of smoke in the sky.

And in fact, one morning I woke up and I saw lightning in the sky and I thought maybe it was the day Jesus was coming back. I mean, literally, I didn't know what I was looking at outside. So we had the volcano and then everything was covered with ash. And you can imagine elderly people were covered with ash. My in-laws did not close their windows.

They wanted the air to come through. They live alone. My nephew went to go stay with him.

They refused to let him close the windows and their bed was covered with ash. So from a caregiver standpoint, wow, that was tough. And then two weeks later, Tonga, which has been COVID-free, had our first COVID cases that entered through our port, through the boat of some sort of ship. So we've had a lot of challenges since then. They managed it with a lockdown, but thankfully in the first two weeks, we had a chance to get some of the ash cleaned up and try to go into survival mode to get everything organized.

And then over the last six months, we've noticed that ourselves, as well as others, are just starting to debrief what went on. Now, Ali and I, one of our Youth with a Mission volunteers, went with the boat that rescued people from Mango Island. These people spent the night, well, the volcano caused a tsunami. So there's a tsunami that washed literally everything off their island. And there were a few plastic tarps that were given to them after Cyclone Gita two years ago.

The men gathered the women and children who laid under the tarps while the men sat on the tarps to hold them down. And the whole community of 14 families spent the night singing to God, reciting Psalm 23, because everybody knew it, and realizing God really was the shepherd. So we had a guy go up and rescue those people with the government boat. And then four days after they came to our larger island, Ali and I and a group had a chance to go meet them, sit and listen to their stories.

One of the ladies is 75 years old, and children and teens and 30 to 40 year old men and women. And they said this, you know, we have read in the book, the Bible of God, but now we have experienced his protection. So that's the attitude of most people in Tonga who have survived. You know, there was only three people died in the tsunami volcano. Two of them were very elderly people that couldn't get rescued out of their homes. And one was a British woman who went back to save her dog. And both of them were washed out to sea. So we have enjoyed interacting with the people who were hit the most. Now we had great damage here.

Nothing was washed away because we were inland, but we had incredible damage from the volcanic ash, our solar system was kind of messed up from all the ash. But we put that aside, cleaned up my in-laws house, and then started visiting the people who were hit the worst. And the stories we've heard are both heartwarming and heart wrenching. But the resilience of the people is great. However, in the last two months or so, we've noticed people, as I said, beginning to let down all the initial excitement of, look at how God saved us, to now professing through some of their feelings. And so Ale has been the last 11 days in one of the other outer islands, Nomuka and Fonoi, that was also hit, houses washed away, people living in tents and houses made out of what you see behind me. And helping them just to process where are they, what's going on, how can they move forward emotionally and physically. So what a privilege we've been given.

Kind of changed gears a little bit from our usual ministry here, but wow, it's just what God put in our hands and we're delighted to do it. It's hard to wrap your mind around that with volcanoes, tsunamis, and everything else. Your community there is very agriculturally based.

We're correct? And dependent upon the sea for fish and so forth. I mean, there's not a lot of beef cattle and things such as that in Tonga. So how was the food situation and how is it now with plants and crops and so forth?

Yeah. My husband and youth with the mission here has a great big root crop root crop plantation. And some of the more delicate root crops initially looked good, but the acids in the ash destroyed them. And that was common throughout Tonga. So there was only one root crop that really survived. We were surprised that animals like chickens and pigs survived as well as they did.

But if you don't keep those animals, you didn't have meat. So initially what happened was any stores on our large island that still had had goods were just opened on a Sunday, which never happened. The volcano was on Saturday and everything is closed for the Sabbath. So everything was opened on Sunday and there were some limits of whatever stock was still in the shelves people could buy and take home.

So Ale actually went out and stocked up for us. But we at Youth with the Mission Tonga, we're a little hesitant. We do have some cows, but that's rare in Tonga.

We're hesitant because we didn't know how they would be affected. So we managed on our one root crop cassava. And none of our leafy greens or vegetables survived.

