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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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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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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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.

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Water Wells in Zambia, Africa



Wayne Eaves, JMM Africa Outreach 

Hand of Hope is partnering with Overland Missions in Zambia, Africa to dig wells for people in the region who do not readily have access to clean water. Overland Missions equips their teams with the skills they will need to go out into the community to share the gospel and dig fresh water wells. The location of each well is carefully assessed and chosen. Before a location is even considered, the Overland Missions teams share the gospel and evangelize in the community. Their goal is to ensure they will have a good relationship in the local villages and on-going partnerships with people who will subsequently use and maintain the wells.

Seven wells funded by Hand of Hope have now been completed. These wells will make an impact in the daily lives and, more importantly, make a huge difference in the health of the people they serve. Providing fresh water seems like something so simple, but when you hear the people in these rural villages tell you about how “God has brought them water” you begin to understand how something so simple is also so very powerful.
 

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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Physical and Emotional Healing in El Salvador

Often times, people are forced into facing tragic moments in their lives, causing a great deal of not only physical but emotional pain as well. It is the kind of pain which runs deep into the soul and can have a profound effect. It has no prejudice to location, gender, or social status.

On our recent medical/dental outreach to El Salvador we met someone in this type of pain, 62 year old Marta. Marta came to our clinic with chronic back pain. One of our clinic volunteers worked on relieving the physical burden of pain in her back; Marta began to share about her life. She had been married for many years and had three adopted children. She was a victim of abuse throughout her entire marriage up until the day her husband died. Following his death, she discovered he had also been abusing their adopted children. Now grown, the children wanted absolutely nothing to do with Marta. It hurt her deeply. The physical pain in her back was an extension of the pain in her spirit. She was carrying the shame and responsibility for the actions of her deceased husband.

God not only used our medical team to physically treat Marta’s back pain but to also treat her spirit through prayer and one of Joyce’s books. As she left the clinic, she thanked our team for being there. Our outreach to El Salvador treated many physicals ailments as well as touched the lives and hearts of the people we met - restored lives, new freedoms, lasting peace.

 

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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Providing Shoes to the Children of Mongolia



Mike Messner - HOH Director of Domestic Outreach 

God can use anything, anywhere, at any time to open people’s hearts to hear His word. Recently, He used shoes in Mongolia. Hand of Hope, in conjunction with Gleaning for the World, provided over 26,000 pairs of Sketcher shoes to be distributed throughout Mongolia. Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) is working to distribute the shoes to Mongolian children ages 6 - 15. During the shoe distribution a Christian video is shown to the children and a personal testimony is shared with them by someone whose life was changed because of Jesus. As a practical example of Christ’s love for them, the children are told the shoes were given to them by Christian organizations from America who love and care for them.

CVM was invited by the principal of a school in Southern Mongolia to distribute shoes to a class of 6 year old children (pictured) who were very much in need of footwear. Each child received a pair of shoes for their size. The children and the teacher of the class expressed their gratitude for the free shoes.
 

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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Life After Hurricane Sandy

Ginger Stache - Chief Media Officer, Joyce Meyer Ministries 

72 year old Nancy secured everything she could in her Ocean City, New Jersey house and then climbed the pull-down stairs to ride out the storm in her dark, freezing attic. Three days later a local pastor found her dehydrated and emotionally spent - her home flooded with sludgy water.

The DRADT team (Disaster Relief And Disaster Training) is equipping volunteers and working with the local church to help people like Nancy. And Hand of Hope is providing for teams like DRADT and Convoy of Hope who are literal lifelines at times like this.

There is more to do. Thank you for sending us to meet physical and spiritual needs.
 

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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Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Efforts



Hurricane Sandy has left millions without power, homes burned and flooded and families without loved ones. Hand of Hope is partnering with Convoy of Hope and the New York City Dream Center to provide meals and cleaning supplies to those affected by the storm. Convoy of Hope trucks are pre-positioned near disaster zones in New York and Pennsylvania, two of the areas hit hardest by Sandy, to provide immediate relief.

Please continue to keep those impacted by the storm in your prayers. Our hearts and prayers go out to them.
 

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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Helping ‘The Least of These’ in the DR



Laura Matheny, R.N. – HOH Medical Outreach Coordinator 

We recently had the privilege of working alongside our long-time ministry partner Love A Child in the Dominican Republic where we provided medical and dental care to over 2,400 displaced Haitian people. Our team of medical and dental volunteers was able to demonstrate the love of Christ – even for ‘the least of these’ in the sugar cane fields of the Dominican Republic where many displaced Haitians not only work, but also live. These precious people are often treated very poorly and considered outcasts. We ministered to them by providing free medical/dental care, meals and prayer.

We saw so many amazing things take place during this outreach. A witchdoctor came to one of our clinics and fell to his knees accepting Christ. A crippled woman who used a cane to walk received prayer and was completely healed and no longer needed her cane. Another woman had a life-threatening infection in her body that was completely healed through treatment and prayer. It was a phenomenal week as we served the Lord together. Thank you partners for being our hands extended, allowing us to bring relief and hope to the hurting.
 

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