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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2015)
Polk County Living Polk County Itemizer-Observer • July 15, 2015 7A JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer Rodney, left, and Rosalee Stent chat with Dallas Retirement Village resident Anna Funk, 101, right, during a recent visit. The couple, along with many others from their church, Evangelical Bible Church, spend time with people who are homebound or in hospitals or care facilities. The church started a “visiting committee” to help organize the effort. Founder Julia Emblen hopes more churches and organizations will follow suit. VISITING MRS. MORGAN Spending time with the elderly is rewarding for both those visiting and being visited By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer D ALLAS — Julia Emblen believes visiting home- bound people is so impor- tant, she’s written a book about it. The book, “Visiting Mrs. Morgan,” offers tips for what to do — and what not to do — as well as sugges- tions for activities both “vis- itor” and “visitee” will enjoy. Emblen’s book is dedicat- ed to her “Aunt Tina,” who contracted polio at age 45. The disease paralyzed her from the waist down and left her homebound. Tina was very involved in her community, Emblen wrote, so for the first few months, she often had visi- tors. But that didn’t last long and, after a number of years, it was just family and pastors who came to see her. “From Aunt Tina I learned about the struggles and the long lonely hours,” Emblen wrote. “She never talked about this, but often her sighs and her sad facial expressions told me that she missed the days when she could walk around and go when and where she pleased.” Her aunt’s situation — shut-in and lonely — is dev- astatingly common, so Em- blen and members of her church, Evangelical Bible Church (EBC), have made it a mission to visit with as many people in that situa- JOLENE GUZMAN /Itemizer-Observer Kathy Hull, right, visits with Dallas Retirement Village res- ident David Hamm, left, as Julia Emblen looks on. Emblen helps organize such visits for her church. Ideas for ‘visiting Mrs. Morgan’ JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer Evangelical Bible Church hosts events, such as this July Fourth-themed tea, for resi- dents at Dallas Retirement Village on a periodic basis. tion as possible. “They sit for hours,” Em- blen said in a recent inter- view. “That has always bothered me.” — Emblen said when she re- turned to Dallas to care for her mother several years ago, she discovered many members of her church could no longer make it to church services. She visited one — the namesake of her book, though the name has been changed to protect her pri- vacy — but decided more should be done. Emblen suggested EBC organize a visiting commit- 24 hour Service tee dedicated to arranging visits to make sure mem- bers who could no longer attend church meetings shared fellowship with oth- ers. While she knows other churches do the same thing, she would like the idea to catch on. She said she could help initiate a group to plan visits and offer advice. “It doesn’t all go perfect- ly, but we still keep trying,” she said. If you succeed, Emblem said visits become reward- ing for both parties. Rodney Stent and his wife, Rosalee Stent, visit Anna Funk at Dallas Retire- ment Village often. She’s now 101 years old and es- sentially bedridden. Rodney Stint said with 101 years to pull from, she can tell incredible stories. She just needs someone to share them with. “She love to have some- one come, of course,” he said. “She has no family.” Listening to — and writ- ing down — life stories is one of Emblen’s suggestions for visit activities. She added not only is it enjoyable for the person to share, but later may be priceless to family mem- bers. Kathy Hull and Geri Ciss- • Building birdhouses. • Writing life stories. • Planting and caring for indoor gardens. • Craft projects, such as crocheting, knitting or making baskets. • Making scrapbooks. • Reading. • Games or puzzles. For more information or assistance setting up a group: Julia Emblen at jemblen@msn.com. na visit longtime Dallas resi- dent David Hamm at his home at Dallas Retirement Village several times a month. He regales them with stories of Dallas of old, when it was known for its many prune orchards. As a young man, he worked in those orchards, performing the duties of a picker, tree shaker, hauler and drier. Later in life, he was a missionary in Chile for years. Hamm remembers when the population of Dallas was only about 3,600. When asked if he like Dallas better then or now, he gives a diplomatic answer. “I like them both,” he said. Hull smiles at his com- ments and added: “He is a real encourager. 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