Cheri LeBlanc, MD

From Honduras to St. Francisville

2009-06-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

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!

For more stories of Honduras go to www.hpchonduras.wordpress.com.

All for His Glory,

Joseph LeBlanc

A Saturday filled with Firsts

2009-05-09T13:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-02T17:36:00.001-07:00

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,

Dr. Cheri

Healing Hands goes International

2009-04-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

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.

We have an official blog for this event and all postings regarding this trip will be there. The site is http://hpchonduras.wordpress.com.

All for His Glory,

Joseph LeBlanc

Hope

2009-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-02-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

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

Going the 2nd Mile

2009-02-08T12:45:00.000-08:00

This weekend we had an awesome opportunity to drive several miles north of Baton Rouge to St. Francisville. Now, the title of this blog is "Going the 2nd Mile" and I am not referring to the distance that the mobile medical and dental units have to travel.

The team in St. Francisville always serves up Christ with such excellence. They even cleaned out a supply closet so that we could use it as a prayer closet! The ministry started in a small electrical closet and here we are four years later still in the closet. Lord may we never get out of the prayer closet in all that we do!

The story I want to tell of going the second mile is about one of our volunteers, Cherie Lormand, who has responded to God's call to pray with the women who come into the clinic and to help develop a prayer discipline for all prayer volunteers. When I heard of what Cherie had done in prayer with one of the elderly ladies this weekend, I had to celebrate her story.

A lady came in for medical attention like all of the others, but this grandmother had a heavy heart concerning her grandson. Her concern was not revealed until she got into the prayer closet with Cherie Lormand. As Cherie listened to the grandmother's heart about how her grandson was being verbally abused by a family member, a heart of compassion developed. As I heard of the details of what was done and said to the grandson, my heart broke, and what Cherie did in response was the very heart of Christ.

Cherie prayed with the grandmother and when she finished asked for permission to call the grandson and pray with him over the phone! Now that is going the second mile for Christ! Only God knows how He will use the healing offered this day by the hands of a servant of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ! Thanks Cherie for being the hands and feet of Christ this day!

All for HIS Glory and Because He Lives,

Joseph LeBlanc

No Room in the Inn

2008-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

Our final outreach of the year was at the Spanish Campus in St. Amant. The church site that we normally go to was all booked up and there was no room for us. I pondered this as we were moved to a location in the back of shopping center next to the church. The Saturday before Christmas. A celebration of the birth of our Savior.

I knew our Lord was up to something. A sort of exclamation point to a year that had many ups and downs for us. Yet, our God is still in control and he wanted to let us know with an out of the ordinary outreach. So many lives were touched this day. But there is one story of a Spanish lady that came into the clinic for the first time...

As this lady entered Ele, the medical clinic, she began to weep and was overcome by the presence of God. She could not express how she was feeling but knew something was different in the air. As she was escorted to the back exam room, one of our interpreters, Sheila began to speak with her. Doctor Cheri was preparing to go into see her and requested that we have someone from the Spanish campus church come in to speak with her. Before anyone could get there Sheila was leading this lady to the Lord as she confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior inviting Him into her heart. Praise God!

Miracles still happen out back just as the miracle of a savior being born over 2000 years ago for all mankind...behind an inn.

All for His Glory,

Joseph LeBlanc

A Healing Prayer

2008-12-15T04:07:00.000-08:00

I recently got word that a friend of mine and brother in Christ is in the hospital in New York recovering from open heart surgery. His name is Phil Downer, President and founder of Discipleship Network America. A very humble man that I met 4 years ago outside of Washington, D.C. He is recovering well and we are praying for God's grace and peace to be upon him and his family as he makes a full and complete recovery for the glory of God.

Because He Lives,

Joseph LeBlanc

Let it Sneaux, Let it Sneaux, Let it Sneaux

2008-12-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

We have felt in our spirit that our Lord was leading us into a new season just as there are seasons of the planet. Ecclesiastes 3:1 - There is a time for everything , and a season for every activity under heaven.

We have found it to be true that change can be a powerful force in the life of a believer if we choose to embrace it rather than fight the tides of life. The LeBlanc's have found themselves in a tidal wave of change in 2008. My Dad lost his battle with cancer on May 28, 2008. Dr. Cheri's Dad died on September 21, 2008.

Cheri's Dad died as suddenly as the snow that rained down on Baton Rouge this morning. But, it was in the watching of the snow that I felt God was telling us all that He can cover the landscape of suffering and pain in our lives with a new blanket of white righteousness. A righteousness that can only come from His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.

Mo and Ele were covered in snow this morning. A reminder to me that what Healing Hands is all about is reaching and touching the pain in people's lives for the Glory of the One who changes the seasons. Enjoy the life God has given you by sharing it with someone!

Because He Lives,

Joseph LeBlanc

Drawn by the Spirit

2008-11-30T18:06:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday after Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to go to Healing Place Church in St. Francisville, LA. The medical and dental outreach was special but we had no idea how special or what our God would do this day...

A man drove up to the dental unit at about noon in a golf cart that he had borrowed from his employer right down the street. I was standing outside at the time and the man walked up to me and was heavily intoxicated. He told me that he had an appointment and that he had been drinking. His exact words to me were "I am not gonna lie I have been drinking". I sensed in my spirit that this man was crying out for help so I did not turn him away but personally escorted him into the clinic. I stayed with him and talked to him. I knew that Dr. Cheri would not treat his medical condition because of his drunken state but I sensed that he was here for a reason and it was at that moment inside of the medical unit that our lead drive David Ziegler joined me inside of Ele (medical unit).

As expected Dr. Cheri interviewed the man and told him that if he didn't quit the alcohol that she would not be able to be his doctor in this clinic. These were tough words but they were loving words because his medical condition could result in serious injury to his body if he continued to drink alcohol. The man did not get angry - and this was a miracle - but I know it was God's grace as our God provided 4 male volunteers in the medical unit at the time...2 male nurses this day which is extremely rare for our outreaches.

David and I escorted the man outside of the medical unit and the most important part of what we do transpired. The man allowed David and I to pray for him and with him. And it was in the prayer that God spoke to David about this man's lifestyle and actions while drunk that only God knew. The man at that moment looked up to heaven and cried out..."God you see what I am doing!" We finished the prayer asking our Lord to change this man's life and that he would live for you. The man said he loved us and would change. We told him that God loves him and that we love him and are here for him. He drove off in the golf cart and we could sense as we watched him that he was definitely drawn by God's spirit this day!!!

For HIS Glory!

Joseph LeBlanc

Education for Salvation

2008-11-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

With God's blessing and favor Healing Hands unveiled a new addition to the ministry outreach this weekend in Donaldsonville, LA. In partnership with a manufacturer of diabetic medicines a teaching class was brought in to teach and educate the patients on their diabetes and treatment. This is no ordinary class as it is interactive and I think that is just like our God to be interactive in our lives. The patients loved it and could not get through all of the material for the first lesson because of their hunger to learn and participation in the process.

Afterwards we found out that the class was one of the most successful ever taught by the certified instructor. Wow! Imagine what can be accomplished when all you do is lift up Christ and focus on others with no concern for self glory.

We are made in God's image - a three part being. The mission of Healing Hands is to bring restoration to mind, body and spirit -- one person at a time! If one part of our body is sick it affects the other parts. By bringing education to the mind, the bodies of these patients will improve and their spirit man will be lifted up. And our prayer with them and for them is that they will receive God's Holy Spirit into their heart with a life devoted to Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Because He Lives,

Joseph LeBlanc

One word difference

2008-09-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend was time for our scheduled trip to Donaldsonville HPC Dream Center for clinic. However, the winds from Hurricane Ike were still too high to take the mobile clinics on the road, especially crossing the Mississippi River. We had to cancel dental clinic because we need the dental unit, but the medical team loaded everything into our cars and off we went.

We set up in the Dream Center where Healing Hands clinic first began in February 2005 in Donaldsonville. We saw 26 precious people who just endured Hurricane Gustav. This area is so devastated. This trailer is one of many that are destroyed. 20 of our patients still (day 13) do not have power.

One of our ladies we have been seeing for over a year looked wonderful. She had such a peace about her like I had never seen. When I asked her how she made out for the storm, she told me that her home was destroyed. She was spending a few days at her mother-in-laws and a few days in her son's home. I soon found out that 2 other of our patients no longer have homes that are liveable.

After clinic as we ate our lunch, I talked to our prayer partners and asked them how our patients were holding up spiritually. They were excited to tell me that although the patients were in horrible situations, they were telling the prayer partners how good God has been to them. They spent more time thanking God for what they still had than complaining about what they lost!

I wrongly thought that we would be spending the day praying FOR our patients instead of praying WITH them. Think about the implication of that one different word. The way I think of it is that we pray for someone when they are in such a valley in their life that they can't pray for themselves. I have been there and been thankful that I had friends that prayed for me. But then there are times, usually times of thanksgiving, that we pray with people when we are all participating in approaching the throne of God for a request or in thanksgiving.

What an awesome day we had praying WITH our patients as we thanked God for all the things we still have.

Have you prayed for someone or with someone today? Both are important in our walk with Christ.

Blessings,
Cheri

1st Gustav Medical Outreach

2008-09-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

We are planning to take the medical unit (Ele) to Donaldsonville tomorrow. I understand that this area has been severely affected with many homes being completely destroyed.

If there are any nurses who read this and are able, please go to the Highland campus at 9am on Thursday morning to meet by Ele in the side parking lot. We will see what the needs are in this community. I am praying that we can get our medications out of the storage unit in the morning. I'm not sure if they have power or not. My family does not have power, as does most of Baton Rouge.

Appreciate your prayers. This has been extremely difficult on a personal level. But we will continue to trust God to give us the strength not only to endure our personal struggles but to also be able to give to others.

Blessings,
Dr. Cheri

In the Storm

2008-09-02T06:21:00.002-07:00

Hi Everyone,

We have lost most communications between each other. Cell phones are sporadic in use. Text messaging the same. We have no cable this morning. There are trees everywhere. We have a generator because my dad (age 88) has to be on oxygen at night. Getting very hot in here.

We had several trees down all around us, but praise God, none on our house. We have heard that there are several trees down at HPC, but everything is good. Again the mercy of God.

I am able to post on my laptop that has a wireless card. I will check back when I can. Please leave a comment to let us know that you are praying for us. Now that the danger has passed we begin the difficult phase of endurance. Please pray for our wisdom and strength.

Blessings,
Cheri

Gustav Closing In

2008-08-31T07:30:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We are in our final stages of preparations. Looks like it is headed our way. We are trusting God to bring us through. Although it may be difficult, we trust that we will be stronger at the end.

Already it is incredible to watch the army of God move into action to help in any way they can.

Please continue to pray for us.

Blessings,

Cheri

Gustav Preparations

2008-08-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I really had hoped that we would never have to be preparing for another storm, but that is where we find ourselves today. Healing Hands ministry acquired our first unit as a direct result of several churches and people seeing the need for mobile medical units to respond to disasters. Of course, we have not had our units idle just waiting for another storm. We use them to serve our community at least 3 times each month.

Today we began, and tomorrow we will complete, the transformation from local campus mobile clinics to stocking our units to prepare for disaster relief. We will even temporarily turn our dental unit into a medical unit that will be capable to travel to whatever region may require assistance. Our units each have large capacity generators that can supply power for other relief efforts as well. This is what we planned ahead for, praying that we would never actually have to use them for this type of service. We still pray for the best, but are planning for the worse.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all those people who made it possible for us to acquire Ele (our medical unit) 3 years ago. We have used it to bless so many people over the last almost 3 years.

I will try my best to keep you informed if we are called to respond through this blog. You can also follow more timely updates by following me on www.twitter.com/cleblancmd

Our first relief effort will begin Sunday as Healing Place Church opens our doors to be a rest area for those evacuating from the coast. Please click on the link above to find out more.

Blessings,

Cheri

Table before the Lord

2008-08-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

For two of our clinic outreaches up in the mountains of Honduras we had to prepare our own lunch and pack it with us as there were no restaurants around or prepared food for us...so we thought. In the photo above Charis is very happily showing off a plate of food. But, this was no ordinary food!

As we arrived in Paradise, Honduras we all got ready to serve and minister to the people of this small and remote village up in the mountain. We expected to eat our sandwiches with only a small break during our outreach. However, something amazing happened that I would call a miracle of giving. A lady from the local village who is pictured in the background of the photo above did something for us that we never expected. She had prepared a home cooked meal with the best ingredients she could acquire and served each and everyone one of us from her best serving ware.

As I looked around I noticed that none of the plates matched. With a humble heart and a humble spirit this lady served us the best tasting beans and tortillas I had ever eaten. I believe in life we mistakenly go through all the trouble to prepare the trappings of what is presented (matching plates, etc.) instead of focusing on what is really being presented.

We are merely vessels to be poured out for others in Christ. As I sat there with tears in my eyes I heard a soft still voice say, "the table I have prepared for you is far greater than any you could prepare for yourself". The Lord had prepared a table for us before Him. He did not do it with a a lot of fanfare or excitement. Instead He used the service of this lady to touch each and everyone of our hearts in a humble and powerful way.

