From Honduras to St. Francisville
Adjusting to life off of the mission field is not easy especially when God shakes the ground beneath your feet! We saw miracles in Honduras of God's love for His people, the least of these our brothers.
From broken bones healed instantly on a grown man to a young girl born with cerebral palsy that could not walk walking out with her mother leading her by the hand, God healed for His glory. And the miracles performed on the flesh of man led to the greatest miracle of all, lives being transformed by accepting Christ as Lord and savior! So many stories out of Honduras for God's glory. Our team was hungry and God's Holy Spirit showed up and moved in us, through us, and amongst us!
When we got back home we needed to prepare for our St. Francisville outreach. One of our regular volunteers to St. Francisville, Tiffany, was also in Honduras with us. She was wanting to know more about God's Holy Spirit and the baptism that Christ talked about in scripture. The clinic in St. Francisville was well oiled and God's Holy Spirit showed up by leading one of the patients to give her life to Christ! WOW! But, God had more for us to remember this day by.
Tiffany asked for prayer as she wanted to be baptized with the power of the Holy Spirit and our team gathered around her at the end behind closed doors and the power of God fell in the room first through the prayer warriors as His power flowed through to Tiffany. With tears in our eyes Tiffany began speaking with the tongues of Angels. An amazing sight to behold as Tiffany's heart was pure and she so desperately wanted to be closer to a real and living God!
All for His Glory,
Joseph LeBlanc
A Saturday filled with Firsts
Just back from Donaldsonville HPC clinic. Wow, what a day. Hard to know where to begin.
The first first was that we had a cardiologist volunteer with us today!! Dr. Lance Lamotte gave up his Saturday to spend seeing these precious people in D'ville. One patient has been with us for over 4 years and today he was able to have his pacemaker checked. Praise God! Dr. Lamotte was so wonderful with everyone. We would like to thank his wife and children for sharing him for a few hours with us.
The second first is that we had a patient actually teach a scripturally based diabetes class. Mr. Rob Marks has diabetes and is also a minister. God spoke to him a few months ago about how he was not doing what he needs to do with his diet and exercise. He spoke to several of our diabetics about scripture and how it relates to our habits and eating patterns. How awesome that our patients are reaching out to other patients in a way that we can't.
It is truly the body of Christ each doing their part to reach out to others. In Acts 3:6 Peter states: “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you." We think we need all sorts of things before we can help people, but all God wants is for us to give what we have. He will do the rest!
So, most of us don't have silver or gold, but we all have something that we can give to others. Let's not wait for the things we think we need before we step out to help; God is waiting for us to start giving what we already have.
Blessings,
Dr. Cheri
Praying Women in St. Francisville
Just home from a wonderful clinic in St. Francisville. Such awesome servants, many who have been with the clinic since we started at this location in July 2006. We have wonderful relationships with our patients - especially our prayer partners. During this one-on-one time the patients really get to talk to a caring person about what is troubling them, besides the physical part. Many of these women are concerned about their children and grandchildren; and have been praying for them. We, as a community of believers, have been standing with them and praying with them month after month. Many tears have fallen and much seed has been planted. Today, we were honored to hear about the fruit of this labor of love.
The day started as our clinics always do, with the servants standing in a circle and holding hands and asking God to bless our time with these precious people, to thank Him for allowing us to serve them.
The stories of healed relationships and bondages of addictions being broken were not from one or two ladies, but from five or six!! All today!
I could tell of hundreds of stories about how diabetics are improving and blood pressure is better and cholesterol is lower and teeth are flying (30 were pulled today), but these are all temporary. What we heard about today were things that have an eternal impact on these kids and grandkids of our patients that we may never see on Earth. But because we provided an environment to help their mother or grandmother with a physical need, these kids were prayed for in a place where God's people were concerned about the hurting heart of our patients that went beyond something that can be measured with a lab test.
Thank you
Healing Place Church for providing this environment and to our volunteers who have prayed and cried with these ladies. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to see a part of Your harvest.
All for HIS glory,
Healing Hands goes International
Just wanted to update everyone regarding our upcoming missions trip to Honduras. We have partnered with
Healing Hands International Ministries in Honduras! We are excited about the opportunity to show the love of Christ in the Northern Mountains of Honduras.
All for His Glory,
Joseph LeBlanc
Hope
Children's Cup founder, Dave Ohlerking, has a wonderful saying, "Hope has a name, and His name is Jesus." Sad to say that the majority of people in this world have never heard that, or don't understand what it means.
