HEAL Blog
Welcome! Here we will post news and highlight the faces, needs, and services of HEAL.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...
A Celebration of Missionary Discipleship in Africa
Since HEAL began 5 years ago, many people have expressed a desire to visit Nigeria and personally participate in our mission of forming future Servant Leaders of Africa. Deacon Leo and I have discussed and begun plans to host missionary visitors in a way that would...
HEAL Meets with Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL 14th)
Back in June, I suffered the inconvenience of having to fly to Washington DC just to provide fingerprints to the Nigerian Embassy for the renewal of my Nigerian visitor’s visa. On the bright side of the trip, however, I discovered and attended a lobbying event at the...
HEAL Present at Sunrise Prayer Service
“This is why I don’t think you should go!”, my mom said to me in 2014 before my first mission trip to Nigeria. She handed me an article in the Chicago Tribune about a Boko Haram terrorist attack that claimed many victims in northern Nigeria. I reassured mom that the...
5th Annual HEAL Benefit
Join us for a great event at Assumption Parish on October 4th!
On the South Side, Jesus Promises Eternal Life
“How many of you want eternal life? Raise your hand!” exclaimed Deacon Leo Okonkwo in his mission appeal homily last weekend at St. Dorothy Parish on Chicago’s south side. I raised my hand and looked around. Sure enough, everyone had their hands high in the air! But,...
A Welcoming I’ll Never Forget
I stepped out of the car into the BOMCA courtyard, ready to be received again on this my fourth mission trip to Nigeria. A little girl named Rosemary, who I know from previous visits, placed a small plant in my hands. Two others wrapped me in a colorful fabric and...
Agricultural Skills for Life
On my first trip to Nigeria in 2014, at the airport, I met a baggage carrier named Jasper who had a university graduate degree. Because of government corruption and lack of connections, Jasper struggled mightily to find employment that matched his level of education...