I cannot say what it will look like to be seated at the banquet table before the Lord of Lords and King of Kings one day...but it may very well look like the photo above! All of us with smiles on our faces, a gladness in our spirit, and thankfulness in our hearts!!!

Because He LIVES,
Joseph LeBlanc

Blessed Feet - by Sheila

2008-07-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

One of My favorite parts of the Honduran trip--

The 3rd day was the most grueling, but exciting day. We went to this school in the jungle at a village to set up clinic. To begin with, we had to walk down a steep muddy path and I panicked a little. I sure thought I was going to fall and break something, but finally got down. Part of the path to the first river was very rocky and sometimes hard to find sure footing. Crossing the river was up to mid-thigh on me and very rocky and difficult. One lady who is from there and crosses all the time, came across barefoot to hold our hands and help us ladies across.

After that, the rest of the path was not bad, but there was a very muddy part of the path for which there was no way around. We all had our tennis shoes covered in mud. Finally after arriving, we went to wash our shoes under the faucet and a lady bent over and gently began washing the mud off. It seemed like Jesus was there washing my feet..I didn't want her to do it -that was too sweet but she wouldn't stop till they were cleaned. I felt humbled. I wonder if that is how the disciples felt. I did so appreciate it - it was a lot of mud and that made it a lot easier than doing it all myself.

We then set up clinic in the schoolroom. The dentist (Dr. Damon) used a kids chair and a cooler as his chair to sit on as he pulled teeth. We had the patient lay on two tables pulled together for the dental chair. Kids were watching through the bars and lined up outside along with adults.

It was an incredible day...to see so many people and be able to help them. When we were nearing the finishing point for the day the same lady who helped us cross the river barefoot came to us about her feet. They were red and cracked. We prayed for this lady also and all I could think of was that His word says Blessed are the feet of them who carry the Gospel...I prayed silently "Make her feet blessed..she works so hard to help bring this event about."

Even she and some of the ladies had prepared a wonderful Honduran meal for us. It was amazing and they were the tastiest beans you've ever eaten with homemade tortillas, eggs and delicious Honduran coffee. The Love of God was all over the place.

On the trip back it poured down rain and we got drenched. I left my wet tennis on so I could walk through the 3 rivers. It was easier to go back up the steep slope than going down. When we got back from that trip the showers were not working because of very low water pressure so everyone had to wait. Later as water was gathered, some was heated on the stove then poured in a bucket to be scooped up for a shower. One by one we took our showers...

Blessings,
Sheila Sauve

The Gift - by Brenda Clark

2008-07-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

For me God was all up in this from the beginning. Just the mention of a mission trip to Honduras perked up my ears as well as my spirit. I felt God’s protection and peace over me and the entire team. Even when we had to cross “Indiana Jones” style swing bridges. Yes, missing planks and all; and over a river way below in the pouring down rain!! Who said I was afraid of heights! Not me!! Even when 15 of us piled into a minivan for the 20 minute drive to where we unloaded for the 45 minute to 1 hour hike up that mountain to the village to do a clinic. I felt complete strength and peace during the trip up and down the mountain to the small village of “Paraiso” (Paradise).

The faces of the children in the villages as well as those visiting the clinic will be imprinted in my spirit forever. Many of them had never seen a doctor or nurse before and were very scared, but we loved on them all and my heart melted with compassion for them. Many grandparents brought their grandchildren that, for many different reasons, were raising them. One such grandmother told me the story of her little 9 year old granddaughter that she had been raising since she was dropped off to her as a baby. The little girl’s father died and this grandmother’s daughter dropped the baby off to her and never contacted either one of them again. So sad, but this little girl had such a sweet loving spirit and loved her grandmother dearly, I immediately fell in love with both of them. The situations and needs do not change much from this country and throughout the world, just the geography.

Before leaving to Honduras, my 4 year old granddaughter donated a little stuffed animal to give to a little child. I had explained to her where I was going and what we were going to do. I told her that she wouldn’t be able to go with me but that she could still be a part of it by sending something of hers to give to a child. I asked God to let me know who I was to give the little Chick to and here she is …….Merary, a little 2 year old that just stole my heart with her sweet smile and big brown eyes. All afternoon we heard the little chick “Peeping”. It was a sweet sound to my spirit. My granddaughter, in turn, also learned a lesson in giving and helping another child less fortunate than herself. She keeps her picture on her dresser in her room to remind her. The bible says that if we teach them while they are young, they will not forget these small gestures of kindness and of giving and will be a part of them always.

“Train up a child in the ways of the Lord and when they are older, they will not depart from it”. Proverbs 22:6

Dr. Martin and Wendy have such a special relationship with their patients as well as those in the small communities and villages surrounding them. As one of the interpreters, I would catch things he would say to them that just would lose its context once translated. He would pick and cut up with them, and all I could do was laugh and join in with him. I have the utmost respect for Dr Martin and Wendy and pray for them and their children for the incredible and hard work they are doing in this area. God is working with this ministry and with His grace the fruitful results are beginning to show. Dr Martin’s name and clinic are becoming well known. We picked at him because we really believed his name should be PASTOR Dr. Martin Williams (Alias Indiana Jones). May God’s grace and favor continue to pour over their lives and their work.

It was an honor to serve on this team and I thank Dr. Cheri and Joe for asking me to be a part of it. Also many thanks to my team members for looking out for me and showing me grace when most needed.

To God be the Glory,

Brenda Clark

Unity in Christ

2008-07-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

As I look back on the lessons and wins for this medical team that God put together from very diverse backgrounds there is one overwhelming quality that stands out...unity. We were special not because of any one person on the team, or even the various gifts that each had. We were special because of the unity we had in fellowship...a unity in Christ.

The picture above was taken on our third day of outreaches. We were up the mountain from Rio Viejo, approximately 20 kilometers, inside of a small classroom where we set up clinic. The small village we were in was named Paradise. And, it truly was that as we had to hike up to this region through the jungle and crossing by foot over three rivers. The view from the top was beautiful. What an adventure that tested this team! Our guide to this area and missionary host was Dr. Martin Williams, but his attire reminded us all of a medical Indiana Jones.

As we headed back down the mountain in the afternoon rain there seemed to be a serenity to the team that words really cannot describe. I heard no complaints or fussing from the team members...except I did hear a small quiet voice inside of me say, "With unity there is peace to overcome any mountain and joy to endure the trial."

Unified in Christ,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

Time, Love and Tenderness

2008-07-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

There were several lessons learned in our short time spent in Rio Viejo by this small medical team out of Healing Place Church. One of the more powerful lessons learned by us was watching Bobby Lormand, pictured above, as he ministered to and reached out to a small boy named Eduard. Bobby took the time to show love and tenderness to this young boy. At first Eduard was crying and fearful of being in the medical clinic. Bobby called him Amigo and took the time to get to know him even through the language barrier before attempting to exam him in a medical capacity.

What was the lesson learned? Well, it wasn't about the numbers this week. We ministered to over 400 people for the glory of Christ. And, we could have seen more had that been our focus. But, the time spent to show some love and tenderness yielded a greater harvest for the kingdom. And this team decided it wasn't about the numbers so much as it was about the one. Just ask young Eduard as his tears were drying he looked at Bobby and said through an interpreter, "I wasn't crying because of you...because you are my Amigo - Friend".

Were miracles performed by God this week...yes, and I hope to share one or two of those in a future blog. But, perhaps the greatest miracle of all is Love. Christ showed His love to us on the cross so that we could be free to show His love to others.

Because He does indeed Live and Love,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

Honduras Medical Team

2008-07-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

On June 28, 2008 we left for a week long adventure into the mountains of Northern Honduras to a region called Atlantida in a small village community named Rio Viejo where Healing Hands International Ministries is based out of serving the nearly 15,000 people there. Dr. Martin Williams and his wife Wendy lead Healing Hands International Ministries and were our hosts for the week.

The vision that God has given Dr. Martin and Wendy to reach the people of the region is one of not only focusing on the people their but also one of focus on the teams that come to be a blessing. This was a special time and place where God's Holy Spirit ministered to all who were there and it truly was a time of being more blessed to give than to receive by this team. I will be posting more details of the trip in the coming days and weeks but I first wanted to post a picture of the team and a list of their names. From left to right we are: Sheila Sauve, Cathy Talley,RN, Dr. Damon Hughes, Charis Scichowski, Cherie Hodges, RN, Bobby Lormand, RN, Joseph LeBlanc, Sydney Johnson, RN, Dr. Cheri LeBlanc, Brenda Clark.

For the Glory of Christ we lifted up His cross to the hurting of Honduras and were touched ourselves in ways we may never be able to express but we hope to do so with pictures and words in this blog.

Because He Lives,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

Convoy of Hope

2008-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 26, Healing Hands had the pleasure of partnering with Church of the King
along with their mobile medical and our dental unit 'Mo' for a Convoy of Hope outreach in Mandeville, LA. The outreach comprised of health and dental screenings to the poor of that community all for the cause of Christ. A real and genuine touch to show many who feel forgotten after Hurricane Katrina that they are still loved. Healing Place Church's very own Cooking for Christ team cooked up 3,000 plates of red beans and rice for the occasion also. A real team effort and one that I know will yield a harvest for the King.

I had the pleasure of driving Big Mo to Mandeville's Fountainbleu Park on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain this day. I know that the heart of the ministry at Church of the King is to do more for the hurting people in their community with expanded services for His Glory! They loved the dental unit and the testimony of God's faithfulness in how it was provided. A real miracle that encouraged them to believe for one of their very own.

I know that a seed was planted this day for a dental component of their medical ministry and I could not help but believe that the rain that held off all day until the event was over was indeed God Himself watering the seed that was planted!

Because He Lives,
Joseph LeBlanc

Miracle of Trevion

2008-04-14T04:57:00.000-07:00

This is one of those blogs that we should never have to post, because it never should have happened. This precious boy is Trevion and he is 6 years old. Three weeks ago he was riding his bike in front of his house in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Boys in his neighborhood began fighting, guns were pulled out to shoot at each other, but instead a stray bullet hit Trevion's leg.

His mother contacted Healing Place Church because he needed a walker. Having been in a wheelchair, he will finally be allowed to put weight on his leg this coming week. But his mother didn't have the money for the walker that would be needed to aid in his recovery. Healing Hands was contacted to see if we had anything to help him. We did not have anything that small, so I sent an email out to the servants of Healing Hands to see if anyone had one. I sent this last Wednesday at 5:30pm, by 11am the next morning Trevion had a walker!

Danielle received my email and sent it to people that she knew including her mother, Donna LeBlanc, who works as the Human Resource manager at Rigdon Marine. After explaining to her company what the need was, they did not hesitate to make this purchase for Trevion. So many others also contacted me about this need.

How awesome to see the body of Christ come together to see a need met amongst our own. We were able to bring him the walker during our clinic on Saturday. We were able to show the love of Christ to this boy and his mother. Pictured above is Dr. Cheri, Trevion, and Danielle.

THANK YOU Rigdon Marine and all who responded to this need. We can make a difference in this world ONE PERSON AT A TIME!

In case you are wondering, this family does not attend Healing Place. But that never matters to us, because Jesus loves them all, and so do we.

Because HE loves us,
Dr. Cheri and Joe

Open Doors

2008-04-07T17:08:00.000-07:00

The doors of heaven were opened in St. Francisville last Saturday and we sensed a new and fresh Spirit come into us and the ministry. In the photo on this page are two of our drivers (Bill Bergeron and John Rentz) opening up the doors of Healing Hands in St. Francisville to the many who came in hurting and broken to be healed by the great physician...Jesus Christ. Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love,

Joseph and Dr. Cheri

Church of the King in Lake Charles

2008-02-27T04:25:00.001-08:00

Wow, our second road trip in 2 months. This time to a west Louisiana town called Lake Charles to visit Church of the King. This is a young church, only about a year old, but already with a strong desire to reach hurting people in their community.

They have a couple of doctors in their church who are willing to sacrifice their time to see people for free. They don't want to do this to make a name for themselves. They aren't doing it so people will say, "Look what good people they are." They do it as a 'tool' to bring the Good News to people in need. Dr. Jason and Dr. Chris are using the gifts that God gave them to show people (not just tell them) that Jesus loves them. If that is your primary goal, then how can you fail!
This is Joe and I with Pastor Todd and Lisa Schumacher, lead pastor at Church of the King. What an awesome couple with an almost palpable drive to reach people to show them Jesus. I watched Pastor Todd speak with each patient as they left the clinic, pray with many of them, and walk them back to their car. I even heard a conversation with one of their volunteers offering to go pick up the son of one of the patients to bring him to church the next day because he didn't have a car.