So it was pretty lean going there. We had some canned fish. And again, the fish in the ocean were just obliterated. And that's what the people from the outer islands are just now beginning to be able to fish again if they have fishing equipment. Because most of them, they lost all of them.

They lost their boats. So now we are eight months or seven months from it. And we're just beginning to see some fishing going on. We've put some more root crops and now vegetables in the garden. And that is that is happening throughout Tonga now in the last two months, people are planting vegetables and we're so grateful. But there had been an influx of canned goods from overseas in March that came from Australia, New Zealand, and some people's families that drums of canned goods.

But you know, you can only eat so much canned corn and canned fish and sardines. It was definitely a crisis. Definitely. So when we felt it was safe to butcher a cow, we butchered one of our cows and we shared it with our neighbors. And that was a great way to get into their homes and say, hey, how are you doing? And of course, the initial response is all they're fine. But it gave us a chance to really just sit and listen and let people let their stories out because that's what they need. They needed to talk. And you know, elderly people are like that too in caregiving.

They just need an audience. And we were so delighted to do that. We've been watching all this, of course, from a distance and it's hard to imagine. We're going to take a break in a minute. But before we go to break in just one minute, is there a point where you can till the volcanic ash back into the soil and it'll be, is that how that works? How does that do that?

How does that happen? Yeah. If you have the plowing equipment, you can do that. And we tried to do that on our farm. It's just so much.

And it was so deep that it was difficult to do. But many communities collected it in bags and about two months ago began using it in their fields before they plowed, spreading it, then plowing, and they're now planting. So we'll see how this next crop comes. Well, is it expected to be a good crop because of that?

Yes, it is. And many people, our geology department are a great geology department are amazing. I am just always awed by these guys. They were out here the day after to help me check our water supply. But the geology department has analyzed actually the composition of the volcanic ash.

And it's very rich in things that we really want in our soil, nitrogens, particularly, and very low in sulfuric acid, which is amazing. That is indeed. So it's the perfect one for us. We're going to talk a little bit more about some things that you guys are doing. When we come back from the break, we're talking with Lynn Vanderwood Aho. She is in the Kingdom of Tonga. She's a missionary there. She and her husband, Ali, and have an extraordinary work. This is Peter Rosenberg. This is Hope for the Caregiver.

We'll be right back. As caregivers, we have so many things that hit us all the time, and we can't always nail these things down by ourselves. Who helps you?

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This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a family caregiver. I am continuing on with my conversation with my longtime friend Lynn Vanderwood Ahu, and she and her family have been very close to mine for many years. She and her husband Ali are missionaries in Tonga, and they also, Lynn really blessed me with something. She reached out to me some years ago and told me that she was using some of my books and the materials from my program and so forth as a way of connecting to the people in her community that she's serving.

There are a lot of three-generational homes and where you you take care of your elderly there, and it's a much different kind of culture than a lot of things that are happening here in America, and caregiving is a big issue. I was with Lynn and her family all the way through the death of her father and her mother. Gracie and I played at both her parents' funerals. Her dad and I were very, very close friends, and it was just, this family is a very special family to me, and I think it's important that we recognize that the kingdom of God is working all around us, and sometimes I think we get a little bit kind of focused on our little world and realize there's a big world with a lot of stuff happening out there, and so it's important to have that connection, and it's important for Lynn to be connected to you all, because she's way out in the hinterlands doing work that is extraordinary, and I know she gets lonely. She probably misses, like I do, we both miss Chick-fil-A because I don't have a Chick-fil-A in Montana, and I don't think you have one in Tonga, and I know you ain't got a Waffle House out there.

No fast foods at all. But it's a real treat to be able to talk with you. Tell us a little bit about the caregiving structure and the things that you're doing there in Tonga. Tell me some of the things that you're finding that maybe surprised you in your journey. Thank you, Peter. Thank you so much, and I want to echo your sentiments as well. You've been a such a great friend for us as well as we've walked through the caregiving situations of both of my parents from afar, and we had the wonderful opportunity to get to come and be with them toward the end of their lives. As you know, I'm a physician associate.

