PROVIDING...
* honor, help & hope for homebound seniors, wherever they call home;
* encouragement for widows & caregivers;
* awareness & action opportunities for the community.
KSC CONNECTION
November 2016
Koinonia Senior Care Newsletter
www.kscare.org
316-209-9028
9 Gifts to Give this Christmas
“But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things
there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23
As I’ve reflected on our family Christmas videos, what caught my eye was
WHO was in the background: my grandmother (who lived with us for 12
years) and her expressions of joy at watching her great-grandchildren open
their gifts and give hugs to those who had thoughtfully made or picked out
their gifts. One Christmas Grandma made each of her great-grandkids a
quilt. Most gifts come and go, but that gift has stayed with my children to
this day—one of them still sleeping with her quilt every night. Grandma is
now in Heaven, but a piece of her lives on in her 9-square quilts. Each
block reminds me of one of the nine gifts/fruit that naturally flowed from her
relationship with her Lord Jesus (John 15:5).
LOVE: Grandma lived out the love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, even when
we weren’t so lovable..
JOY: Grandma had joy, knowing Who was in control even in unhappy times.
PEACE: Grandma was a worrier, but she knew the way to find peace was to
give her concerns to God. Philippians 4:6-7
PATIENCE: As Grandma cared for Grandpa in his last years, we saw
Grandma get to work on her patience!
KINDNESS: Grandma loved to bake for others & clean the kitchen for me!
GOODNESS: Grandma’s kindness came from a pure & genuine heart.
GENTLENESS: Grandma balanced the look with grace & mercy on my kids
Luke 2 Birth of Jesus
The Christmas story of
Jesus’ birth has always
been special to me. Just
thinking about Mary’s
travels and primitive surroundings for the delivery
of God’s Son is hard to
wrap my brain around!
And what took place that
night with the shepherds
and eight days later in
the temple with the
prophecies of Simeon
and Anna were like the
greatest birth announcement ever! They each
left their encounter with
Jesus, telling everyone!
And Mary soaked it all in.
She pondered the words
spoken and the blessings
pronounced upon her
child. The words to the
song, Mary Did You Know
come to mind:
Mary, did you know that
your Baby Boy is Lord of all
creation? ...would one day
rule the nations? ...is
heaven's perfect Lamb?...is
the great "I am"
FAITHFULNESS: Grandma was faithful to her Lord, husband and family.
SELF-CONTROL: Grandma lacked this when bragging on her family!
We each have an opportunity to naturally give these gifts away when we
first give JESUS the gift of ourselves, daily! Merry Christmas!
Christine
May your Christmas
celebration overflow with
reflection, worship and
sharing about the birth of
Jesus and power of
John 3:16.
Widow’s Wisdom
The holidays are difficult for those of us who have lost our spouse
because those five weeks from Thanksgiving to New Years are so
deeply rooted in longstanding traditions and family togetherness.
Some traditions fall away while others stick more than ever. We
even started a new tradition of adopting a family in need—in
honor of our loved one. I had to find those traditions that I could
manage because the kids were counting on me to hold them up.
Feeling alone is overwhelming at the holidays. To lessen the pain
I try to be with friends, volunteer and attend gatherings. If they
ask how I am doing, I am honest, “I have bad days and better
days. Thank you for your concern.” I find that the sweetest gifts
to me are when people share a memory of my spouse with me. I
shed tears, but I also find a smile sneak in there once in a while.
Most importantly, keeping my focus on Christ brings strength &
perspective: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
Sponsor a Senior
Stocking!
Please purchase gifts
and return by 12/13 to:
Pathway Church
Office: 2001 N. Maize Rd.
Oxford Grand Assisted
Living & Memory Care
3051 N. Parkdale Circle
Ideas: Lotion, hand-towels,
stamps, stationary, magnifier,
book, playing cards (large
print), gloves, scarves, bookmark, nail polish/file, tissues,
adult coloring book & colored
pencils, large piece puzzles...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gifts for a Caregiver
Christmas Caroling
We are looking for
families or small
groups who would like to
Christmas carol in the Wichita
area the month of December!