Leadership Network has researched churches with successful health care ministries and found that there are 3 key components that are common to all of them. First is a person with the calling and drive to work through the challenges to see this type of ministry become a reality. I see this in Dr. Jason and his wife. The second is that the senior pastor also shares this vision and willing to support the ministry. I certainly see that in Pastor Todd, as I am blessed to have the support of Pastor Dino at Healing Place Church.
The third component of a successful health care ministry is a committed volunteer base. Well, here is a picture of the servants of the first clinic at Church of the King. The first of many!!

Thank you for the opportunity to get to know you and show you what we do. All for HIS glory!

Spanish sutures?

2008-02-24T05:49:00.001-08:00

You just never know what you are going to get to do in the mobile medical unit. We had a gentleman come to the clinic and asked us to remove sutures from his hand so that he didn't have to wait in the ER where he had had them emergently placed 10 days before.

Carefully supervised experience for our aspiring nurse, Charis. Memories for everyone - including our patient.

Donaldsonville in Feb.

2008-02-24T05:45:00.001-08:00

We had an awesome time in D'ville for our February clinic. We had the most volunteers ever at D'ville and maybe the most patients! Praise God for both.

We were so busy that no one thought to take a picture until we were almost finish eating the best meal in D'ville yet! Thank you, David for preparing and cooking such a great meal.

Dentistry From the Heart

2008-02-21T19:15:00.001-08:00

Friday February 8th was "Dentistry From the Heart" Day in Denham Springs, Louisiana. Hats off to Dr. Ed Hood - a local dentist with the heart to give back to his community. This is the 3rd year in a row that he used his office, called together his dentist friends, and served as many people as they could - ALL for FREE!

There were people waiting at his door at 3am on that cold Friday morning. Dr. Hood had asked if we could bring Mo, our dental unit, to add 2 more dental chairs to the fun. Bill Bergeron (one of our drivers) brought Mo at 6am, and had to manuver through the crowd. One of our dental assistant volunteers, Stacey Adams, spent the day assisting the dentists in the mobile clinic.

The totals for the day: approximately 100 people, 88 extractions, 31 fillings and 19 cleanings!! The dental unit saw 13 of those patients and did 25 extractions.

You are an awesome blessing Dr. Hood and your whole team! Looking forward to next year.

February in St. Francisville

2008-02-09T13:32:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful outreach in St. Francisville. This day we were able to love on 50 people, all for the glory of God. Two precious people who came only to have a tooth removed were able to talk with 2 of our prayer partners. During this time of fellowship they heard the message of the Bible in simple truth for the first time. Because of this encounter they were able to make decisions to ask Jesus to become a real savior in their life. These prayer partners didn't do anything special, they just happened to be the one on the end of a long line of people who loved on them, treated them with respect as they deserve, and showed them Christ by doing the Bible instead of just telling them about it.

Here is Mo, our dental unit, parked outside of the HPC St. Francisville office. What you can't tell in this picture is that the front driver tire is not even touching the ground. The incredible jacks actually lift it off the ground in order to level it inside!

Last Memphis Pics

2008-02-09T13:13:00.000-08:00

This is Pastor John and Leslie Siebeling with their children. What an honor it was for us to be able to serve them.
Here is part of the team that served in the medical unit. We are praying that they are ignited with the fire of God to reach their community with the love of Christ by providing healthcare.

On the road again, heading back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The drivers were able to share our story with several people at the gas stations along the way home.

Thanks again, Life Church of Memphis!

More pics from Memphis

2008-02-03T04:50:00.000-08:00

Here is another picture of the awesome worship before everyone headed to their destination to show this region the Servolution power of God!
Mo and Ele at the community center in Hollywood. This is right in the middle of the area that has the infant mortality the same as third world countries. God's army showed up in red shirts, 2 big medical trucks, hotdogs, hamburgers, music, and the power of God!
The police presence with us was obvious! This was the first time ever that we had horses at one of our outreaches. These guys were so nice and appreciative that we drove all the way from Baton Rouge to serve their community.

A few more later . . .

Day 2 - Servolution "Memphis style"

2008-01-29T04:42:00.000-08:00

Our second day in Cordova, TN at The Life Church just east of Memphis was filled with expectation and hope for what Christ was going to do with us and through us. We arrived early in the morning at the church parking lot where Ele and Mo were parked. It was very foggy outside and cold. We learned that Ele had used up a lot of oil on the trip up and she was in need of fresh oil. I wondered if that was God’s way of anointing what the medical unit was about to do?

We headed inside for prayer with Pastor John Siebeling and worship in the sanctuary before leaving and going into a downtown area of Memphis that required police crowd control horses and physical presence. However, all was peaceful this day and the police became a part of what we were attempting to do in this community which was to show the love of Christ to a dying generation. Cheri and I even got to take a picture with two beautiful horses in front of the medical unit. There was one police officer assigned to stay with us until we finished and rolled out at 4pm. And, I made a special effort to thank him for staying with us after everyone else had left. He smiled and was blown away that we would drive over 400 miles to serve his community.

Flu vaccines were given, blood pressures taken, sugars tested, and teeth pulled…and patients prayed for all for the Glory of God. The people were served by the local church as Cheri and I just stepped back and enjoyed the fruit of our labor offering advice where we could and watching others catch the vision of what God can do with a heart to serve and a spirit that says “let’s start a servolution for Jesus”.

The doctors and dentists and other health care providers were blown away by the hurting right in their own backyard. The outpouring of the people they served was overwhelming. They were encouraged that something like a mobile medical and dental unit could have a huge impact on their community for Christ. And, it is my prayer that a fire would burn in their hearts for the lost, the hurting, and the forgotten in their community to continue to reach with medical help. Who knows, they may even have their own medical unit one day…watch out Pastor John your people are fired up!

We sometimes think that we have to travel half way around the world to make a difference for Christ. But, I can tell you that if you just open your spiritual eyes and trust Christ you will see a greater need right in your own backyard. Start a revolution by serving one another and watch God show up in a big way.

Thank you Pastor John and Leslie for inviting us to serve with you and a special thanks to all who served and sacrificed for the Kingdom this day!

Love,
Joseph and Dr. Cheri

Memphis Road Trip

2008-01-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

Ele and Mo took a road trip today to an awesome church in Memphis, Tennessee, called The Life Church of Memphis. We have come to share our units and our experience of our healthcare ministry. This church has been heartbroken by the extremely high infant mortality in their "backyard". Pastor John Siebling has called the church to not only pray for this situation, but to go into the community to learn what they can do to help prevent this. They asked the healthcare providers of all types to sign up for an outreach and had an incredible response from their congregation. Then (here is the part that is so cool!) they asked us to bring our medical and dental units to their first outreach and to talk to their core group of people about how we got started!!!! A dream come true for me, to share what God has done in us and through us.

We left HPC at 5:30am and the units arrived at 3:30pm in Memphis just as it was starting to sleet. The units hadn't been there 5 minutes when a lady walked into the dental unit to ask us what we did in there. Thinking she was in need of dental services, we explained that we were from Baton Rouge partnering with The Life Church to provide free dental care to people in need. She asked how Joyce Meyer was involved and we explained that Joyce Meyer Ministries had purchased the unit for us to be able to travel to people in need. We also explained all that we did with the units back home and how many people we had been able to bless last year because of this unit.

The lady, almost in tears, said "God has answered my question." As we looked at her questioningly, she explained. She states that she watches Joyce Meyer on TV every day, and just the night before she had ordered a book of hers. And as she did so she wondered to herself if the money that Joyce Meyer Ministries received really went to helping people. And here, the very next day, she sees this big truck with "donated by Joyce Meyer Ministries" printed on the side -- and she followed it until it stopped at The Life Church. So after hearing all that we did, made possible because of Joyce Meyer Ministries, she said that she now would support her ministry even more because she was able to talk to and see for herself how the money was spent. How cool is that!!!!

I'll give updates on the outreach tomorrow . . .

Blessings, Cheri and Joseph

Blessings of Shelving

2008-01-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Isn't it crazy some of the things we get so excited about. Who would have thought we would be in joyful tears about being blessed with shelving? Let me explain.

For Healing Hands to be ready to roll 3 Saturdays a month, there is a lot of "behind the scenes" activity that has to happen. We have had several awesome people assume this task, and currently that guy is Kevin Lalonde. And his prayer has been to have the proper shelving in our storage units so that we can be organized. Kevin has "owned" his position as our warehouse guy, often spending hours alone going through the boxes given to us after Hurricane Katrina. He views this time as his opportunity to commune with God as he works. (What a heart!)

Anyway, as our current funding for the rental of these storage units comes to an end more suddenly than anticipated, our need for shelving has escalated dramatically so we can be more efficient with our space rental. Meanwhile, God had it all under control. I had found out about a lady who was going to Cuba on a missions trip and needed supplies. Our heart at Healing Hands is to be a blessing to as many people as we can who are serving the poor. I offered to share some of our supplies with her. She came to pick up the supplies last week, and I told her about our situation. After we blessed her, she asked what she could do for us. We told her about our need for shelving. She offered to buy what we needed, met with Kevin the next day and purchased our shelving.

Sowing and reaping is a Biblical principle that works! And I know that it will work for Claire Padial as she has sown into Healing Hands. I trust that her business, Padial Real Estate will be blessed in return. Thanks Claire, for coming into our lives just when needed. As I've heard it said often, God is usually not early, but He is always on time.

Please join us in praying for the funding that we need for our new storage units. We know He will provide because we serve the poor.

Blessings, Cheri

He died for all our sins and for everyone

2008-01-06T18:47:00.000-08:00

The first clinic outreach for the new year was held in St. Francisville, Louisiana this past Saturday, January 5,2008. Cheri and I were so blessed to arrive on site and see 28 volunteers eager and ready to love and love, and did I say love? The love of Christ was all over the place and I kept hearing from new volunteers how they could not believe how much everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves like they were at some big family gathering. Both the patients and the volunteers were interacting like at all of our other clinics, but, there was something almost tangible in the air. The story of one young patient named "Floyd" tells it all.

This was Floyd's third visit to our clinic for a tooth extraction. He was turned down the first time because he had high blood pressure and I was amazed in talking to him because he was young and looked healthy and we all thought well maybe it is just a touch of being anxious and nervous. But, I also knew he was lost and God had a purpose in him returning...prayer! His second visit was to see Dr. Cheri to confirm high blood pressure and to be treated. Again...more prayer for Floyd. This past Saturday was the visit that would bring young Floyd relief in a tooth being pulled. But, as he waited one of our volunteers, Alissa, kept sensing that she should bless Floyd with one of her son's new Christian Rap CD's. What Alissa discovered was that Floyd sang Rap music but had never heard any Christian Rap. He was so touched that he left the clinic with the CD and listened to the songs before his next appointment. And, this is the part that touched us all. He said, "I have never heard this type of music before but it is good...and, I think I could make songs like this." Praise God! A seed was sown and we trust Our Lord to water it and make it grow.

For He has not called us to choose who may come but to love all so that they may choose of their own free will to come to Him.

To God Be The Glory!

Because He Lives,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

CHRISTmas

2007-12-21T20:02:00.000-08:00

"You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." -- Luke 1:31-33

As we celebrate this Holy Season in honor of the birth of our King, we want to thank all who have been a part of Healing Hands this year. Whether you served,prayed,or used your influence for the kingdom you have blessed our Lord Jesus with your contribution. During this time of year we focus on the birth of Christ as we should. But the life we live each and everyday celebrates the risen King.

Cheri and I are so grateful to Christ for all that He has done in our lives during 2007. As we pray and prepare for 2008 during this Holy Season we see the hand of God moving for a greater impact for His kingdom... and not to us but to His Name be the Glory! Merry CHRISTmas!

Because He Lives,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

The Miracle of Circumstance

2007-11-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday, November 10, 2007, the Healing Hands team rolled into the Donaldsonville Dream Center for what appeared to be a regular clinic with one exception. We had a little old Chinese lady on the schedule and I don't like to use the word "old" for she was young at heart. Please allow me to tell the story from the beginning.

I was approached by a Chinese man several weeks ago about getting his mother, Ms. Wong for anonymity, into the medical clinic for some medical problems she was having. I immediately said yes and tried to get her scheduled in St. Francisville the week before. However, due to circumstances beyond my control we could not see her there and I felt somewhat responsible but did not understand that God wanted her to be seen in Donaldsonville. I pushed our clinic coordinator in Donaldsonville to give me an appointment time which is somewhat out of character for me. I didn't know why at the time but I just felt in my spirit that she had to be seen on this day.

During her appointment time on Saturday morning we were being visited by a church group from Orlando, Florida. One of the team members from Orlando unknown to us had just gotten back from a mission trip to China. Gretchen ran into our Ms. Wong and while we were showing her team the medical clinic. And the miracle of this circumstance followed. Gretchen had just gotten back from the same town that this lady was from! Praise God! Also, Gretchen spoke the language and was able to communicate with her directly as she did not speak English and we needed her son for interpretations. Gretchen and Ms. Wong shared stories and pictures off of a lap top and the story gets even better. Gretchen is headed back to China in 6 months for a follow up mission trip to the same town that Ms. Wong is from and will connect with Ms. Wong's daughter who still lives in China. Gretchen was able to pray with Ms. Wong and I will never forget the look of joy on Ms. Wong's face as she went around hugging everyone in the clinic. She was saying God loves you!...God loves you! Thank you! Thank you!

