The essence of the Messiah
(Fit into a tweet?)
In Luke 7, John the Baptist asks his cousin the ultimate question from prison’s death row and receives an incredible response in less than a tweet (162 characters in Greek).
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The miracles of Jesus didn’t end at the cross! Because of your support, at Healing Grove, the blind are receiving sight, the dead are being raised and the Good News is being proclaimed to the poor! Read on for inspiring stories!
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“Jose” is an uninsured member of Healing Grove Health Center. His wife has been a community leader and Madre-A-Madre volunteer for more than a decade. Jose is a hardworking landscaper, but was losing his sight due to pterygium which could eventually lead to job loss. Previously he had paid for a surgery to restore his sight, but it was very expensive and ended up failing. After years of suffering with his condition, he finally turned to Healing Grove. Dr. Angie found a way to get him a free surgery through Operation Access. After healing from the successful surgery, he was full of gratitude and offered to help Dr. Angie & Brett with some spring landscaping at their home. He worked on their roses several days after coming home from work. They woke up on Easter morning to the amazing rose blooms in the photo above — the best they’ve seen in the 11 years they have lived at this property, on 25 healthy rose bushes!
Baby Ezraella, whose parents gave us permission to share her story, became a member of Healing Grove at age 7 months. She had been diagnosed with a Patent Ductus Arteriosus, a serious congenital heart condition. Baby Ezraella was dying of heart failure. She needed a special heart surgery that only certain academic hospitals can perform.
Ezraella was severely underweight and weak. Her parents tried to keep her from laughing because when she laughed, she would start gasping and turning blue; she could not get enough oxygen.
Unfortunately, she was uninsured without means to pay for the surgery. The local academic hospital informed us that they NO LONGER offered charity care surgeries even though the baby was dying. But the Healing Grove team couldn’t take NO for an answer!
Ezraella’s mom and Dr. Angie both turned to prayer. Ezraella’s mom had received a prophetic prayer that her baby girl would be healed through the actions of an “angel”. Her hope from this prayer sustained her even after dozens of clinics refused to see her baby because of her insurance status. When she finally found Healing Grove, her ears perked up when she heard that “Dr. Angela” would be able to see her daughter. Dr. Angie knew that finding a surgery for this baby seemed impossible, so she sent out an SOS prayer request to Healing Grove prayer partners and supporters.
Like the persistent widow, Dr. Angie continued to fight for the surgery, making dozens of calls and getting dozens of “NO”s. An initial estimate for the surgery was nearly $1 million. A series of miraculous events brought the cost down to $195,000. Meanwhile baby Ezraella required heart failure medications and couldn’t eat much without gasping for breath. It was not clear how long she would survive.
Then, on Christmas Eve, an extremely generous donor stepped out in faith and asked what would be required to save Ezraella’s life.
Everyone kept praying. The next few weeks brought a few more miracles. When the pediatric cardiologist saw her, he called Dr. Angie and said, “We need to schedule this procedure right now!” There was no time to lose. Miraculously, the final price tag was reduced to less than $20,000. For the price of a used car, Baby Ezraella’s life was saved due to the generosity of a Healing Grove donor.
But the Kingdom of Heaven was not done. Many of those phone calls that Dr. Angie had made revealed to the academic hospital that they needed to re-examine their charity care policy. They decided to start a fund to ensure that future Baby Ezraellas have a chance for survival. Through Healing Grove, God is transforming both individuals and systems!
Today, Baby Ezraella is happy, growing like crazy, getting stronger, laughing, and thriving with her family!
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As a Healing Grove donor, concierge member or prayer partner, we’re partnering together to Proclaim Good News to the Poor. Every day at Healing Grove, there’s a beautifully diverse mix of the less resourced (which Jesus called the Blesseds) and the more resourced. At the interface of the rich and poor, the Kingdom of Heaven opens up as together we proclaim The Good News of the Gospel!
A few weeks ago, we took a group of 15 high schoolers from our low income community on a college road trip, visiting Job Corps, West Valley Community College, San Jose City College, UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Monterey Bay. Here’s what was particularly cool — for each school a Spanish speaking young adult alumnus from our community gave a tour of the school they attended! Yes – it is possible to attend and graduate from college!
Last week, we took a group of 45 students and volunteers to a 2-night/3-day 5th Grade Science Camp. We had an awesome week, sharing the message: “God the Great – Maker, Scientist and Engineer”! While wealthier schools attended science camp this year, Washington Elementary, one of the poorest in Silicon Valley, canceled their Science Camp. So the Healing Grove team stepped in! We were able to teach them about science and the amazing God who created science!