IT WAS a late summer evening in 1950. A lady's voice asked for the pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist church. When Don, my husband, took over, she asked that he come to her home, because she wanted to become a Seventh-day Adventist. Pastors don't often receive calls like that, and of course Don made an appointment for the next evening.
When Don arrived at the home, he was greeted by the husband and ushered into the living room. There, on a hospital bed, was Jill, evidently a very ill woman.
"Tell me," Don asked, "why do you want to become a Seventh-day Adventist?"
Jill replied, "Because of a little Canadian student nurse who took care of me at the Portland Sanitarium."
Then the thrilling story began to unfold. After her discharge from the Army, she had married and moved into our community, where her husband was in business.
When she became ill she was referred to Dr. Holden, a surgeon at the Portland Sanitarium. Exploratory surgery revealed that the cancer was too extensive for any remedial action. The surgeons could only close the incision.
As soon as Jill recovered from anesthesia, she became very demanding and abusive. Her language was crude and obscene.
But there was one little student nurse who seemed oblivious to all the mistreatment and obscene language. Every evening she would care for Jill tenderly and patiently. Before she left her room in the evening, she would fluff her pillows and say kindly, "I know what terrible pain you must be in and what a difficult day you have had. I'd love to just ask God to give you relief from this pain and give you a good night's rest." Then she would bow her head and make that simple request.
Day after miserable day that little student nurse patiently and lovingly cared for this hardened, unkind, former Army officer. And Jill never forgot it. She told Don, "Not once did that little nurse become impatient or unkind with me through all that abuse that I gave her." And she added, "You know, Pastor, that did something to me inside. I couldn't get it out of my mind. I thought, If that is what a Seventh-day Adventist is, then I want to be one!"
Don studied with Jill and her husband and spent many hours teaching them God's truth for this hour. It was not long until they were both baptized, though for Jill her bathtub had to be her baptistry.
And then on a clear, cold day—October 29, 1950—Don conducted her funeral. I was chilled by the thought of what a sad day it would have, been except for that student nurse!
How It Came About
Jill's story was still fresh in my mind twenty years later when I was approached, in December of 1970, by George Pifer, business manager of the East Rose Medical Clinic. Would I be willing to terminate my present nursing job and connect with the clinic as a combination of visiting nurse and Bible instructor?
The clinic is located in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, and five doctors practice there. Even the five doctors can scarcely care for their large practice. Waiting rooms and parking lots are nearly always overflowing.
At that time the doctors were increasingly burdened about the spiritual needs of their patients. They felt the need for someone to spend time unhurriedly with those who had asked questions and with those who were going through traumatic experiences.
I had been a minister's wife for twenty-three years and had visited along with my husband and helped in his evangelistic meetings. But I felt I had only been helping Don to witness—not witnessing myself. I had never worked on a one-to-one basis and felt the joy and satisfaction of personally leading souls to Christ. I felt this need in my life.
So that is how it came about. I began my work at the clinic on January 4,1971.
As far as we know, this was an untried facet of evangelism in the medical field. There were no materials prepared specifically for such a program. We could only experiment. The methods that proved suitable and brought results, we kept. The ideas that proved impractical or worthless, we discarded. During the first two months we used the trial-and-error method and sought counsel from God continually.
At the beginning I was given the names of all the patients the doctors felt were interested in the Bible or in our beliefs. I recorded these names on four-by-six cards and slipped them into a six-by-nine notebook in alphabetical order. Then I went to the patients' charts for their addresses, phone numbers, religious background, diagnosis, and prognosis. This information enabled me to visit with the patients intelligently.
Next I arranged the names in a notebook according to districts in the city. This gave me a system whereby I could go quickly from home to home within the one area.
From the doctors' reading rack I made up a box of small booklets on subjects that were devotional or inspiritional in character. These I kept in the car, with always a few in my purse, ready for immediate use. Later, of course, when I began actually studying with the patients, my box of books covered all our doctrines and beliefs.
The doctors supplied me with a sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, a thermometer, and supplies for injections—even balloons for the children!