How much does God love us? Enough to move heaven and earth to meet you wherever you are. He loves Ms. Wong enough to bring a lady all the way from Orlando on the very same day that she was visiting our clinic to be loved on and made to feel welcome in a country she hardly knows.

God loves you and I hope this story encourages you in knowing that in some small way. Thanks to all of our volunteers and to the team from Orlando for making this day a very special one in God's eyes. All Glory and Honor to Christ our Lord and Savior for what He did today.

Because He Loves You,
Joseph and Cheri

Leading the Charge for Christ

2007-10-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

Cheri and I have the awesome privilege and honor of leading Healing Hands not only at our home church in Baton Rouge but also into the surrounding communities of Donaldsonville, St. Amant, and St. Francisville.

This past Sunday evening Healing Place Church had its semi-annual vision night. The theme of the evening was sports. Our campus pastors interviewed and announced the evening from a sports booth set up. Healing Hands was chosen as a spotlight ministry for the St. Francisville campus and we got to lead the charge for Christ busting through a banner by that name.

It reminded me of my old high school football days when we ran out into the field ready and pumped to battle our opponent. In St. Francisville, we are pulling people off the bench and taking walk-ons. This team is leading those that enter the clinic to Christ with love, compassion, and healing in our hands. Our victory is in Christ and we celebrate that victory every time we travel out.

Dr. Cheri and I would like to express our heart felt gratitude to the many volunteers that make up Healing Hands at each location. This night was more about you than us, and we do it all together for the glory of Christ.

Serving Him by serving others,
Joseph and Cheri

Walking in and Rolling out

2007-09-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were in Donaldsonville serving the medical and dental needs of the community with Ele and Mo, our mobile medical and dental units. The week before we were in St. Francisville and someone in that community donated a rolling walker to us for use in the ministry. We first thought to send it to storage and wait for a need. However, we left the walker in Ele accidentally, but it was no accident with God.

One of our patients came in using a walking cane and commented on how limited he was at getting around because he didn't have anything to sit on when he got tired. He would have to walk to the grocery store, so he didn't make these trips very often and stayed in his home or very close to it. Well, Dr. Cheri, in hearing this news knew in her heart that the rolling walker with built in resting seat was the perfect match for Mr. Mouton.

As you can see from the photos, we blessed him with this shiny, brand new rolling walker. And, his slow almost limp-like walk into the clinic turned into a strut and full-of-life walk out of the clinic. Mr. Mouton was smiling ear to ear and all those around him were looking at him like he was showing off a brand new car. As I watched him walk away full of hope and joy and everyone looking on, I remembered the words of Christ in Matthew 5:16...let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. To God be the Glory for all that is done in this ministry for it is truly His and we are honored and humbled to be a part of what God is doing through Healing Hands.

Because He Lives,
Joseph LeBlanc

PRAYER!

2007-09-07T16:05:00.000-07:00

You just never know how God is going to you use your service, your love, or your heart. This past weekend we had the honor of reaching out to the community of St. Francisville with both the medical and dental units. The dental unit was parked outside in front of the Healing Place Church office, and, for those who have not seen the dental unit, well, let’s just say you can’t miss it. The dental unit was graciously donated in full by the partners of Joyce Meyer Ministries. And, on both sides of the dental unit we give a shout out to Joyce Meyer Ministries for their support.

A lady from the community was driving by and saw the dental unit with Joyce Meyer’s name on the side. She stopped in to see if Joyce Meyer was present. One of our volunteers told her no and then told her what we were doing in offering free medical and dental care to the poor without insurance. Our volunteer also told her that we pray with each and every patient. The lady looked amazed and said well, “I really don’t have a medical or dental need but I could surely use some prayer.” You guessed it, she was in with a prayer partner and the love of God touched her heart and she was on her way. All because of a name on the side of a dental unit, a lady was prayed for, in the name of Jesus! Thank you Joyce Meyer and partners for partnering with us in the work we are doing to be a healing place for a hurting world.

Because He Lives,

Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

Earthquake in Peru

2007-08-28T18:57:00.002-07:00

Cheri and I visited Lima, Peru this past June as part of a team of 12 on an 8 day medical mission’s trip. Our hearts were deeply touched by the people of Camino de Vida who hosted us during our stay. Our prayers go out to them as they work tirelessly around the clock to provide aid to the victims of the recent earthquake. The people we encountered during our stay were loving and very appreciative of our efforts to bring medical help. We partnered with JV Ministries led by Pastor Jordon and Vaness Durso for the medical outreaches. They lead a team of doctors and dentists on outreaches in and around Lima about 30 times a year bringing not only healing but more importantly the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a spiritually lost people. What I witnessed was nothing but agape love for the people of Peru by the church called Camino de Vida. And, this was during a time without a natural disaster to draw attention to them.

As the relief efforts get going south of Lima, Healing Place Church is sending nearly 30 men on what will be a first wave to assist with the building of 3 refugee camps that the government of Peru has asked Camino de Vida to administer for the victims of this earthquake. Shelter is badly needed for these people as they are in the middle of their winter down there and the cold is taking its toll on people who have lost everything in the wake of this earthquake. Please join us in prayer for the relief effort as well as the lives that are touched for His Glory. Through it all we know that God will show Himself as faithful and full of mercy toward the hurting in Peru.

Love,

Joseph and Cheri

Watching the Church Grow!

2007-08-20T16:55:00.000-07:00

As I stood back and took the pictures that you see here of the Mobile Medical and Dental clinics during an outreach at Healing Place Church’s Spanish campus this past Saturday, August 18, 2007, I paused and thought, what was it like for the first century church?

I watched the excitement of a people, both volunteer servants and those being served, and everyone was full of life. There were children playing, people eating, people just waiting and talking. Everywhere you looked there was something going on. At times, in the natural, things seemed to get a little chaotic.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there was a buzz in the air. What I was watching were the sights and sounds of the church growing. All you have to do is look at scripture in the book of Acts to see the end result of a people meeting the needs of others to see that the Church was growing and the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being spread.

We have an awesome opportunity and responsibility to pray with each and every person who comes through the clinic at each of our sites. The impact of the prayer and our serving is powerful. At the end of each clinic we have lunch provided for all the volunteers and a special thing happens during this fellowship. We talk about the events of the day and what God has done. As our pastor, Pastor Dino Rizzo, is always fond of saying, “It is amazing how much can be done for Jesus Christ when no one cares who gets the credit”. And that is exactly what happens during our lunch gatherings. Not a single volunteer ever says look at what I did, but, rather the spirit present is one of humility and deep appreciation for what God Almighty has done.

Jesus Christ is building His Church and it is fun to watch and marvel at. I just want to encourage you today, if you don’t have a good view of watching the church grow where you are today, you may just want to change seats. Ask God to place you in a place where you can watch the church grow. I know you won’t be disappointed for God is faithful and who knows…God may just use you as He grows His Church!

Because He Lives,
Joseph and Cheri LeBlanc

Medical Outreach Day 1

2007-06-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

As you can see I missed a few days of blogging. We are all back safely at home. Thank you so much for your prayers while we were gone. After our first day of medical clinics, I was just too tired to turn on the computer and blog.
We left the hotel at 7am on a big red bus and went to Camino de Vida to pick up the team; a few spoke English. The bus was loaded with all the medications and medical supplies. We traveled for 1 1/2 hours to a remote location, but it was heavily populated. The tent was already up with tables and chairs in it. They rent the tents because it is so much work to put them up. We were told that they started at 7pm the night before and finished at 2am! It was metal poles and miles of material - all held together with straight pins. I had never seen anything like it. We were on dirt floors. DIRT EVERYWHERE!
The general medical tent consisted of many small square tables with a couple of chairs, just a few feet apart. This is where the history and physical was done and prescription written. (Of course I needed an interpreter.) There were about 18 medical doctors and about 7 dentists.
After the patient had seen the doctor, they were escorted to the "clinica del alma" which means clinic of the soul. This is where the gospel was presented in a very simple way. The people who do this are annointed. After they leave this area they receive a stamp on their prescription that allows them to go to the pharmacy to receive their medication. That day there were over 1,000 patients seen and 297 salvations!!!

The people were so friendly with a quick smile and plenty of hugs. This is David our wonderful photographer.

Day 6 - Women's Home

2007-06-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we traveled to another ministry of Camino de Vida - a Women's Home. This is a home for women who have found themselves in drug addiction and prostitution. When we arrived we had worship. We listened to worship songs on a stereo but no one was leading worship. In fact, no one was even standing at the front of the room. But the atmosphere was incredible. The presence of God was like none I had experienced before as we listened to the heart felt voices of these women. They were crying out to Jesus with a passion like few people ever experience in their entire lives. You could hear it in their worship even though we couldn't understand the words with our minds, our spirits joined in. I could hear crying behind me and it was not the women - it was our team.

Nick translated for us as we heard the testimonies of two of the young women. This is Michelle and she is 19 years old. Since a very young child she had been abused by her brother. Her step father was alcoholic and everynight she would sleep in her mother's room so she could try to protect her mother from her husband's beatings. She became so tired of this life that she ran away and began drinking, then smoking pot, and by the age of 14 she was on cocaine. To support her habit she began prostitution. She felt that she was no good and her life was over. But her aunt found her, heard about this home on the radio and brought her here. That was a year ago. She was taught that her life did have worth, she was taught the word of God and it made a radical transformation in her life. After 6 months her mother began visiting her. Then her mother accepted Christ, then recently her step-father did as well. She has forgiven all who had abused her in the past, including her brother. She and her brother now have a restored healthy relationship. Her greatest desire is to help other women see that there is a life with Christ.

Charlotte shared a word with them - she spoke to them in Spanish (go Charlotte!) and I was able to give them a health education mini-seminar and answer their questions. Then we all had to pose for a picture. It was a powerful time for us.
What awesome work that God is doing through this ministry.

2007-06-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

After lunch we (Joe) spray painted the gate and fence. Pastor Johnny and Shane held up cardboard to keep the green paint from getting on the cream. However, Pastor and Shane ended up a little green.

We then had to paint the letters white.
This is Pete speaking to the children. It was great. He told all the children that even though he may never see them again on this earth, that if they had Christ in their heart then we would meet again in heaven.

Here is the team with the great looking gate. Goodbyes were hard, the children almost followed us into the street.

Finishing touches

2007-06-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

Our last day at the orphanage putting on the finishing touches for Christ. The team served with joy and compassion which was evident by the our faces and the finished product. We finished by spray painting the iron gates that are in front of the orphanage and the steel letters that spell out Camino de Vida's Childrens Home in Spanish. We ran out of paint toward the end and Pastor Johnny and I looked at Jesus, a spanish man on the grounds in charge of maintenance, and asked him, 'Can we get more paint?' He replied, "No money". We said without hesitation can we give you money to buy some more. He said yes and was off to the paint store. I say this because the orphanage reminded me of Jesus' words in Matthew 13:44-46. For we did indeed find a treasure hidden in a field and with joy in our hearts we were ready to spend whatever was needed to finish the job.

Eating lunch that was prepared by the ladies in the Children's Home. It was great. You can see our new favorite drink, Inca Kola.

Downtown Lima

2007-06-13T06:35:00.000-07:00

After playing with the kids, we were able to go back to hotel to clean up - which was needed. Then Nick took us to downtown to the central square. It was beautifully lit up at night. We had dinner at Pardo's, which was roasted chicken, fries, fresh avocado and carrots. They also had a strange corn-on-the-cob with kernals the size of your thumb nail. All very good.

... and then we play!

2007-06-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

When the kids came home from school at 3pm, they ate lunch. After lunch they were allowed to play with us instead of going straight to homework. Look at the pictures, who had more fun: the kids or us?

Shawn is getting his face painted with chalk. Biggest miracle I've seen yet, he sat still while they did it.

Time to Paint

2007-06-13T05:27:00.000-07:00

We went back to the children's home on Monday morning to start painting their home. There is so much to do every day just to keep the place running. Think on these things that they told us. They use up one large tube of toothpaste a day! The go through one large (not sure how many gallons) propane tank a week $350.

Therefore, there is never enough time to do the maintance things. We we have come to Peru to be the hands and feet of His servants.

Shoulder rides

2007-06-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

A very popular game was shoulder rides. This little girl in the long sleeve blue shirt with the curls is Isabella. She is the youngest in the home. She has been there since she was 4 years old, she is now 6.
The man in the second picture holding the girl in the pink pants is Nick. He has been our host and tour guide and has been absolutely wonderful.

Isabella doesn't speak English, so she turns your head where she wants you to go, as Phillip found out.

These children are here until they are 18. There is such a huge child sex slavery organization that they are not allowed to find adoptive parents. They just can't trust them. The children are safer in these homes. Now we have become a part of their family.

Playing with the children

2007-06-12T06:44:00.000-07:00

This is a view of the children's rooms which overlook their playground. We had brought a few balls and as we started playing the kids joined in. No interpretation needed to play ball.

