Do you know elders who would love a giant-print Bible?
I’ve recently been in touch with Doug Wiley of Long Beach, California. His remarkable calling is to distribute super-large-print Bibles …for free.
Note: I do not have direct access to these Bibles, so please do not send me your address 😇. You have to call Doug at 562-377-0071. He doesn’t have a computer or cell phone, so I can’t forward him your address.
If you work with elders who would appreciate one of these Bibles, call Doug at 562-377-0071 and give him a headcount. He will send a specific number of them to you, no charge and postage paid. Amazing!
I can attest that these hardcover New Testament & Psalms Bibles in the New Living Translation are beautifully bound, lay flat for easy reading, and have an especially easy-to-read, 16-point font size. They’re available in English or Spanish.
Doug’s Story
Maybe like you, I could hardly believe that a solitary person would offer this gift for free. So when a former activity director handed me one, I called Doug myself to hear his story.
In his 80s now, “I’ve been visiting nursing homes most of my life,” he told me. “I would take my kids in the 1970s with their guitars and visit people. Then in 2017, I got some inheritance money, so I took the Bible and told publishers that I needed a really big copy – even the Gideon’s version was too small.”
Once he had a publisher, his next step was getting the books in the right hands. So he’s taking a very personal approach: Getting lists of care communities in each state and calling them one by one.
“I’ve called 248 facilities in 15 states and will send two free copies if they allow,” he says. He doesn’t want them to end up on bookshelves, so “I tell [care home staff] that if you get a headcount, I’ll give them to you free and postage paid. The method is methodical and slow, but biblically consistent; we know that we spread the word and see where the seed lands.”
The result? In five years, Doug estimates that he has sent out “50,000 or 60,000 Bibles.” Wow!
“Right now, I’ve got 8,000 in my garage; that’s the most I can get in there,” he says. His wife of 50+ years handles the bookkeeping, and he employs a couple of college kids to place a bookmark and encouraging flyers in each copy before sending them out. “I’m just one person, not some big group; I don’t even own a computer.”
So who you gonna call? Doug Wiley! 😇 at 562-377-0071.
Thank you for serving elders, Doug!
Peace be with you,
Spiritual Eldercare 
Hello, we are in Australia, I was wondering if it would be possible to get 2 sent to us?
Kind regards,
Genevieve
Social Media, Marketing and Events Coordinator
03 9591 1149
gbarclay@mayflower.org.au
My working days are: Mon in Lifestyle and Tues, Thurs, Fri – Marketing
http://www.mayflower.org.au
The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation to the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.
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Hi Genevieve – I don’t know if Doug is able to send them outside North America, but I’ll check! Please email me your mailing address at elisa@spiritualeldercare.com.
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My husband’s copy of that New Testament was given to him by a chaplain of the facility where he lives. He loves it and uses it with ease and with joy.
Before his dementia, he taught Old Testament for decades in several Latin American seminaries. He would enjoy the complete Bible… someday.
BUT…why is Amazon selling this NT for 44 dollars??
D.
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Dona, I’m glad to hear your husband already has one! It would be so great to have the OT as well 🙂
I don’t know if Amazon is selling that exact version but it’s certainly possible. Tyndale is the publisher so I suppose they’re able to sell them directly if they want.
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Hi Elisa,
I will call Doug Wiley. Thank you for the opportunity!
I hope you are well!
Kim
Rev. Kimberli Lile
Director of Spiritual Care and Church Relations
[wartburg-stationery]
One Wartburg Place
Mt. Vernon, NY 10552
914-513-5162
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Wonderful! I hope he gets a lot of calls 🙂
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Thank You Elisa –
I just got off of the telephone as Doug called me back most promptly. My Seniors are going to be so wonderfully surprised. What a blessing to have this extra large print option for them.
Chaplain David Hertle (540) 842-4824 davehertle@gmail.com Fredericksburg VA
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Yay! That’s great, David.
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Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. I am a chaplain at a retirement community in Kansas. I contacted Doug and as a result have been able to place these beautiful bibles in the hands of several of our long-term residents who were so grateful to have a bible they could read. Thank you again!
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I’m so glad! Thanks for letting me know!
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Hi there, does Doug mail to Canada? I have several residents who would be delighted to receive these!
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Hi Skyler — I’m not sure about Canada, but I encourage you to give Doug a call — he’ll let you know!
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Hi. im caring for an elderly couple who spent their entire life running a care home for adults with disabilities. they are absolutely amazing people, would give the shirt off their back for anyone without a second thought. they have taught me so much. and so i’m constantly seeking ways i could in hopes reciprocate some what of what they’ve put out in the world: kindness, love, hope, and support. all their selfless actions, all efforts, oooh all their love just poured out into everyone they met. anyway, if we could get a large print copy sent to them it would mean the WORLD to them. please let me know what i can do. would much appreciate
bc
oregon
thank you!
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Hi Suzy, I think I emailed you a response, but in case you missed it: Just call Doug at 562-377-0071. I’m sure he’d be happy to send a Bible to your elderly friends. They sound amazing; what a life well lived! Bless you for your service to them.
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Hello I am from the UK .i am 70 yrs old The Lord opened doors to take the bible and prayers into old peoples homes which I am in my third one now ….the third one I have my vicar who comes in with me ….and growing it’s amazing what our Lord is doing ….its him who opens the doors and we his servants do his work there have been many salvation’s over the couple of years which some have gone to Glory saved ….isn’t our beautiful God amazing …he knows exactly what he is doing ….anyway I have bought new testament bibles to give away but for some people the writing is still not large enough I have found this through google looking for them ….i would like to know is it possible to have some bibles to give out on this journey I am hoping to go into more homes if the Lord opens the doors ….in one of the homes I go in once a week to read the bible and prayers and it’s amazing because The Lord lifts their spirits ….if it’s too far that ok ….i cannot phone it would cost me a fortune ….i would give a donation because it would be so worth it to so many people thankyou I will give my email address so you could contact me ….shere2k7@hotmail.co.uk thankyou from Sylvia God Bless ….ps if you cannot do this is there anything on the internet you could point me too but has to be large print 🥰
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Sylvia, thanks for your beautiful work! I’ll send you an email.
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Thank you Elise for sharing this resource! We would not have heard about it without seeing your blog.
We contacted Doug and had the blessing of delivering several of these Bibles to residents in 3 different care homes here in Middle Tennessee. One lady was brought to tears when we gave this New Testament to her. Along with the Bibles, Doug also gave us several other handouts that we can use with our ministry to the local care homes.
Please continue sharing this wonderful resource!
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Oh, that is so good to hear! Thank you for letting me know, and bless you for your loving service to these dear elders.
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God led me to this site this AM at work and I am so glad. We went to a store here wonderbooks.com in Gaithersburg, MD but we were not happy as they had no bibles suitable for us. Thank you so much. We ordered 4- 2 for us and we WILL give out the other 2 to others. We love the Lord.
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That’s great, Lenora!
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Hello I’m trying to get 80 free Large print Bibles for a nursing home in Hanford,Ca.
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Hi Tanya! I don’t have direct access to the large-print Bibles (New Testament and Psalms only). They’re freely distributed by Doug Wiley in Long Beach, California, for any elders who could use one.
You’ll need to call Doug directly at 562-377-0071 and give him a headcount of how many Bibles you’d like. He has no computer, email, or cell phone but he’s very responsive by regular phone call.
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