I prayed a long time before I left home that morning. And I don't think I ever quit praying all day. I learned what it meant to "pray without ceasing." While I was in the homes I kept praying silently for openings to witness and for words—just the right words—to say. The Lord never failed me!
Time after time God answered my prayer and made an opening in the conversation. It was not difficult or awkward at all to ask people if they had ever studied the Bible systematically. If not, would they enjoy doing it? I would tell them that we had study guides and Bibles at the clinic if they were interested.
The people were simply delighted that their doctor thought enough of them to send his visiting nurse to call and find out how they were doing and if there were any problems I could help with. Hearts were softened, and barriers broke down.
Every week I called on all those who displayed any sign of interest in religion or in the literature I was leaving. If I found no interest at all, I would space the calls farther apart and concentrate on those who showed some interest.
I worked the same way with patients from the clinic who were hospitalized. The doctors usually gave me the names of those who were to have surgery, those who were critically ill, those who had attempted suicide, or those who were having family problems or some other difficulty. I tried to visit these patients at a time when they were alone, avoiding the visiting hours. I told them that I was the visiting nurse and that their doctor had asked me to come by and see how they were getting along and if there was any way we could help.
Before leaving these hospital patients I would casually say, "I have to run, but I'd love to have just a word of prayer with you before I leave. I want to ask the Lord to give you a good night and help you get well soon."
The prayer was usually only a sentence or two. Then I would leave a little booklet on prayer or faith or Christ's love. The calls were usually only three or four minutes.
In the back of each booklet on the rack we placed a return post card so that the reader could mail it back to request Bible studies and a free Bible. It was about five weeks before we got any response. But then the cards began to come in, one or two each week. Several of these patients were baptized while I was at the clinic.
Response to Bible Studies
During the first two months I had very few actual Bible studies in progress. We searched then for some way to augment our requests. We printed a letter on clinic stationary, giving the patients the opportunity to request a free Bible and study guides if they desired.
We intended to send this letter to every patient in our files. But we never got past the first hundred. The response was overwhelming. With the requests coming back from this letter, and from the bookrack, I was soon studying with sixty people.
Not being a Bible instructor, and not having too good a memory for texts when under pressure, I devised a method that worked very well for me and enabled me to find texts on almost any subject quickly and easily. It also made it possible for me to give a study on any of our beliefs without any advance notice.
I purchased a six-by-nine notebook and then secured several sets of Bible lessons "The Bible Speaks," regular; "The Bible Speaks," advanced; "Revelation"; "Daniel and Revelation"; "The Bible Speaks," youth set; "Christ Speaks to Modern Man"; et cetera. I also purchased a set of Bible lessons authored by Mary Walsh and titled "Doctrinal Bible Studies for the Layman."
Then I took a copy of Bible Readings and went over each subject that was covered in the lessons, writing in the answers on my lesson sheets, with additional texts or thoughts between the questions or on the back. I punched the lessons and inserted them in the note book. I finally ended up with two note books of lessons, with the "Revelation" lessons and the "Daniel and Revelation" lessons in a separate notebook.
If, while studying with a patient, I was asked for a text that I could not quickly find, I would say that I would look it up and bring it the next week. At home I would look it up and write it into the lesson so that I would have it the next time. The advantage of being a visiting nurse rather than a Bible instructor was that people didn't expect me to know all the answers. I was doing the lessons and learning along with them. And the patients liked that.
I always carried a small Bible in my purse. On the flyleaf I listed texts for special needs—forgiveness, heaven, the love of God, help for the bereaved, texts for those having financial problems or other difficulties, et cetera. These proved very helpful.
Literature was used freely in my visiting and along with my Bible studies. If I felt the student did not really comprehend a subject, I would leave a booklet for additional reading. How ever, I did find several people who did not enjoy reading. With these I had to spend much more time in going over each detail of the lesson to be sure it was understood.
When I arrived at a patient's home, I found it helpful to give the patient time to talk about anything that might be of concern. In this way I was able to avoid the interruptions that would otherwise come during the study. Once we start the study, I try to keep on the subject. If patients bring up some other topic, I tell them we will soon be having a lesson on that and that they will understand it better if they wait.