Shane received the name of Sasquatch. See the little boy with the glasses. He just loved to come up behind Shane and with extreme emotion would yell, "Sassssquatch!" And, of course, that required Shane to pick him up above his head.

Chaclacaya

2007-06-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon we were able to get to know the children. We bought food and it was cooked on an open grill in the corner of the compound. The nice playground equipment was purchased by the HPC Singles group that went a couple of years ago.

The children were at first a little shy, but they soon warmed up. Language barrier and all, the team found a way to communicate with them.

The three story building has a classroom on bottom for additional studies, the other floors have offices and additional living quarters.

Day 3 - Camino de Vida style

2007-06-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

We were able to make 10am church at Camino de Vida - same time as HPC. And it was also broadcast on internet. We were treated wonderfully and given radios to hear the translation of the message. Everything was like HPC in so many ways, except the Spanish. Pastor Robert's wife, Karen, leads worship (sounds familiar?)

The last picture was a dedication of Michelle to the Lord. It was wonderful to watch. The Spririt of God is alive in Lima, Peru.

... and more faces.

2007-06-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

More faces. Sorry about the top one being a little over exposed.

The little girls in the third picture are holding the bags we bought for them.

This last picture is one of the stores found on the street.

Phillip preaching!

2007-06-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

OK, I must take a Mommy moment and tell you how proud I am of my son. On the way to Huachipa we asked Phillip if he would speak to the children. We did not tell him what to speak on, we just told him to pray about what he wanted to share with them. I didn't get to see it, because Teresa and I were speaking with the older women. So, you are seeing it like I did.

He shared about love. About how important it is to love your neighbor. Pastor Tony from Camino de Vida translated for him. There were over 150 children of various ages that came to this service. After Phillip spoke to all of the children, they were broken up into smaller groups. At the end of service, they were all given a bag with toothpaste, pencils, and other goodies.

So for all of you that supported us financially, this is just one of the small things that you gave to. THANK YOU!

The last picture is from above where the bus was. This field is for growing grass to sell. The field is irrigated. The smoke in the background is from the brick factory where all the men were. We saw one or two only.

Faces of Huachipa

2007-06-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we were able to be a part of was giving the children worm medicine. The parent needs to come with the child to give permission for them to have the medicine. The top picture is the line waiting for the medicine and they bring a jug of water to swallow it with.
This little boy in the second picture was just too cute to pass up. Kids even here play in tires! (I can't get the pictures where I want them! Please forgive me, por favor!)

The third picture is Charis with some of the girls. An easy way to make friends is take a picture of them and then show them the digital photo.

The last picture is one of three 'services' that was going on. This was the young women in the community. Most girls are married at 14 or 15 and have babies almost immediately. Peruvians look even younger than they really are, so most of the time it looked like children holding younger children. Charlotte spoke to these young women and shared the Gospel with them. I was able to speak to the older women. This is where the wisdom of the community was. These women have hard lives; the pastor's wife told me that most don't even have a table in there home, there is no such thing as running water, never enough food and dust EVERYWHERE. But still they came to hear the Word of God and had joy in there face. They are determined to provide the best life they can for their family. They are the glue that holds things together. What a privilege is was for me to get to speak to them.

The last of the three services was the children - which was the largest. All of the men went to that one. I'll cover it in the next blog. Please leave a comment for us to let us know that you are praying for us!

More of Huachipa

2007-06-10T20:24:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures from Huachipa. The top picture is one of many brick factories in these areas - because there is a lot of dirt! It is hard manual labor that often children must work in to provide for the family. Just below the area we were in (because we are on the side of the mountain) has one of the factories.

The bottom picture is what Huachipa looks like: just brick and wood shelters with dirt floors. There is a constant wind which throws dust EVERYWHERE ( I think I said that in my last post, so you get the point!) This picture may not give you the proper feel for how steep this mountain actually is. You notice that there is not alot of green here. There are a few plants like cactus and bouganvilla which grows wild here. Everything has a thick layer of dust on it - even the beautiful bouganvilla flowers. All water that they use to wash, cook and drink must be bought. That is because it doesn't rain here. There is extemely high humidity and once or twice a year it may mist to drizzle. But you can see, if it did rain thousands would be killed in mud slides. God always knows what He is doing.

I want you to really look at this bottom picture. This is how they live. One of our team said he would never complain about anything again! We are so blessed. Yet we say this so much that I think we don't fully realize what we are saying. Look again at this picture and look at where you are right now. And really, with a sincere heart thank God for the grace in your life. I know I am.

Day 1 and 2 in Peru

2007-06-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

We made it! We were so blessed on our way up. Our flights were only a little behind schedule. We left Miami an hour later than scheduled which was 1am Miami time, and we arrived in Peru at 5:20am Peru time, which is also Central time in the US. Some of us slept on the plane, but most didn't. I like the way that Steve put it: "I think I might have lost consciousness a couple of times, but I'm not sure you would call that sleep."

Thank you for all of you who were praying for us to get through customs, we all had the green light!! Not one of our bags were searched!!! Nick from Camino de Vida met us at the airport with a large bus that we and all 33 + bags piled in to. Then he took us to his apartment where we unloaded everything and searched our bags to get some toys and medications for our outreach that same day. Then on to breakfast - that was good news for our stomachs!

After breakfast we went to meet up with the church that goes once a month to a community called Huachipa. They have been doing outreach here once a month for over a year. The poverty in this area is unimaginable to our minds. But the women here are tough and determined to provide a good life for their families. The men work in brick factories to provide what they can, but it is very hard work and they work all day. But the women are beautiful and their is joy in their face.

When we arrived we walked up and down the streets to tell people that we were here and what was going on. The picture is a few of us walking back to the meeting area. The community is built into the side of a mountain. There is dust EVERYWHERE. The church was also giving worm medicine to the children. This is the only church that the people have.

We are getting ready to go to church at Camino de Vida. More later!

Healing Hands going to Peru

2007-06-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

We have been given the opportunity to take a team to Lima, Peru from June 8th - 17th. We will be doing medical mission's work with a great church, Camino de Vida. We know that we will learn a lot by observing how they do things, way. . . . way down south.

Pictured here is the team at our last prayer meeting. We have been planning this for the last 4 months, and we have all taken turns fasting and praying over the last month. Now as we go into battle we need prayer partners to continue to pray for us and the people that we are being sent to touch. We don't go expecting to accomplish what we can achieve in our own strength, we know that we go with the power of the Spirit of God! There is a saying that Pastor Dino always has us say in Healing Place Church, "Jesus is here and anything can happen!" Well, the "here" is inside of us!

Stay tuned for our posts from Peru, if we can find an internet cafe!

We showed up!

2007-05-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday March 31, 2007

We arrived in New Orleans on that Saturday morning for the first time bringing both mobile units. I can't describe the feeling of being there. One lady said it best: you could just feel the presence of God as soon as you walked near the units.

Do you know what the biggest miracle was that day for these people? The fact that we showed up. From the wonderful pastor and his wife to the many people we were able to serve, they all said the same. "We didn't think you were actually going to come." So many people had made promises to this church and to these people that never followed through. Just us coming encouraged this church in ways that we could never have anticipated. Only God knew the impact that this event would have.

That day we were able to love on 57 medical patients, 16 dental patients and 20 teeth extracted! Cooking for Christ came with us and served 250 meals. The pastor told us as we were picking up that he heard the laughter of children for the first time since the storm.

I once heard someone say that he had a vision that showed him the spirit world. In this vision there were clashes of darkness against light. The only time that darkness ever won was when the light didn't show up. The Bible tells us who wins; that greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. All we have to do is believe, and show up. We all should ask the question of ourselves: am I going all the places that God has asked me to go?

What's in a Name?

2007-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

So many questions about why we call our units "Ele and Mo". I thought I should explain. It all started with the desire to call our unit something other than "the mobile clinic". That sounded too dry, and too long to say. So, we consulted our bibles.

Ele is short for 'eleos' which is the Greek word for compassion or mercy. The definition is to feel compassion or good will towards the miserable and afflicted coupled with the desire to help them. This is exactly what we wanted to accomplish through the clinic. Our scripture reference is Matthew 14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. This scripture is located above the cab.

When we knew that the dental clinic was on the way (kind of like being pregnant) we started praying about what we should call him. We already felt it should be a boy name. This unit was such a miracle in the way he came to be ours, that we started looking at the Greek and Hebrew words for miracle. The Hebrew word is 'mowpheth'. I looked it over several times thinking it was too difficult to pronounce. But nothing else seemed to fit.

We even tried words for tooth, mouth, etc. it just wasn't working for us. So, after the unit had actually arrived, I went back to 'mowpheth' and looked at the phonetic spelling. It is "mo' faith". I was so excited! The phonetic pronounciation for miracle is more faith !!! This was perfect. Now we have Ele and Mo! Our scripture reference is Psalm 77:14 You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples.

Now we have a girl and a boy . . . and after a proper courtship, who knows what will happen!

God's Dental Miracle

2007-04-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

I guess I should start by saying (once again) that I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. One thing I don't have is a boring life! How wonderful it is to serve the Lord with all your heart. Anyway, I'm getting off the subject.

We have a new addition to our family in Healing Hands. Ele (our mobile medical unit) now has a friend. I am extremely pleased to introduce you to Mo - our mobile dental unit. I'm sure most of you are thinking, "What?????"

I will give you the quick version of the story which demonstrates that God is ready to answer your prayers, if your prayers are a reflection of our Father's heart.

In our medical outreach we have seen so many people that have incredible dental needs. Many would come with infections in their gums because of broken teeth. I could treat the infection and it would go away for a while, but it would come back later. We were just putting a band-aid on it, and not getting to the root of the problem (if I was a preacher, I could preach on that for awhile). The people we see have no insurance, so they certainly couldn't afford dental procedures.

So, we saw a need (which is always the first ingredient for a miracle). We began to pray last summer for a mobile dental unit and the staff to run it. I received an email about 4 weeks after we started earnestly praying for it in our weekly prayer gatherings for the ministry. This email was from the same company that sold us Ele, just wondering if we were in the market for a dental unit to match our medical unit. WOW - just that increased our faith, then the next thought was WOW - look at that price tag even for a used one. But we knew that if it was God's will, He would provide it for us.

The next step was to let Pastor Dino in on what we had been praying for and believing God for. (For anyone believing God for something in your ministry, please let your lead pastor in on it!!) After 6 weeks of prayer I received a text message from my pastor. He said that Joyce Meyer Ministry was going to provide the unit for us to grow our minstry to reach the hurting. There are no words to say how I felt at that moment! Our God is so big, with unlimited resources. Why do we continue to limit what He can do for us?

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mrs. Joyce Meyer and all those on her team who believe in our mission. Thank you Pastor Dino for believing in us.

More soon . . . because we've already taken the dental unit to New Orleans for an outreach!

Healing Hands Video 2006

2007-03-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Baton Rouge!

Would you like to see what some of our outreaches in 2006 looked like? Please click here to see a video that my wonderful son, Phillip, put together for us. We showed this at our last ministry meeting and it was a hit!

Donaldsonville #2

2007-02-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

We had our second trip to the 2nd Dream Center location in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. This location is on our monthly circuit of free clinics. It is one of the poorest zip codes in America. Wouldn't that be exactly where Jesus would be?

It was another day of watching God move through this Healing Hands team. One young man gave his life to the Lord that afternoon! It doesn't get much better than that.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Are you salty enough?

2007-02-07T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody,

We had a great January with 88 patients being seen in 3 clinics - praise God!

I shared a thought with our volunteers at our meeting this past Sunday that God had layed on my heart. Matthew 15:13 says we are the salt of the earth. Just like seasoning food, if you have the right amount of salt the food taste good and you want more. If there is not enough salt it is not appealing, and if there is too much salt it tastes bad and you don't want even another bite.

Salt makes you thirsty. Are we the salt of the earth to make people thirsty for the Living Water that is Jesus? If we never tell people about Jesus then we are like bland food that is not appealing to others, they don't thirst. We are too salty if we come on too strong, and then they want nothing to do with us. The thought is that we must be just salty enough so they want what we have, which is Jesus.

Let me share one story from a recent clinic that illustrates this point. One of our regular patients brought her husband to the clinic for the first time. She had been trying to get him to go to church, but he wouldn't make that final effort on Sunday to go, so she would go alone. After he had been through the clinic and been loved on and felt welcomed, he told his wife something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, "There's something about these people that makes them different that I just can't put my finger on. I want to see what kind of church they go to."

That day we were just salty enough. Lord, let us always be so full of You that people notice what is inside of us, instead of just us.

Finance Team Servin' it Up

2007-01-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful church I have the priviledge to serve in! Healing Place Church's finance team came to 'serve it up Jesus-syle' at the Donaldsonville Dream Center. This was our first time at their new campus located in an old school building. This team put down their pencils and began loving on people. They stayed as far away from the needles as possible!

It was a wonderful afternoon, with 26 people walking through our doors.

