A group of volunteers from the St. Louis Dream Center visited the Veteran’s Hospital in St. Louis to distribute comfort items in gift bags to the patients there. The group was allowed to go room to room to hand out the items, including the intensive care and dialysis units, and they found veterans of all ages in the hospital. They were able to personally tell each person how much we appreciate their service to our country, and our volunteers were touched by the genuine gratitude of the patients as they accepted their gifts. Shaking hands, smiling, encouraging, and words of appreciation can change a life for eternity! Looks of discouragement, pain, and depression were replaced with smiles as the veterans realized that somebody really cared and appreciated them. Visiting family members were surprised to see someone coming in with a free gift of appreciation for their loved ones, and they were comforted to know that Joyce Meyer Ministries and the St. Louis Dream Center appreciate the sacrifices that were made by our veterans and their families so we could enjoy our freedom.
The teenagers who helped distribute the gifts told us that they had previously not given much thought to the armed forces here or overseas, but suddenly they realized that these are real people with real families who have made sacrifices for their country. The other volunteers agreed that they had been moved by visiting these veterans, and in the future they would be praying more diligently for our military and their families.
Rita Evering
Supervisor, St. Louis Dream Center
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