December 26, 2012

Touching Lives in Ethiopia

Laura Matheny, R.N. - Medical Outreach Coordinator 

A team of 39 volunteers recently traveled with us on our medical/dental outreach to a rural area in Ethiopia, Africa to provide the gift of medical and dental care to those in need. We met an overwhelming number of people in desperate need of even the most basic care. Throughout the week-long outreach, we had to remind ourselves that even though we may not have been able to help them all, it would be worth it even if we could change and help the life of just one.

On one of the days, we had a five year old boy with a large birth defect in his eye come into the clinic. This external cyst had grown on his eye and was protruding out to the point where he could no longer see or close his eye. Because of its repulsive appearance, the child and mother were considered outcasts of their village. As a result, they suffered from starvation. The child was transferred to the hospital by our team and with a simple, inexpensive surgery we were able to bless him with, the cyst will be removed and the child will regain his vision. His family will be accepted back into his community and the quality of his life will be drastically improved as he will no longer live with the shame of the physical deformity.

Jesus Himself said that he would leave the ninety-nine in search of the one. He was able to do that through our team on this outreach in Ethiopia. We were able to touch the lives of over 4,000 precious people, one by one, through the gift of free medical and dental care. We give honor to God for allowing us to participate in His mission across the earth.
 
Hand of Hope is the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Our goal is simply to help as many hurting people as we possibly can, to alleviate human suffering and to help Christians grow in their faith.

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December 19, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Update: Providing Hope

Mike Messner - Director of Domestic Outreach 

People whose lives have been changed forever by the destruction left behind by Hurricane Sandy continue the clean-up and restoration process. Thousands of people are still in need of long-term help, hope and rebuilding. The need for assistance continues to be tremendous.

Because of your generous support, Hand of Hope is able to partner with Third Day Missions in Staten Island and Christ Tabernacle in Queens to provide long-term disaster relief support for those still experiencing the lasting damages caused by this devastating storm. Through partnerships with these local organizations, Hand of Hope will work to provide long-term, lasting solutions and support to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.
 
Hand of Hope is the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Our goal is simply to help as many hurting people as we possibly can, to alleviate human suffering and to help Christians grow in their faith.

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December 12, 2012

Seeds of Hope for the People of Portugal


Like many people around the world today, the people of Portugal are in the midst of a severe economic crisis. Many find themselves facing critical financial challenges, and in some cases have lost hope for the future.
 
In an effort to bring renewed hope to the people of Portugal, Hand of Hope recently sent 7,000 of Joyce’s books, translated into Portuguese, for distribution throughout the country. Working with local church pastors, these books have been given out to those in need of an encouraging word through evangelism outreaches, church groups, and teen outreaches.
 
Response has been tremendous. One local pastor shared, “I believe these books are seeds of great hope for the people of Portugal and have come at just the right time.” Through this simple gesture, people’s lives are being changed and their hope is being restored.
 
Hand of Hope is the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Our goal is simply to help as many hurting people as we possibly can, to alleviate human suffering and to help Christians grow in their faith.

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December 05, 2012

Softening Hearts Hardened in Prison



Roy Lormis, Joyce Meyer Ministries Prison Ministry 

This was another amazing year for our Prison Ministry team. To date in 2012, we visited 156 prisons in the United States and distributed 215,000 bars of soap, bottles of shampoo and copies of Joyce’s books to inmates. We held 132 services in the prisons and were able to lead 10,767 inmates to the Lord!

We recently visited all 50 prisons in California where we saw a lot of thankful men and women. One man in particular, in the High Desert facility, comes to mind. He showed me an empty shampoo bottle he had from our previous visit in 2002. He had kept it as a reminder of someone caring enough to visit and giving the inmates gifts. He couldn’t get over the fact we were back again with gifts for everyone. He just lit up with smiles and tons of thanks.

Our heartfelt thanks to the partners and friends of Joyce Meyer Ministries – your support allows us to travel the world sharing the message of hope and healing that is freely available to everyone through Christ Jesus. Together we truly are better.
 
Hand of Hope is the missions arm of Joyce Meyer Ministries. Our goal is simply to help as many hurting people as we possibly can, to alleviate human suffering and to help Christians grow in their faith.

Follow Hand of Hope on Facebook | Twitter