Top photo: Doug, Tammy, Harmony, Josh, Mark, and Brandi.

2nd photo: Doug escorting a patient down the steps of Ele.

3rd photo: Barbara and Harmony processing the charts.

4th photo: Tammy and Ann . . . I guess posing for the camera.

5th photo: Our precious Mary from Donaldsonville Dream Center and Mark

Not pictured is Josh, because he was taking pictures for me, Thanks Josh!

St. Francisville Jan. 7, 2007

2007-01-09T08:55:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful, sunny day in St. Francisville. We left Baton Rouge in tremendous fog, which cleared as we neared St. Francisville. When we arrived back in Baton Rouge that afternoon it was drizzling. Everyone said it had been like that all day. Can you say "Favor of God"?

Twenty-two precious people were loved on, and we were able to fellowship with all the wonderful servants that gave up their Saturday to serve others. May God bless them for their dedication.

Reflection on 2006, Happy New Year

2007-01-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Can you feel the excitement in the air about what 2007 has for us? I can't wait to get started. We had wonderful friends at our home last night and we started the new year with prayer and thanksgiving to Him who created all.

We also spent some time in reflection about all that God has done through us. We must never forget that it is not about us, it's all about Christ!

The totals for Healing Hands for 2006 are just incredible. Remember, we didn't start clinics until Feb. 2006. So this is not even a full year.

Number of clinic events: 59
Number of patient visits: 1,343
Number of volunteer encounters for these 59 events: 599

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. We know that God will do even more in 2007. If you would like to learn more about how you can become a part of this awesome team, our next meeting will be Sunday, February 4th at 4pm at the Annex I (Suite A). Our January 7th meeting has been cancelled due to other events.

Ele in the news!

2006-12-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful time to reflect on the goodness of God. What an incredible year this has been - and I can only look forward with excitement to 2007.

I'll have the total patients seen this year in a few days, but I couldn't wait to share this with you.

Leadership Network is an awesome organization that we became involved with in September. We were privileged to be part of the first Healthcare Community, which puts churches and Christian organizations together from around the country. These groups have a heart to reach hurting people with the love of Christ through healthcare. It has been an wonderful way to network with like-minded servants. Healing Place Church has been a part of their Multisite Church Community for a couple of years.

Anyway, Leadership Network recently wrote an article about Healing Place Church and they mentioned Healing Hands. Here is a quote from it: When asked where the staff for this exciting new ministry came from, Dan says with confidence, "God brought them in."

How true that is!!

Check out the entire article here.

Faith, Hope & Love in New Orleans

2006-12-17T05:07:00.000-08:00

I felt that one more story of our weekend in New Orleans needed to be told. The pictures below are of the waiting room, a picture of the street the church is located on (Firehouse Family Ministry), and the couple is Dr. Mike and his wife, Angie. They were first time volunteers with Healing Hands. It was so exciting for me to have two doctors to work with in the mobile clinic.

The story below was told by Angie, who was working in our pharmacy and educating patients about the diabetes machines we were giving them. But a series of events led her to spend time with and pray with a lady on Friday. . . and this was no coincidence.

"I met a lady this weekend in New Orleans who told me she had lost her reason to live. During Hurricane Katrina she lost her home and her only daughter. She thought her only purpose in life had been to care for this daughter who had been very sick.

She needed Jesus to heal her broken heart and to show her that He still had a purpose for her life. After talking about her daughter for a while, it was obvious that she felt a deep sense of guilt over her daughter’s death. She felt she should have been able to prevent it.

I was able to share with this precious lady how God Heals our broken heart, and binds up our wounds (Psalm 147:3). I was able to share my own testimony of how God had healed me from feeling the responsibility of my own brother’s death.

The fear of losing a loved one had once plagued me and now that very same spirit of fear was plaguing her. She was a Christian who had isolated herself from other believers and desperately needed to be free from grief, guilt and fear. I felt God was urging me to tell her that her day of grieving was over and He still had a plan and purpose for her life (Jeremiah 29:11)

We were able to pray together and before she left she assured me she was going to go back to her church and help reach out to other people. She now knew that there was still a plan and purpose for her life.

God is AWESOME! “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me …. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives… to set free those who are downtrodden…” Luke 4:18"

Angie

When the Saints Come Marching In

2006-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

There is a song that rings throughout the city of New Orleans that everyone in the city associates with the professional football team here. However, I want to share with you a story from a different team. A team of real Saints came marching into the city of New Orleans on December 8th and 9th, 2006. The goal of this team was simple. We wanted to show the love of Christ through mercy and compassion with healing in our hands. Healing Hands ministry out of Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, LA teamed up with PRC Compassion who networked us with churches and ministries in New Orleans for an all out assault into one of the hardest areas of the city, Midtown New Orleans.

This story is one of mercy as only Christ can show. On Saturday morning after setup, we opened to a crowd of about 40 or 50 men. I noticed one man who came in and was talking to one of our team and he looked discouraged. I wasn’t sure why, but I was soon to find out. A homeless man wandered into our camp cold, hungry and in desperate need of medical attention.

I was in our medical triage tent when one of our team members, Lori, said, “Joe, we need to get this man into the tent to a nurse because he is violently shaking”. Pastor Mike Davis from PRC Compassion, and I ran out to pick him up off the sidewalk and we carried him into the tent. We’ll call him Ralph. We immediately started to pray for him and warm him up as his body was very cold from sleeping out on the street all night. As we warmed him, Angie checked his blood sugar and it was over 300.

Ralph’s diabetic condition was serious and without a healing touch could have died. We brought Ralph into Ele to see Dr. Cheri, and after a brief evaluation she came out and told Pastor Mike and I that if he didn’t sober up and come clean then the medicine she could give him would only kill him.

Pastor and I took Ralph into the sanctuary where a battle ensued for the very soul of this man. I had my arm around Ralph’s shoulder the entire time we loved on him. I knew in my heart that the only reason Ralph was alive and in our presence was because Jesus wanted to perform a miracle. And a miracle is exactly what was needed.

There was nothing we could do for this man physically. For about an hour we poured the Word of God into him. All the Saints on the team knew Ralph was in the sanctuary and they were praying as well. With peace and joy in our hearts, Ralph made a profession of faith, and you could tell it was a heart change. Praise God!

His body stopped shaking and he walked out of the sanctuary under his own power. As he stood outside of the sanctuary ready to see the doctor, he looked at me and said words I will never forget, “Brother, I feel like I was in a fight and got whooped.” I looked at him and said, “You were…a fight for your very soul.”

The story doesn’t end there. We led Ralph in to see the doctor and Pastor Mike along with other Saints arranged for a home and a bed for him to sleep in. Jesus’ Miracle Power Ministry has taken him in and will place him in a program that will be focused on Christ with mentoring and teaching for one full year! To God Be the Glory!

A church van came to pick up Ralph and bring him home but not before he got a hair cut provided by the church. All the SAINTS were cheering as Ralph left transformed by the blood of Jesus! God still performs miracles and the greatest miracle of all is salvation.

Under His Grace,
Joseph LeBlanc, Jr.

More from New Orleans

2006-12-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

This is the view from the big tent that was used as the waiting room, nurses station and prayer room. It was very cold that day and there was a kerosene heater to warm the air. It was hard to determine what was worse: the fumes or the cold. But it didn't stop the servants from loving on each and every person that came through the line.
I forgot to state in yesterday's post that we saw 93 patients in the mobile clinic. All to the glory of God. Each of these patients was loved on by the receptionist at registration, one nurse to take their medical history, another nurse to take their vital signs, a physician, and each and every one was ministered to by a prayer partner. So many lives were touched by the love of Christ.

One of the stories was a lady that I saw with a complaint of crying all the time; she didn't know why she spent so much time crying. Gayle, Healing Hands' wonderful prayer leader, was able to spend some time with her. By the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they were able to figure out what the problem was. This sweet lady's church had not returned after Katrina, and she had not found another because she had no car and no church close by. She had no family except her church family and they were now gone. She had no fellowship with Believers. Gayle was able to talk to the church at Firehouse, introduce them to this lady, and they made arrangement to pick her up for service today, Sunday. She now had a new church and family. Gayle tells me that she left with tears of joy and a new spring in her step.

It's not about the medicine, not about any single church, not about a ministry, it's about fellowship in Christ and demonstrating His love.

More to come. . .

A Day of Mercy

2006-12-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

The Mercy Seat of God. What an awesome place to be, full of love and compassion. God gifted us this day to be His hands extending to show His love to people that thought they were forgotten.

What a great team we had that served with us this day. We had 21 from Baton Rouge, 6 from Richmond,Virginia and numerous servants from Firehouse, VERBO Church, and others of the local body of Christ.

At 9am they began lining up in very cold weather, but our team had warm smiles on their faces and mercy in their hearts. We quickly began registering and evaluating them. Many arrived without a coat, and the local church was distributing coats that had been collected from all over, including Baton Rouge and St. Francisville.

The Bible states that the Harvest is plentiful, and we certainly experienced that today.

These men were brought from hotels and other shelters where many slept on cement floors at night, and worked cleaning and rebuilding New Orleans all day. Some were blessed to have steady work, others never knew what the day would hold.
We saw many that had stomach problems. As we listened to what a typical day was like for them, we saw a pattern. Many worked jobs where they were not allowed to eat all day long. They left early in the morning and were kept on a rooftop all day. By the time they stopped at night, they were starving and would eat what they could and often suffered the stomach pains associated with this type of lifestyle.

Hearing their stories makes you think about the grace we live under and sometimes take for granted. This day was about showing mercy, and it was also thanksgiving.

There are so many stories still coming out of this day. We will share some over the next week or two. So, please check back often. Right now we will get some rest.

The picture with the 4 people are Loretta, Cindy and Dr. Ken from Virginia and me. The group photo is our wonderful team from Baton Rouge and St. Francisville.

More pics!

2006-12-09T05:16:00.000-08:00

Good morning Kingdom of God!

We are having our morning coffee! I realized I didn't post 2 of our best pictures from Friday. The whole team posing and the team from Victory giving thanks for our day.

We are ready for what God has for us today.

Fruitful Harvest in New Orleans

2006-12-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

Healing Hands Mobile Medical team followed Ele in a caravan to New Orleans early this morning with Victory Fellowship Broadstreet Mission as our destination. God blessed us with beautiful weather - a bit cold. But this did not hinder the group enthusiasm. We were met by a medical team from Richmond, Virginia as well as an awesome team of volunteers from the mission. We were so greatful for the 82 opportunities that the Lord provided for us to minister to those who needed healing - whether it was in their body or their soul.

We were a team of 3 physicians and 5 nurses, and many other servants (about 40). Although we had a later start than we had anticipated, we were on God's time. All who wanted to be seen were ministered to in 4 hours.

At the end of the day, we traveled a couple of miles to Firehouse Family Ministries that welcomed us into their church. This facility also has dorm rooms where we will be sleeping the night. Two ladies had prepared a wonderful supper for us.

After dinner, we set up our pharmacy in the church sanctuary. Everyone is preparing for a larger harvest tomorrow. Our night will end in prayer and thanksgiving for the opportunities He is giving us.

New Orleans - Grace & Mercy Needed

2006-12-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

We have been preparing for our 2 days of outreaches in New Orleans. How do you prepare when you don't know what to expect? This has tried to create a lot of anxiety in me these last few days. Several times I have had to take a deep breath and remember HE is in control. It doesn't matter if I know what to bring or not.

The team from Virginia is leaving tomorrow. We pray that they have safe travels. Dr. Ken and his team of 7 people were in New Orleans right after Katrina, in October and December of last year. It will be interesting to see what they think of the progress that has been made.

One thing can be sure. God's grace and mercy are greatly needed. What is so cool is that His grace and mercy never run out, but those who need it the most don't know about it. That's where Jesus lets us into the picture. We get to be His arms and legs to show His grace and mercy.

What we do in the natural is good, we provide needed medications and treatment to people who don't have any other way to get it. But that is so temporary. The love we can demonstrate to them WHILE we are serving is what really matters.

Keep praying, the evil one is not happy we are going into his territory. Pray that we may be a light in a dark place.

When did compassion leave?

2006-12-04T05:09:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome time in St. Francisville this past Saturday. It was a smaller clinic than usual because their annual Christmas Parade was passing on the same street that we use, so we had to have shorter hours. But as always when hearts are seeking Him, God shows up.

There are 2 stories from that day that I can't get out of my mind. One is a young man that we were seeing for the 3rd time. On the prior 2 occasions he had declined the offer of prayer. We never force it on anyone, just as Christ never forced Himself on anyone when He walked the Earth. We just kept loving on this man and serving him just like everyone else. What this man didn't know was that he was being prayed for by this wonderful team in St. Francisville. As you may have already guessed, this Saturday was different. This time when asked if he would like to talk with a prayer partner, he accepted the invitation! Praise God!

