HEAL Blog
Welcome! Here we will post news and highlight the faces, needs, and services of HEAL.Halfway to our goal of repairing generator
“You see these people here?” asked Jude Okonkwo, as he pointed at the houses we drove by. “They live in darkness!” he exclaimed. Jude, brother of Deacon Leo, said this to me one evening in Nigeria in 2017 while driving me back into Akpim village after our excursion to...
HEAL Students begin clearing brush for planting
Scripture tells of “...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted...”. In the rural village of Akpim in Nigeria, the BOMCA students and Messengers of Justice have begun clearing away brush for the planting of various crops including pumpkin, cassava,...
Servant Leadership in Action via Prayer
“You are healed!”, said Fortune, after he and his BOMCA schoolmates gathered around and prayed for me. Sure enough, the cold and flu symptoms I had experienced the last few days began to disappear! This prayer took place last July, just outside the BOMCA house...
Corruption Feeds Adverse Social Conditions
I recently attended a political event in Chicago, where former State Rep. and candidate for Illinois governor, Jeanne Ives, spoke. She lamented the fact that Illinois is on the brink of financial collapse because “...we have accepted the corruption” that has...
For I was hungry, and you gave me food
Back when I was in grade school, a tray of one-pint milk cartons was brought into the classroom at lunch hour each day. Standing out amidst all the brown cartons of chocolate milk was my lonely white carton of white skim milk! My classmates laughed at me for drinking...
Diesel and The Art of the “HEAL”
In the last newsletter, I explained how our diesel vendor has generously provided us with “extended credit” in supplying fuel for our mission. Because HEAL is responsible for so many needs of the Masters in our care, our current fundraising is not yet enough for us to...
Let there be light for Christmas in Nigeria
Forming Servant Leaders for the future Nigeria means providing the necessities for living and learning with as little interruption as possible. Our diesel fuel vendor has generously supplied our energy needs with extended credit over a long time period. But, he is now...
Corruption & Voodoo Practice Imperils Student Safety
As a child in the late 70’s and early 80’s, I remember walking to grade school and back home. My most traumatic incidents, during those ½ mile treks on sidewalks, across streets, and over train tracks, consisted of getting in occasional fights with other kids or...
Thanksgiving for Life from Womb to Tomb
Dr. Alveda King, niece of civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke recently at St. Paul of the Cross parish in Park Ridge, IL on the right and dignity of life in the womb. She quoted Scripture, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day,...
Messengers of Justice Giving Back to America
A line in the famous prayer of St. Francis reads, “...it is in giving that we receive…”. I’ve found this to be so true since I began walking the path of missionary discipleship in Africa five years ago. From the legendary Igbo hospitality to the...