I'm a Duke graduate. Go Blue Devils from 1984, and I came here to Tonga to begin health care training under the umbrella of youth with the mission, and now I've branched out to doing health care training also as part of the government industry of health, and then doing health care services in our little community, our YWAM community, and then in the nearby villages. And as I've done that and began to read more of your work on caregiving, I realized, wow, these people I was making house calls to really needed the keys that you were giving them. So as you said, there's many three generation households, and now also there is a group of caregivers being being formed by our Ministry of Internal Affairs that are caring for people outside their own home, and they needed skills training.

But what was surprising, you asked me to say something that was surprising. As I began to visit these homes and see caregiving situations, I was astounded at how compassionate Tongans are. I don't really have to teach them much about having a heart for the person that they are caring for. They really need permission to take care of themselves because they're natural burnouts, to be perfectly honest. So we go into situations where there's one set of clean sheets in the house and nobody's quite sure what sort of food older people need when they don't have any teeth. And with the advent of purchasable goods in the stores, people think, oh maybe those things are better. So there's a lot of confusion about what to feed elderly people, especially if chewing is an issue.

How do you mash foods up for people? And that has been a blessing for me to be able to take my health care training and then add to it just practical training in how to feed your elderly person, and then sit down with the caregiver and give them a chance to unload. People have so surprised that I'm there for it to check. And so that has branched into me doing regular visits to caregivers in my village. What is the response to the fact that you're a Christian, you're there to share the gospel, and all that you bring ministerial-wise, do you find an acceptance?

How are you finding that that engages with folks? Are they open to listening to you? They are actually.

They are. The first king, now we're on our sixth king, the first king of Tonga, who unified the warring factions between tribes, dedicated his country to God and declared, we will all be Christians. So because Tonga is a group culture, people rarely do anything individually. So they made a group declaration that it's a Christian nation.

However, as you know, when you do that, individuals are still individuals. So some people are more committed to God, trust God more than others. But I have found that when I come as a health care provider, they're willing to receive me, and then as I listen, I listen to the Holy Spirit for where I need to bring in a biblical perspective.

And I'm astounded at how open people really are. It's actually been some of the foreigners, I have two foreigner families that are being taken care of, they're not quite as open, they're a bit cynical about who God is because of the situation they're in, and that's understandable. But by and large in Tonga, surprisingly, people are very open to a biblical worldview, as long as you don't come as the pastor, you come as the friend. And didn't Jesus do that, hey?

That's exactly right. What are the Tonga people like in general? Are they quiet people? What are some of the characteristics of the Tonga people? Well, first of all, they're very big. In fact, the fourth king of Tonga, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, has the heaviest skull in the world.

Now, how they figured that out, I don't know. But he's got this great big square head, so they're very large people. And they live large, they are not quiet people. So here I am an introvert, God is so funny. He puts me, an introvert, who charges up by being alone in this group setting where people are extraverted, and they love being with groups of people. So you can imagine a home caregiver who is at home with with grandma is kind of miserable, because they love being in groups. So usually it's not just one lady, there's four or five in the house, just to help her feel happy.

So I have a little joke I tell, but it's actually a true story. When you see a group of men out in the field, you might see 10 of them, it's called the kaltaha, they're hoeing the crops. You'll probably see five of them with hoes in their hand, actually hoeing, and you'll see the other five taking turns telling jokes and making everybody laugh.

And that's how we do work in toga. There's always an entertainer, they would love you, you know, a stand-up comedian would just make them so happy. So they love being in groups, love being in groups, love sleeping in groups, love eating in groups, and they're also extremely generous. Whenever I go visit somebody, I never come home empty-handed. So I have learned, I go, I never go empty-handed.

Right now we happen to have some laying hens and we have some root crops that are starting to grow. So I always go with something, and then in exchange I'm always given something usually far greater than what I brought. They're very generous. I know a lot of churches I go to where they want to lay hands on you, but you're laying hens.