The other story is about a lady that we were also seeing for the 3rd time. After I had concluded the medical exam and discussed her medications and I was getting up to leave, she just sat looking at the floor. I sat back down and asked her what was wrong. I noticed tears streaming down her face. She said, "I just want you to know that I have never seen such compassion in professional people as I have experienced with all of you. From the moment I walk in the door and I am greeted by a happy smiling face welcoming me like family. Even the nurse as he takes my blood pressure is smiling and asking how I am doing in a way that implies that he really cares and is interested in the answer. He's not just asking it in a way that doesn't expect an answer. In all my years (she is in her early 60's) I've never experienced compassion like this in a professional environment."

I was deeply touched and cried with her. On the way back home I tried to analyze (that's what us doctors do) what brought me to tears. And I realized it was tears for all those professional people, including myself, that begin to look at our profession as a job instead of a calling. All of us that are blessed to interact with people in our job so easily loose our focus. Instead of seeing these interactions with people as an opportunity, we see them as a necessary task or even a burden. God help us all!

Compassion should be the "norm" instead of such an exception that it brought this sweet lady to tears when she experienced it. I now have a prayer focus of praying for renewed compassion in all medical professionals. Please join me.

New Orleans Outreach

2006-11-29T14:25:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody!

I pray that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have been remiss in not updating you on our recent outreaches. For the month of November we had 3 clinics and saw 72 patients! We had 30 servants love on these people and their families.

Alot of our time has been planning an outreach in New Orleans. We will be partnering with PRC Compassion to reach the hurting. On Friday, December 8th we will bring Ele (our mobile clinic) to Broad Street Mission (Victory Fellowship Church) for an all day clinic. We will be joined by a team from Virginia. Then on Saturday we will travel to Firehouse Family Ministries to provide medical care to a Hispanic population that they have been ministering to.

We ask that you please pray for us during these outreaches. We be posting more soon.

St. Francisville 11.4.06

2006-11-04T15:27:00.000-08:00

What an awesome day! The weather was so beautiful today for our clinic at HPC St. Francisville. We had 14 people who sacrificed this day to serve others. But what we thought was a sacrifice turned into a blessing for us. Great fellowship and a wonderful meal at the end. (Yes, we always seem to eat well at this clinic!)

We served 21 people this day! I heard one of our volunteers say what a change she saw in the faces of several of our patients. Women walked in the first time 3 months ago without a smile and hardly meeting anyone eye to eye because of shame that they felt for needing the help and fear of not knowing how they would be received. But each visit they found people who genuinly show the love of Christ every step of the way, from our receptionists to our prayer partners. Now these women walk into the Church with smiles on their face greeting people that they now consider friends. One told me today that she had been looking forward to coming to the clinic all week.

There are no 1st class or 2nd class people in the Kingdom of God, at the foot of the cross or in these clinics. Praise God!

TAKING BACK WHAT SATAN HAS STOLEN 11-3-06

2006-11-03T03:54:00.000-08:00

It has been nearly three weeks since our last post and there is so much to update on. We reached out to our Spanish campus in Gonzales, LA as well as the Mount Olive Trailer Park in north Baton Rouge, LA. I am always amazed at the diversity of people in each of our travels. We serve a great big God and my world grows as I reach out into His kingdom.

Last night we reached into a world that is surrounded by darkness as we went into the Donaldsonville Dream Center. The Pastor there is Mark Stermer, a man gifted and anointed by God to reach into that hard ground. A former special-services marine soldier, whom God has trained up, to war against the enemy in reaching the lost for Christ. I consider it an honor to team up with him in taking back what Satan has stolen.

Our weapons are love, kindness, goodness, gentleness, patience, peace, joy, self-control and faith through prayer by the Holy Spirit along with a little thing we call Ele. Ele is short for Eleos, our mobile medical unit. Eleos is Greek for compassion in action. And we had a lot of action last night. I can see life coming forth from the ground there. The ground is hard, but the team there on the ground is working the soil and planting seed. God is watering it by His spirit and we can see the difference it is making in the lives of people in that community for the cause of Christ.

One story I would like to share is of a man, whom I will call Paul. I have seen him bringing his wife of less than a year to the clinic to see our team of medical providers. I do not know what medical problems his wife is dealing with, but I have watched Paul and his actions over the past few months, and I could tell he was struggling in his walk. I was hopeful that the Lord would give me an opportunity to pray and talk with this young man.

God is faithful and He made a way. Paul was not seen by our clinic staff but asked the receptionist if someone could pray with him. Glory to God! Vickie Ohlerking, a first time volunteer, came out to Ele as we were picking up at the end and said there was a man who would like prayer. It was Paul!

As we walked around the Dream Center looking for an open door, I noticed his desire to stay close and not say anything negative. He really wanted prayer because I must have pulled on about 5 doors before finding a small office door open for us to talk in. Our persistence paid off as Paul started to pour his heart out to me and God with the things he was dealing with. As I listened, he spoke more and more concerning his battle with the enemy.

Paul has a desire to walk after God and he was frustrated with the enemy’s apparent victory and constant bombardment. I encouraged him with the Word and we prayed in agreement for his walk to be victorious. I encouraged him to stay plugged in to the local church and for him to continue to pray for his wife and to serve her. I know that God will raise up a standard against the enemy on behalf of Paul and I give God all the Glory for what he is doing!

Thanks to all who have sown a seed into this ministry as you are sharing in the crop that is tended to.

Because He Lives,
Joseph LeBlanc

Reaching Out in D'ville 10-12-06

2006-10-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody!!

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I repent!! God is good and we have been very busy.

We had a great outreach last Thursday. One of our first time servants wrote to me about her experiences. Here it is below!!

Reaching Out in D’ville Oct 17/06 Donna Frank

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to volunteer with HPC’s Healing Hands ministry at the Donaldsonville Dream Center. I’ve been around Healing Hands several times, as ICU (Inner City Unit) always partners with them when we’re at Mount Olive FEMA park, but this was the first time I worked with them directly. Being as that all of my medical training has come while trying to stitch myself up from my latest misadventure, I wasn’t sure that I would be much help. Fortunately, all they asked me to do was pray. That I can do.

Dr. Cheri LeBlanc and her husband Joseph oversee the mobile medical unit, which goes to various locations to provide free medical care for those who can’t afford to go to a doctor. Over the course of about 4 hours, 25 patients were seen, treated and given free prescription medication for their ailments.

My job was to pray with the patients after they had seen Dr. Cheri. Isaac and Joe were praying for the men while Miss Beverly and I (both first-time volunteers) prayed for the ladies. It was a great experience.

I expected that there would be lots of prayer requests for physical healing, and there were a fair number. Some of the other requests though, were a little surprising. As Miss Beverly and I listened to each woman’s story, I realized how broad the scope of Healing Hands really is. We prayed for broken marriages and upcoming court cases. We prayed for healing for other pastors in the community. We prayed against domestic violence, abuse and addiction. I was shocked at how much information these women were willing to give complete strangers. It was definitely God.

By 7:00pm I felt as if I had been through a war. Miss Beverly and I sat in the nursery-turned-prayer room, just looking at each other. The needs in this community, like so many others, seem overwhelming. I’m so very grateful that my only job is to lift those needs up to God; it’s His job to meet them.

We gathered with the other volunteers for closing prayer. We gave God honor and praise for the twenty-five souls that had been touched; through physical healing and the power of prayer. We thanked Him for the opportunity to serve Him and His children. After handshakes and hugs everyone loaded into their cars and headed back across the Sunshine Bridge. Driving into the darkness I realized that Healing Hands might start with the body, but that’s only to gain access to the soul. All glory to God!

Day 2 - Leadership Network

2006-09-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no pictures. Too much time learning from others and dreaming, and listening for God's soft still voice to tell us what direction we need to go in. Because it's His direction we want.

We are learning so much from each other. Some clinics do some things so well, but have never thought of other things. For example, one clinic is known as a Christian clinic - not directly connected to a church, but has 6 churches that they partner with for financial and volunteer resources. But they don't have any structured "prayer partners" availble during their clinic hours. So much to learn from each other. None of them had ever thought of a mobile clinic as part of their ability to do outreach into needing communities close by their standing clinics.

What they challenged us with yesterday is what we see our ministries being in 2 years, what steps are needed to get it there. Then to break it down to what are our goals for the next 6 months and devise a plan on how to achieve it.

So, I'm taking a pole. Let me know what YOU see as some short term and long term goals for Healing Hands. Here is your chance to dream with us.

Day 1 Leadership Network - Dallas, TX

2006-09-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Big D,

Joe and I were honored to travel with Johnny and Roxanne Green to Dallas, Texas to represent Healing Place Church in the Healthcare Community of the Leadership Network. We are one of 8 Christian healthcare ministries/clinics that is participating in the Leadership Network's first Healthcare Initiative Leadership Community.

The purpose of these 3 days of meetings is to get to "brainstorm" with other groups from around the country about how do deliver healthcare to people in need where the center is Christ. It is such a diverse group meeting these needs in very innovative ways. The Network's role is to have us participate in activities to stimulate us to think of ways to take what we do and do it better. We are sharing resources, telling stories, and praising God for what He is doing all around the country.

And guess what? We are the only group that is doing this with a mobile clinic!

Stay tuned, more to follow.
Cheri

Mt. Olive Trailer Outreach 9.19.06

2006-09-21T04:31:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly 13 months since Hurricane Katrina leveled southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi. Our outreach to be the healing hands of Christ extended at Mount Olive on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 struck us as if it was only 13 days after the storm instead of 13 months. The pain and suffering has not diminished. I would like to share a couple of stores to this point.

My name is Joseph LeBlanc, and you guessed it, I am Doctor Cheri's husband. I also drive the mobile medical clinic to the sites as needed. After I set up the clinic for the team I change hats and become a prayer partner. The medical team can only do so much in the natural. Prayer and an ear to listen can bring so much more healing to the people we see in our outreaches. Mount Olive was no exception in this regard.

One man who came just for blood pressure medicine to stabilize himself before surgery was blessed by our team at every touch before sitting down with me for prayer. As I listened to him speak, he started to weep. His family had been torn apart by the storm and trying to get back together has been difficult at best. He apologized to me for crying, saying that he should be stronger than this and didn't want anyone to see him crying. I knew that the Holy Spirit was present and I assured him that there was no shame in crying. He felt alone and forgotten in the FEMA trailer park. My prayer with him was personal, but I know that God will reunite him with his mother and family for the glory of God, because He loves us.

Another gentleman was battling depression. He stated that he thanked God for saving him from the storm. He also had not seen his mother since the storm. I encouraged him to get into the Word, he commented that he could not read since he lost his reading glasses in the storm. We had brand new reading glasses in the mobile unit and I blessed him with two pair. I will never forget the smile and the joy on his face as he tried them on.

Why do we do this? For the glory of God and to bring the message and hope of Jesus Christ.

Because He lives,
Joseph LeBlanc

Spanish Time! 9.17.06

2006-09-18T04:06:00.000-07:00

Our monthly clinic in Gonzales, LA, began with a much smaller volunteer crew than we usually have, but God is faithful.

We saw 40 people that day with 4 providers: an internist, nurse practioner, pediatrician, and chiropracter. It was a great day. But what was even greater was the blessings that came from other directions.

There was a church member at HPC Spanish Campus that had been going to church there for 2 months and had gone to her first church prayer meeting the night before, and found out about the clinic outreach scheduled for the next day. She decided to come check it out. We were short a couple of translators, and guess what her job is? Medical translation!!!! Needless to say, we put her to use immediately and she is excited to become part of our team there!!

A patient was walking in as one of the nurses was attempting to draw blood on a difficult vein. The patient asked if she could try, as she is a phlebotomist! After talking with her, she had to move here from up north because her younger sister is in need of 24 hour care and she came to be with more family. She has been unable to work because of her family commitments and has felt worthless because there was nothing she could do to contribute to the Kingdom. When I told her how needed and valued her service to us would be, she was glowing! She will make arrangements with her other family so she can have those 4 hours to donate to God in this clinic every month. Her whole countanence changed and she saw her purpose.

What blessings could you receive if you bless someone with your time and talent? We are blessed to be a blessing. Every one of our volunteers make an impact in many people's lives at every clinic, and usually walk away with their own spirits lifted and weights taken away. Try it, you just might like it.

Thank you, Jesus, for another incredible clinic.

Dream Center Clinic 9.14.06

2006-09-15T05:26:00.000-07:00

We continue to have the same experience at each clinic: every clinic is different. That is the ONLY thing that is the same, change. We had another incredible clinic at the Dream Center in Donaldsonville. This is a very challenging area because the needs are so huge, and we always have the least amount of volunteers.

But God is faithful, and He shows Himself strong especially when we are not. We were a team of 9, and what a wonderful team it was. For the first time ever we had more nurses than anything else. And you know what? Without being asked 2 of the nurses moved into areas they usually don't do. One became a prayer partner and one a receptionist. Our other receptionist actually had to take a vacation day off of work to come and volunteer!

One lady in a wheelchair arrived crying because of the pain she was in just moving around to get to us. When she left the prayer room she was smiling, obvious that her spirits were lifted, and insisted on being wheeled around to give everyone a hug to thank us. Then we were the ones crying.