Since those with whom I studied were all patients at the clinic, I was especially careful not to antagonize or offend any one by pressing a controversial belief too soon.
We have to give the Holy Spirit time to work. When we go bulldozing ahead of Him, we lose interests and ruin our chances of winning people for the kingdom. We should be careful not to press for an answer on a controversial belief until we are quite certain the answer will be Yes. When the heart has been softened by the Holy Spirit, these other things will fall into place. As people continue to study, the Holy Spirit continues to work. So I always tried to keep them studying. Some individuals had finished seven or eight sets of lessons before they found Christ and were willing to let Him have His way in their lives.
When Time Runs Out
Trying to help the dying was probably the most difficult task I faced in my work with the clinic. The responsibility seemed too much for me. It is a solemn thought that a person's final destiny could be influenced by what you say or don't say. And sometimes we don't know in this life whether we have succeeded or not. But the Lord's servant wrote, "This is not a question for us to settle. We are to do our work, and leave the results with God."—Christ's Object Les sons, p. 65. (Italics supplied.)
For several months I had visited a lady with terminal cancer. When she was admitted to the hospital for the last time, I felt I must try somehow to help her accept Christ. I had left literature with her on many occasions. She said she had read some of the booklets, but not many. She asked for studies, but then she had many excuses and never would follow through. She seemed to want to do what was right, but there was some barrier. She said she knew that our teachings were right and that if she ever joined a church it would be the Adventist Church. But something was holding her back.
Now, as I watched her getting weaker and thinner, I felt I couldn't wait longer. I had to try to reach her. I asked God for wisdom. Then as I walked into her room, I was impressed to take out my little Bible and read to her. I said, "Phyllis, would you like me to read a little from the Bible?"
She responded, "Oh, yes, I'd love that."
So I read about heaven. All the beauties—no sickness—no sorrow—no crying—no death. Then I said, "Phyllis, wouldn't you like to have Jesus reserve you one of those mansions in heaven?"
"Yes, that would be wonderful. But I can't make it."
"Why do you say that?"
"He wouldn't want me. I've done too many things—too many. I've been too awful!"
Here was the answer. She wanted to come to Christ. But when she tried to find Him, the enemy piled all her sins up before her, and she became discouraged. She felt it was hopeless.
I pointed out that many of God's children in Bible times committed terrible sins. But when they confessed their sins and repented, God forgave and even forgot those sins. "I will remember their sin no more." I told her these things were in the Bible to give us hope and courage so that we could know that He would freely forgive us, too.
I said "Wouldn't you like to ask Jesus right now to forgive all those sins of the past?"
Tears were streaming down her face as she whispered, "Yes."
She prayed silently. And then she said, "You know, I'm not a member of a church."
"Would you like for me to have one of our ministers come and talk with you about that?"
"Oh, yes, I'd love that." She joined the church by profession of faith on Sabbath and died on Sunday.
"Let the sufferer be pointed to the One who is willing to save all that come to Him in faith. Earnestly, tenderly strive to help the soul that is hovering between life and death." —The Ministry of Healing, p. 120.
And Then the Harvest
It was difficult, when Don was transferred to Southern California, to terminate my work with the East Rose Medical Clinic.
During those fifteen months at the clinic, we saw twenty-five people make a decision for Christ. Twenty-three of these were either baptized or taken into the church on profession of faith. These were the ones I had worked with personally. Twenty-one other requests for studies came in from people in other conferences as a response to bookrack literature that had somehow reached them. We mailed these back to the fields from which they came so that they could receive personal attention. I don't know the results of those contacts, of course.
Many of the patients I studied with are still studying, and some are now preparing for baptism. The clinic presently has a nurse and a part-time Bible instructor to help with the interest.
I don't take any personal credit for the decisions that were made. Only the Holy Spirit can bring about conviction and conversion. The results are His, not mine.
Another reason I can take no personal credit is that this was definitely a team project. Doctors, nurses, and office personnel all worked together, and we were mutually interested in the progress of each patient. We can only thank the Lord for letting us be a channel and give Him all the glory!