No, that's too easy. Well, I'm fascinated by this, I'm fascinated by your work. What has surprised you about yourself as someone on the mission field now?

Because the toga is a long ways from where you grew up, and you're in a much different culture, and you are immersed in this culture. Now what has surprised you about yourself? Well, first of all, having said, having discussed the differences between introversion and extroversion, I'm surprised I've lasted 21 years here. But God gave me a quiet tongan as a husband, although he still loves groups, he's quiet, and I think that was his way to make sure I stayed.

Another thing that surprised me was, gosh, I'm telling myself now. You know, I think before I went into missions I never had any ideas that I was perfect, it wasn't that, but somehow I imagine that God with me meant things to be easy. But God with me means in the hard. He is the rock to cling to, and he's so faithful. So I've been surprised that, for example, in the eight months that I had personal caregiving, six hours a day rotating with my husband for his parents. We had eight months of caregiving from middle of last year to March.

His his parents really needed 24-hour care. I was a bit surprised that I was not very patient sometimes, yet God was patient with me. And if I went outside and looked at his creation, took a few deep breaths, and just called out to him like the Psalms say, he was there.

So I was surprised that God would keep using somebody who's not perfect. The other thing that surprised me was I could, I could really be happy sitting on the ground eating with my hands, that I could learn the language. It's just been God's grace that I have conversational English. I can present in English, I teach in English, but I have to, I'm sorry, I present and teach in Tongan, but I have to prepare that.

But I can conversationally speak in Tongan with people sitting on the grass eating whatever we have. And that surprised me because I was born in a Dutch family and we're very tidy and very clean and very proper. So I was surprised about that. What surprised you? Well I'll tell you what, I want to save this for the last segment because I want people to hear your heart on this. And I think that I just love listening to you. I love listening to your stories.

And we're going to talk some more about this when we come back from the break. We're talking with Lynn Vanderwood Aho. She is in the kingdom of Tonga. And she is, she's been there for many years.

She and her husband Ali and their son Fungani, which I've, by the way I pronounced that correctly, didn't I? Good job! This is Peter Rosenberg and this is Hope for the Caregiver.

We'll be right back. Hey I got a letter the other day from somebody that was really kind of upset with me because how could I use this guy and his products? And they were upset. And it's products from my pillow. And I've been using these pillows for years, long before all the politics and everything else. And one of the reasons I got them is because it really helps Gracie and helps her back.

And I can travel with these things. She can go to the hospital with them. She's done that before. I bought a pillow topper to go to her hospital bed. And I was able to just throw it in the washer and reuse it over and over. And knowing that I wasn't bringing, you know, hospital cooties, the sheets are wonderful.

And I've tried all these products and they work. And they're not made in China. They're made here. And I like them. And they do exactly what they say they're going to do and then some.

So I know I got this one guy upset with me, but you know what? I felt like they were really good products that they would help people. And so that's why I like them and I like them. I also like the fact that they're made here in America. I like that too because I don't like having a trade imbalance with China. And I'm also sure that we ought to be doing things to support the Chinese economy.

Maybe we could support our own economy here in the States and workers here. And recently Gracie loves coffee and she loves strong coffee. She likes coffee that reaches out and slaps you. Kind of coffee. That's the kind of coffee she likes. And the coffee she liked, the company said they would start paying for some of their employees to have abortions after this Roe versus Wade thing.

And so I started looking around for a better coffee company because I didn't want to help support that. And I saw Mike Lindell talking about coffee and I thought, well, I don't know. I mean coffee's, you know, slippers are one thing.

Pillows, sheets, that kind of stuff. But coffee, that's a whole different matter. But I tried it. And man, it's great coffee. You're gonna love it. Gracie loved it.

I love this coffee. Why don't you give it a try? Use the promo code CAREGIVER and get a special discount. Go to MyPillow.com.

They got so many different things out there. But go take a look and use the promo code CAREGIVER and you get a special discount. MyPillow.com. Promo code CAREGIVER. Welcome back to Hope for the Caregiver.