Pictures above are some of the nurses in the mobile unit, the prayer room in the church nursery and our waiting room in the church lobby. And of course Ele (mobile clinic) in front of the church.

St. Francisville 9.9.06

2006-09-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. We had a little break with the holiday, and Ele (mobile clinic) was at the doctor. We will catch up with our clinics, because we have 4 clinics in 10 days!
We were in St. Francisville for our 2nd clinic in this community. We had 7 return visits and 2 new patients scheduled. Our patients for the day turned out to be 17! Why the increase? Because they all brought friends. There is nothing better than word of mouth advertising!
We open our doors for any that do not have insurance of any kind. Every step of the way we love on them. There are always lots of smiles and hugs. One of the ladies we saw for the second time was so excited. She told me that after her visit where she had her medical needs met, and she didn't have to worry about how she was going to afford her meds this month, and then was able to meet with our prayer team. She said the encouragement she received has lifted her spirits so much that she was more active. Joined some activities at the Council on Aging and just felt better overall. She brought 2 friends with her to see us!

After our clinic we were able to relax at a local restraunt and thank God for what we were able to be a part of. Pictured above is our group with our bellies and hearts full.

For all of our volunteers out in Baton Rouge: we have our monthly meeting Sunday Sept. 10th at 4pm in Annex II. We also have Vision Night at 6pm at Healing Place Church Highland Campus where we get to hear the heart of our Pastors Dino and Delynn Rizzo.

Cameron: Views from a college student

2006-08-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

I just received this email from Kari, one of the college students from Seacoast Church in South Carolina that came to serve in Cameron. I loved hearing about how these 3 days impacted her. I think you will, too.

Hey, Sorry it took me so long to respond. It has been so busy since school started. I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to travel to LA and take part in such a uplifting mission trip. This was my first "medical" mission trip, and to tell you the truth, I was scared to death on the way up there.

Leslie and I did not know we were going until about four days before we left from SC. It was really a last minute thing. We had to find people to cover six shifts at work between both of us, and it is amazing how God took care of everything and we were able to go.

I was telling my parents when I got back, that you can just never prepare yourself for seeing such devastation. When we were driving up there and we went through New Orleans, and I saw the houses, and the spray paint still on houses, I remember seeing one that said "dead dog" and I just couldn't imagine to have to come home and see that, or to come home and not have a home at all. This trip taught me a lot.

To interact with the people of Cameron, who virtually lost everything they had, but yet many of them still hung on to a thin line of hope. Their testimonies were amazing to me, and there stories of struggles, and trying to just survive day to day, was something my mind couldn't comprehend. Because personally I have never had to go through something like this, and to be there first hand and see it with my own two eyes, and not through the news or magazine, I was completly speechless.

The town of Cameron has hope. The community has come together to help each other out, from what I could gather. There were some people who I talked to, who seemed to be losing some of that hope, but yet the simple fact that people took their time to come and give medical care, feed them, and have school supplies, and that we just wanted to sit down and talk to them, gave them hope, gave them a reason to get up out of bed and face a new day, and gave them hope to trust in Jesus Christ.

This is was a moment in my life that I will never be able to forget, I learned so many things and also grew in my relationship with God. Thank you again for the opputunity to allow Charleston, Sc to come to LA. Thank you for your hospitality and for buying me PB and J's!

God Bless your ministry, and I am praying for it everyday!

God Bless
Kari Ray

Katrina - Lessons learned?

2006-08-28T19:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a year from Katrina. I can't watch the TV. Too many pictures bringing back too many memories that are still fresh like yesterday. Too many people giving advise on what we should have learned from this devastation. What does God want us to have learned from this? That is the only question that should matter.

So much pain, so much loss. And I was just one of the many who tried to help, I didn't loose anything; I can't imagine how those who lost dear ones or their homes have felt. But God doesn't waste one single tear; there is a lesson to learn from everything we go through.

Where are the people that I met in those first few days after Katrina:

That young lady who was a diabetic and had not eaten in 2 days, blood sugar was extremely high, and I fussed her for not taking care of herself. As I gave her a shot of insulin, she looked at me and with tears in her eyes told me that her 2 year old son was at her mother's house down the street when the levee broke and the waters flooded the streets. Now 2 days later, she didn't know if he or her mother was alive. I repented to her and God on the spot; I could not have eaten, either. Do we ever know the full story of why people act the way they do? God does. Was her child and mother found alive? Where is she now?

In the New Orleans airport 5 days after the storm as it was being used as a triage and evacuation center I was able to go with the second team of volunteers. We were there all Saturday night. The baggage claim area was being used to keep people who had been processed, had already received medical attention and were waiting for the next plane out. This is where the helicopters that had plucked people off of roofs were being taken. There are not enough words to describe that scene.

One lady had been in a wheelchair for 5 days. Had not been able to get out of it even for 'bodily functions'. She was 85 years old. As we removed her from the wheelchair, cleaned her with baby wipes, rubbed her legs to try to stretch them out, and lie her on a cot, she cried, not from pain, but because we were helping her. Where is she now?

Another elderly lady with one leg previously amputated was lying in her own filth for days. Her husband was nearby, handicapped himself and unable to care for her. As we cleaned her up, she thanked us. I asked if we could pray for her and she warmly agreed. She bowed her head, and then looked at me and said, "Jesus has a place for me". I thought she meant that He knew where they would be taken to and they would be cared for since they were going to be on the next plane. But as I lied her back down, she went limp in my arms and died. After having spent days in misery she died just hours before being in comfort. I know where she is, but where is her husband that was married to her for 47 years?

What is God's lesson? It is a lesson for those who experienced Katrina, those who helped with the relief, and for all who watched it on TV. Are we closer to Jesus now that we were a year ago? Our lesson is to learn to rely on God. This is the only thing that matters. This world is not our home, it is just a temporary dwelling while we wait for our eternal home.

I pray a special blessing on all those who suffered loss last year in Katrina. I pray that they are all closer to Jesus and are enjoying the comfort of His presence.

Trailer Park 8.22.06

2006-08-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday we had clinic in the trailer park, our third visit to this one. And it poured down raining, and lightning, and thunder. Not the light stuff, the 4 drops to the gallon size.

I thought we wouldn't see anyone, but we ended up seeing 19 patients. They were quite amazed that we still made it out there to have clinic.

Take a look at this picture: our prayer team. They set the tent up in the rain, and just huddled closer to the middle when the rain came harder. How do you thank such dedication in these volunteers? I can't; only God can.

Stories from Cameron

2006-08-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here is another picture from Cameron. This is Ann Ziegler who leads our receptionist team for Healing Hands. She was the first one who was able to greet our patients and start the paperwork with release forms. It was very hot, but she greeted everyone with a smile.

So many stories to tell, which we will continue to post. Hopefully we will have some from the Seacoast team soon.

This story really took me by surprise. For those of you who don't live in South Louisiana, let me give you a little history on our culture. Since we are at, or below sea level, our cemeteries are above ground. I'm sure you can use your imagination to know what happens when 8 feet of water and tremendous winds come onshore.

One of the ladies I prayed with after examining her and taking care of her medical concerns, began crying. She explained that it has just been so much, with loosing her home, now living in a FEMA trailer, lost her job because the business she worked for no longer exists. Just 2 weeks ago they found her mother's casket on the west side of Lake Charles, miles away. So, after burying her mother 2 years ago, she had to bury her again. Think about that for a moment. What could I do? I just held her and cried with her, and allowed the Holy Spirit to comfort her and remind her that Jesus was with her and would not leave her.

How many others need to be reminded that Jesus has not forgotten them. That this place is only temporary. That eternity will be in a place with no tears, if we only believe in our Savior.

Pictures from Spanish Clinic

2006-08-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of Dr. Roth and Tracy Parker in action at Spanish Campus. Please see other post for details of our day.

Spanish Campus 8-19-06

2006-08-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

Just a few days back from Cameron (we'll post more on that in days to come) and we are off to the Spanish Campus in Gonzales. This is one of our busiest clinics because we are blessed with having a pediatrician, Dr. Tara Ryan and Dr. Roth, a chiropracter, who both volunteer at this clinic once a month.

At this clinic we also had a nurse practitioner, Tracy Parker. So, we expanded beyond Ele's walls to the church where we have Dr. Roth and Tracy stationed.

Final numbers are yet to be counted, but it is over 40 patients. Because of the number of new patients, our 4 hour clinic became 5 hours. And people waited without complaining. Thank you to all the volunteers who gave up their Saturday morning.

It is so wonderful to see people who we have been treating for a few months. One man that was diagnosed with diabetes 2 months ago, given a monitor, and place on meds last month is doing great. He also tells me that when he used to work in construction up high, bending over he would get dizzy. But now he no longer feels bad, and has more energy. It's all about relationship. And we have so many new ones as a result of this outreach.

Cameron Day 3

2006-08-17T04:44:00.000-07:00

Yes, we made it back. Since I didn't post immediately I've had some calls asking if we made it home.

These few days were some of the spiritually hardest days I've ever had. We saw a total of 157 patients in 2 clinic days. We gave out probably close to 500 different medications for free. For most chronic medications we were able to give them 3 months of pills. We gave out 15 glucometers (diabetes machines) to diabetics who had not had a machine since Rita hit 11 months ago. The needs and the stories were overwhelming. It was all so much need in such a short amount of time. We loved on these people, prayed with them and poured out our heart. We left empty.

PRC Compassion came on Tuesday (Day 3) and what a blessing they were. They helped Joe and David cook another meal for 300 people. They walked around and talked and prayed with people as they waited to be seen in the clinic. It was awesome to see so many needs being met. The body of Christ truly coming together to be a "healing place for a hurting world".

As I have reflected back on why these days were so hard for me. I've been blessed to be on 2 mission trips in the past to Honduras and Uganda, Africa. I've seen mass amounts of people in a short time with the same type of need. Why should it be easier to accept that level of need in 3rd world countries than in our own back yard? Jesus doesn't see these people any different. They are still God's children.

We take so much for granted in America. So many people say they can't go on a mission's trip because they don't have the time or the money to go to another country. THE SAME NEED IS RIGHT HERE. This precious team from Seacoast Church saw this as a mission trip. Look at the tremendous impact they made. I'm putting out the challenge, step out and help someone close to where you are. Need is everywhere. I know it's been said so many times that your mind just skips right over it, but really listen to this. If every Christian helped someone once a week or even once a month, what a wonderful world this would be!

I'll be posting more stories about our trip in the days to come! Stay tuned.

(It's not letting me upload pictures, I'll try again later.)

Cameron Day 2

2006-08-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to know where to begin to describe the day. Our great cook, David, began with cooking us breakfast, but the people began arriving before we could eat it!

Most of the people we saw were commercial fisherman. They are trying to make a living shrimping, keeping their families fed and find the time and money to try to rebuild their homes. Many came from Lake Charles because they heard that there would be a doctor in Cameron. Many have been unable to see a doctor, or if they did see a doctor they can’t afford their medications.

Lunch was started right after breakfast. Three meat jambalaya and white beans for 310 people. Then after a short break, the cooks began the team’s supper: shrimp etoufee. (I guess I can’t say that we suffered.)

We ended the clinic at 5pm having seen all that had come. 94 patients were seen! So many people with problems sleeping, depression, anxiety, just being overwhelmed by what their life has been for the last eleven months. As I prayed with each patient, many would begin openly weeping.

No one hears about the devastation of Hurricane Rita. Who ever heard of Cameron? These people feel forgotten. We were able to love on 94 of them, and feed over 300 of them. What we offer in the natural is so little, but what God has for them is incredible! We get the opportunity to be that light to them. What an honor! Our prayer is that we made a difference, for the name of Jesus. It’s not about the medicine; it’s about The Great Physcian.

Day 1 - Setup & Dinner

2006-08-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

We continued to set up our site. We will have a "free" pharmacy with over-the-counter medications for people to choose from under the ministry tent of Minveille Outreach Ministries. Rev. Cheryl Minveille gave us a warm welcome.

We had asked her to arrange for some fresh shrimp to cook for our friends from South Carolina. And she took care of us! Our Dr. Bo really enjoyed his shrimp. (He is the one with the potatoe in his mouth, and corn and shrimp in each hand. We had a wonderful dinner. Now off to bed to start seeing patients in the morning. We had many people stop by to ask when we would start.

Cameron Day 1

2006-08-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! Once we made it down the bridge, we entered another world. It’s hard to comprehend the devastation still in place 11 months later.

The first picture is entering the marsh land. The second picture is not that great, but if you look closely to the right of the picture you will see a house just sitting in the middle of the swamp. Tossed there by Rita. We saw about 3 of these. There were a few cars and trucks as well.

As we entered Cameron, you could see cement steps on a foundation. No sign of a house. It broke my heart to see all these steps leading to nowhere. Where are those people now? What is their story? Some were rebuilding, but most were not.

We arrived and arranged our vehicles: Ele (mobile clinic), the RV, and a borrowed trailer which carried the cooking items and also has some sleeping quarters.