Offer to garden, pull weeds, rake leaves, shovel snow

Take their loved one for a drive to see the sights & lights

Run errands or stay with their loved one so your friend
can get away and run errands or refuel

Send a “Thinking of you” card weekly, alternated with
visits so your friend knows you care
KSC NEEDS &
PRAYER REQUESTS

Read, print & give “Twas the Night Before Christmas”
Poem for Caregivers: www.kscare.org
Future Ministry Center funding &
Wheelchair accessible van
I’m seeing some changes...
The holidays are a time for families to come together and
celebrate Christ’s birth and the special bond of family. This is
also a time that you may see changes in a loved one that
cause concern. It may be as simple as having someone come
in to visit and help with some light housekeeping. Give KSC a
call at (316) 209-9028.
Your financial gifts are tax deductible
Your prayers are appreciated!
Volunteers for baking, visiting,
transporting, phone/prayer calls,
send cards, Bible study helpers,
Blessing Gift events...
Christmas Gift Ideas that Support Koinonia Senior Care
Below are gift ideas for the senior or caregiver on your Christmas list. Limited Quantities!
Each gift on this first row comes with a story-card of the senior who made the item for Koinonia Senior
Care to sell as a fundraiser for the ministry.
Neck Pillow $20
Clothing Protector $20
Walker Bags $25
Something Old Something New Series
Special Deal for Senior Loved Ones
These books
and tea cups
are gently
used, but the
Christmas
Tea, Cocoa
and Biscotti
are fresh
and ready to
enjoy!
Norman
Rockwell $10
Lap Quilt $30
For $7 this newest
Mary Kay “White
Tea & Citrus” Satin
Hands Shae Cream
will be packaged
and delivered to
your senior loved
one in Wichita,
along with a special
treat of Christmas
caroling!
$20
$7
Blessing Gifts for Now and for Generations to Come!
Box of 12 Blessing Gifts $50
Legacy Journal & KSC Pen $25
Missy Buchanan books & devo’s $15
Fun Holiday Trivia
What is the name of the famous singing chipmunk ______________________________
In what book(s) of the Bible will you find the Christmas story? _____________________
What song contains the phrase"It is the night of our dear saviors birth."______________
What does "feliz navidad"mean? ____________________________________________
What are the two traditional colors of Christmas? _______________________________
Name the flower associated with Christmas ___________________________________
Name a food item(s) people often string together to make garland _________________
Name the famous Christmas ballet __________________________________________
What is the name of the main actor in “It’s a Wonderful Life” ______________________
What movie does the line “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid” come from? ______________
What is the green character’s name who tried to steal Christmas? _________________
What were the people to “go, tell it on the mountain?” ___________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Many Words Can You Make Out of MERRY CHRISTMAS
____________________
_____________________ _______________________
____________________
_____________________ _______________________
____________________
_____________________ _______________________
____________________
_____________________ _______________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My best (or worst) Christmas gift as a child __________________________________

My favorite Christmas song ______________________________________________

My most favorite Christmas food/candy _____________________________________

One Christmas traditions I enjoy __________________________________________

It wouldn’t be Christmas without __________________________________________

One thing you really want for Christmas ____________________________________
Answers: Alvin, Matthew & Luke, O Holy Night, Merry Christmas (in Spanish), green & red, Poinsettia, popcorn & cranberries, The Nutcracker, George Bailey, A Christmas Story, The Grinch, that Jesus Christ is born.
Reach out & Touch Someone Challenge
Spend some quality time w/an elderly neighbor, parent, grandparent or church member.
Challenge: KSC encourages you to organize a group to go caroling to senior
friends or loved ones. Using our website, you can print off Christmas lyrics for 6 of your
favorite carols! On our website, go to the “downloads” tab. www.kscare.org/downloads
December’s Touch Someone Challenge
Pick some seniors to sing Christmas carols to this month. Invite your
small group or home team to join you! Deliver some cookies, fruit or
holiday breads to those you sing to!
Benefit: Time together with friends and family while bringing joy to others!
POST: Post a picture of your caroling outing and something special about your
time together on our FB page at www.facebook.com/kscare. Your enthusiasm may inspire others to reach out and touch someone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
From the volunteers and staff of Koinonia Senior Care
Koinonia Senior Care
13303 W. Maple, Suite 139, PMB #128
Wichita, KS 67235
Nonprofit Org
US Postage
PAID
Wichita, KS
Permit No 574
Find inspiration @ www.kscare.org &
www.facebook.com/kscare
This newsletter has articles of encouragement for widows, homebound seniors,
caregivers, and the local church/community who reach out to the needs of widows, caregivers & homebound seniors, wherever they call home.
KSC is non-profit
OUR MISSION
Christian Fellowship
Assistance
Respite
Escort & errands
Enriching the lives of
homebound seniors & their
caregivers, & encouraging
our community to join us.
Community Projects
Action Opportunities
Resources
Education & awareness
OUR MOTTO
To captivate our community
with the character of Christ
through compassionate
CARE
Board of Directors
Chairman: Rhonda Turner
Vice Chairman: Dr. Carlene
Klassen
Secretary: Maude Higgins
Executive Director: Christine
Brisco
OUR VISION
To be a model community of churches,
neighbors and
businesses who
bring moments of
joy, honor, help and
hope to widows, the
aging and their caregivers through personally providing
CARE for those
God puts in their
path.