This is Peter Rosenberger. This is the program for you as a family caregiver. We're so glad that you are with us. We're joined from the Kingdom of Tonga. Go out to the map. Do a Google search of the Kingdom of Tonga and see just how far away it is. It is an amazing country that is mostly water and a lot of islands.

It's just been recently in the news. Our Deputy Secretary of State was just visiting there for an important visit. And they've also been in the news because of volcanic and tsunami activity.

And it's a wonderful nation and community of people. And my friend Lynn has been there for many years as a missionary. And she is joining us to talk about things. And we said in the last block, you know, some things that surprised her about the Tongan people and about herself. And now, Lynn, I would like to pivot a bit and ask you what surprised you about God through this process? I mean you were a woman of strong faith long before you showed up at Tonga. But things have changed. Things have changed. Yeah, it's interesting you ask that question now because as we speak, my husband Ali is teaching or speaking or training in our discipleship training school.

We delayed it because of the volcano tsunami COVID. And so just today, we began a new crop of discipleship training school. And we have all young men in our group. And his topic this week is the nature and character of God. And yesterday as we were looking over our notes, we both kind of chuckled because although what we'd written was good and was true, now so many years later there's so much more. I've been really surprised that God is not limited to the way I choose to worship him. That he receives worship in so many different ways.

I think I already knew that. But I have experienced sitting in the Tongan Methodist Church singing hymns in the Tongan language. The presence of God was so sweet in that fellowship there. Also, I have attended some celebrations where they do Tongan traditional dancing. And some people would say, oh that's just entertainment.

And I probably would have said that as well. But as I watched these young men do the Kailau, which is a war dance, I could sense the Lord saying, see these are my warriors. Teach them to know me. And they can war in the spirit like this. Because see we're a unique nation.

It's the first nation over the International Date Line. Firsts are important to God. Missionaries went out from Tonga throughout the South Pacific.

And as that group died down, then the next generation is growing up without God. And they need to know. And so I sense God saying that during a Kailau, an entertainment performance, I've also been surprised by how patient God is with me. You know I look back to 20 years ago when I first started in Tonga. And I had a good idea about how things should be done.

Especially health and safety wise. And God's been very tolerant of me. And very gracious in showing me that sometimes, although my intent wasn't that way, my presentation magnified some hurts that some of my Tongan brothers and sisters received from white skin teachers who came from another country and shook their finger at them or spoke sharply at them or their face had some some anger apparent in it.

And when I did that, even though my heart was in the right place, it just magnified that. So God so patiently and lovingly convicted me of those things and gave me grace to apologize to my brothers and sisters and help them walk in freedom from those educational hurts. So God's patience with me has really surprised me. And also how God's not as tied to timetables as I am. Like I came with some great expectations for health care training. And we had three incredible health care schools that went, of course there were lots of surprises, but they went according to plan really. And then events in Tonga happened. For example, our king died and we mourned for six months.

Which means you don't have loud noises. You cancel a lot of school extracurricular activities. And we, the decision was made here to cancel my training school. And I saw how I was really fretting about that, but Lord I came here and people are expecting to support me to do this. And I think during those six months of grieving the king, I went ahead and let the Lord have my expectations, grieved my expectations, and came on the other side of that quarantine with his heart and his timetable and his ways. Well the scripture that comes to mind is, we mourn with those who mourn. We grieve with those who grieve.

And one of the things I tell myself and fellow caregivers, don't just do something, stand there. Hey, I love it. That's great. That's great. Tongans are really good at funerals.

We just had one in our village that lasted 10 days because everybody comes and camps in your front yard and you feed them and they just be with one another. They bury the body and then they spend some time just being with each other. And as because it's all a group thing, that's how they process through. It's a beautiful thing.

I didn't used to think so, but now having walked through it with my sister-in-law, it's beautiful. What is a hymn? I've been talking about hymns a lot lately on the program. What is a hymn that you love hearing the Tongan people sing, that you specifically love hearing them sing? And what is a hymn that comes to your mind? An English one or a Tongan one?