Although hope has only one name, it has many shapes, sizes and faces. We know that hope is given in churches all across the world that preach the Good News. But so many more people are outside the church walls, not wanting to come in for a variety of reasons. So hope may look a little different. To someone so depressed that they think no one even notices them, a simple smile from a total stranger could stop them from putting that knife blade to their wrist. Hope can be a plate of food when your stomach is growling so loud that you can't concentrate. In Baton Rouge, hope is often a cold bottle of water on a hot day when you are stuck in traffic, given with no strings attached by a servant from that church that causes traffic-jams on Sunday mornings. (
HPC in case you didn't know!)
We have all received hope in many different forms, and freely we are given, so we can freely give. The hope that we are honored to share with people comes covered in bright orange and blue; and it has wheels!
I worked organizing in our medical and dental units today. As I walked around I felt the need to take pictures of them, I have hundreds, but I felt the need to take more today. And as I walked around them and between them I kept hearing the word "hope". Although we treat colds, give out medication to bring down blood pressure, we pull teeth that are broken and hurting, I felt the whisper in my heart, "You are bringing hope to people who either never knew Me, or the troubles of life have forced Me into a corner of their mind." We are not only bringing them hope in this tangible way, but we are explaining to them who Hope is. We do this by praying with each patient, one-on-one with a mature Christian who can point the way to Jesus, from where they are.
I would love to hear how you are spreading Hope to the hurting around you.
Blessings,
Cheri
From one dream to another
This past Saturday Healing Hands was blessed to be a part of two outreaches at two different Dream Centers. In the morning we were at the
Healing Place Church in Donaldsonville. And, by the afternoon, we were in the Big Easy off of St. Charles Ave at the
Church of the King Dream Center.
In D'Ville, as we like to call it, our lead nurse Cathy Talley worked with the patients in a new program called "chair exercises". The patients loved it and the love we show them brings down the walls. As we pray with them asking Christ into their hearts they know we care because of the many ways we touch them. I am reminded of a scripture in James whereby James asks, "show me your faith and I will show you my works." Works implying many and various. Thanks Cathy for loving the poor in D'ville!
We finished in D'Ville and were off to the Big Easy for 11:30 am for a scheduled outreach at 1pm. Upon arriving we were greeted by the friendly smiles and hugs of the volunteers from
Church of the King. We prayed together before seeing 36 homeless and poor of the downtown river area of New Orleans. We prayed with all of the patients except for 3 who declined prayer. We prayed for them as they left and hopefully as they come back to each clinic
and feel the love of Christ they will open up to receive prayer and God into their hearts.
I have so many thoughts and testimonies from this day that I will have to leave them for another post. Thank you for your prayers as we press on toward that which God has grabbed hold of us for!
Because He Lives,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc
Valentines Day Outreach
The Healing Hands team pulled out of the
Healing Place Church parking lot at 7 am on Valentines Day to spread the love of Christ in the Donaldsonville community. A true love affair for the lost and hurting right here in our own backyard. One of our volunteers, Anna, brought long stem roses for all of the women who came into the clinic. As these precious ladies left they were given a rose and a hug with an assurance that Jesus truly loves them. Thanks Anna for sharing the love of our Savour with these special ladies.
But it wasn't just the ladies who were receiving the love of Christ and a warm reception. I have to tell a story of a man who recently lost his job and without insurance didn't know where to turn. This man named James was sent to us by heaven on this special Valentines Day. You see, James suffers from asthma and without breathing treatments and medicine, he runs a high risk of being in the hospital or worse.
When Dr. Cheri began to examine him and ask questions about his well being, she discovered that he was using a nebulizer (breathing treatment machine) that his dad had before he died. This may not seem like a big deal except that James' Dad died in 1996 and James didn't even know how long his dad had the nebulizer before that. James was very appreciative of the visit and medicines that he received but what was about to take place was something that neither James nor Dr. Cheri saw coming.
James asked Dr. Cheri where he could buy the filters for his nebulizer. This shocked the good doctor because she wasn't sure of what he was referring to, nor how long James had been using a dirty filter in his breathing treatments. Being led by God's Holy Spirit, Dr. Cheri remembered that there was a brand new nebulizer in Ele's attic (mobile medical unit for those who have recently started to follow). She called for me out of the church and together we went into the exam room to present Mr. James with his brand new nebulizer. As we told him how much God loves him and presented the brand new nebulizer to him, he began to weep.
Now James didn't look like the crying type in his biker t-shirt. But, Jesus wept and I believe that real men do cry when touched by the love and compassion of our Father in heaven. Dr. Cheri and I prayed for James and hugged him as he left with all of his Valentines presents that he had just received from His Father in heaven.
Who says Valentines is only about candy and flowers? "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
All for His Glory,
Joseph LeBlanc
