Loyd & Elaine Farris

Loyd and Elaine Farris are supposed to be retired but you would never know it.  They have a family of 5 children, along with 9 grandkids.  He worked at Vickers for 31 years and has been volunteering since his retirement.  He has volunteered on the board at Omaha Christian Academy, formerly Temple Christian.  Loyd also volunteered at The Mission here in Omaha and in Lincoln, as well as being an active member in his home church.

 Loyd came to Desert Ministries at the urging of his wife Elaine.  I guess she thought he didn’t have enough to do!  Loyd wanted Elaine to come with him but she said she already had enough on her plate.  Elaine is a former Administrative Assistant.  She had her volunteer work already in place, along with her family obligations, she was all set.  So she thought!  Loyd came to us to volunteer in the nursing homes and it seems the more he learned about ministry to the elderly, the more he and Elaine learned about the situations in the nursing homes, the more their hearts went out to the residents.  The rest is history!  Elaine and Loyd have both been volunteering at Good Samaritan Lutheran Home for over 2 years now.

 Elaine plays the piano and visits with the residents in the memory care unit, while Loyd visits his friends and leads a bible study with some of the residents.  They are both using the talents God has given them.  Elaine said, “I feel so blessed to be able to have the time, now that I am retired and don’t have to worry about making a living, to be able to spend time with the residents here.”

 On St. Patrick’s Day, I was starting a new volunteer at Good Samaritan, and who should walk by but Loyd and Elaine.  Loyd was off to do his bible study and Elaine was going to the memory care unit to play the piano.  I joined Elaine a little later and helped her with her St. Patrick’s Day sing-a-long.  What a delight it was!  It is such a blessing to see the residents laugh, sing, and enjoy life.  They clapped as they recalled the words to the good old St. Paddy Day songs.  One of the women had tears in her eyes and kept thanking us.  Another woman sang Jesus Loves Me in Finnish.  Most all seemed to be able to remember the words to the songs.  The staff looked on, enjoying seeing the residents so happy.  I brought our new volunteer along and I think she was hooked.  She loved the memory care Unit too.

We want to thank Loyd and Elaine for all that they do to brighten the days and the lives of the residents at Good Samaritan.