An English one that you like hearing the Tongan people sing. Joy to the World. That's on my list of 25 hymns that every Christian ought to know.

Wow. My apologies to all of the churches that I've been part of in the United States, but there is nothing like the deep resonant, full-chested sound of a Tongan choir singing Joy to the World. It's wonderful. I love that, and I love that that line in there in one of the stanzas, as far as the curse is found.

And I think that you have traveled literally around the world, and you know that the curse is found globally, but as far as the curse is found, His redemption is coming, and this is what Joy to the World. It's not just a Christmas hymn, is it? These hymns that we talk about here on this program, I think it's very important for us to not forget these great texts and so forth that go out, that apply, and I'm moved that they love to sing that hymn. How much different is Tongan music, their own natural music, than what you grew up with here in western music? Their natural music, before missionaries came and introduced them to hymns that were then translated, their natural music is extremely harmonic. Most of the time, there are five parts to their harmony, and the women have an intentional high screeching sort of quality to their voice.

Screeching makes it sound unpleasant, but it's really not, and they know exactly what they're doing. So when they sing acapella, acapella obviously, is their natural way, and it is just riveting, because you can feel the harmonies, and when I listen to Tongans sing traditional Tongan songs, and they're long, they're going for a long time, and it's a whole group of people, I think of how God's called us to be His church, and we each have a different part, and when they work together and do their own part, instead of saying, I want to do His part, and I want to do His part, when they all work together and sing their parts together, the harmony shows me what God's intention is for the body of Christ. You know, we can't all be doing the same thing. We're not supposed to, and if we do our part well, and do it in harmony with others, wow, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the water covers the sea through us.

How is His kingdom going to come to earth? His will be done on earth as it is in heaven by us, and the harmonies, these rich native harmonies, remind me of that. I think that that says everything right there, and that is beautiful, because I can picture that. When I've traveled over to West Africa, and listened to the great harmonies that they sing, and it's just so beautiful, and I think sometimes we've gotten away from that in our Western cultures, that we have so much going on accompaniment-wise, that we don't let the voices just rise through, and I love that, and so thank you for sharing that. This has been a wonderful conversation, Lynn. Lynn Vanderwood, I hope she's in Tonga. If you want to get in touch with Lynn, there are challenges right now in getting in touch with her, but you can go to my website, hopeforthecaregiver.com.

There's a little form there, and if you want to fill it out, and if you want to send a particular scripture verse, a note of encouragement, if you want to help donate, contact me, and I'll show you how that can be done for them to help support what they do, if the Lord puts this on your heart, and I would encourage you to do so at hopeforthecaregiver.com. Lynn, you are a treat. Would you hug Ali and Fumgani for me, and let's do this again, and I'd like to, I kind of surprised you with this one today, but I'd like to do this with some of the folks there in your community, and I think it'd be a real treat to have them on. I can gather some of our caregivers and some of the people in our community right now. There's a COVID outbreak in my village, so I can't really go out and pull any of them over here, but some of our other YWAM people too, and even one of our current DTS students, we would love it.

We'll organize that. Thank you so much, Peter, for giving us the chance to be heard so far away. It is a treat, and Lynn, your daddy would be very proud. Bless you, Peter, and love to Gracie as well. I know you guys are walking, literally walking, trying to walk through some challenges as well, so our community will be praying for you. Continue to pray for you. And we for you as well, so thank you, Lynn, and Gracie sends her love as well.

All right. Lynn Vanderwood Aho, and she is in the kingdom of Tonka. She and her husband, Ali, and their son, Fungani, and would you please keep them in your prayers. And again, if you want to send a note of encouragement to them, a scripture verse or whatever's on your heart, go to my website, Hopeforthecaregiver.com, that little form there.

Click on it and send it to me. I'll get it to them, and be a source of encouragement. We as caregivers understand how difficult isolation is. Imagine missionaries on the other side of the world, so do keep them in your prayers. This is Peter Rosenberg, and this is Hope for the Caregiver. Hopeforthecaregiver.com. We'll see you next time.