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IN THE WORDS OF
WAYNE THOMAS
Where did the vision for Kind at Heart come from?
“I had a recurring dream. This was even before I was born again. In the dream I was going down a hallway on a white horse. There would be doors on the right and left. I’d kick the door open with my foot and there would be older-aged people hanging onto the cliff, hanging over a fiery pit. I would rope them and pull them out . . . often getting burned in the process.”
The last time I had the dream my rope was breaking and I cried out for help. What I saw in that moment was a flash of light a a picture of Jesus."
That last dream I had challenged me to get up and get my Dad’s old Bible. I had never opened a Bible before in my life. And I sat down at my dining room table, 4:30 in the morning, and opened up to John 3. I knew I had to be born again.”
What impact has that dream had?
“The inspiration for Kind at Heart came out of this dream. As I sought the Lord, what He was saying in the Scripture was flooding into me: ‘Honor the aging,’ ‘Be there for the poor and sick,’ and ‘Love the widows.’ You don’t forget the pioneers that sowed into your life.”
“The dream is what kept me alive in the early years. I want to be able to ask this question . . . is the person saved? If they are, then do they have support, or are they dried up like a prune out there in the desert. If they are lost, I expect those people to have an opportunity to know the Lord. And that means they need to see a new light, they need to see us, and we need to know who they are and have a plan to get to them.”
“I wasn’t satisfied with the way that we as a people of God were (and are) taking care of these people. That fueled the fire to do something different.”
It seems like there’s supposed to be a working organism, the church, or people of God, coming to those who are old age and making sure they don’t feel alone and without. It’s supposed to be from us to them, and NOT them to us. This is a work for us! We are called to sow into these people’s lives. It is the way God designed it.
What do you envision for the future?
“The way I’m wired is, even though I hope to arrive, I know these days you never arrive.”
“I think it’s important to know that a big part of KAH will always be studying different ways, unique ways, and implementing ways to make a bigger impact in the lives of those we serve. It needs to be about helping them live a quality life, i.e., bettering their environment, helping them emotionally, helping them physically, and helping them spiritually.”
“All across the board we have to ask the question:
If we were 90, if we were 80, what would we want? And how can we TODAY make that type of impact on someone who is already there?
Just come and spend a day with me in the shoes of a 90-year old, and I promise it will change your perspective.”