Former President Jimmy Carter was back to teaching Sunday school in Georgia this weekend for the first time since breaking his hip in May.
The 94-year-old returned Sunday to Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, according to The Associated Press. He told attendees he is recovering well and receiving nursing care with his wife at home.
Carter broke his hip on May 13 when he fell at his home while leaving to go turkey hunting. A spokesperson for Carter said at the time that the former president had undergone successful surgery and was recovering comfortably.
Carter’s wife, Rosalynn, was hospitalized around the same time for what Carter said was initially believed to be a stroke. Her condition ended up being less serious.
A line of people had wrapped around the church waiting for Carter’s Sunday school session, which was scheduled for 10 a.m., according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. People began standing in line around midnight.
“If you did one good thing for one other person, would it make America a better country?” Carter reportedly asked attendees. He added that everyone should “find one person in your neighborhood who might be lonely and make it a point to visit them.”
“You promise to do that? It will make America a better nation,” Carter said, according to the Journal-Constitution. “That is what the Holy Spirit does. It orients your heart and mind toward servant leadership.”
Carter became the longest-living chief executive in U.S. history in March, exceeding the lifespan of former President George H.W. Bush, who died in November at the age of 94 years and 171 days. The milestone came despite Carter’s cancer diagnosis in 2015, when he announced he had melanoma that spread to his liver and brain. He received treatment for seven months until scans showed no sign of the disease.