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November 2015 Prayer Letter
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Healing Hearts Ministries Internaional [LOGO]

Dear Friend,


One of the most difficult, yet rewarding, areas of our ministry is ministering to women in prison. Prison ministry is not difficult because of the women, but because of all the restrictions that are placed on those who go in to minister. It's an area of ministry that one truly must be called by God to do. I have great respect for all those who minister to prisoners and have a heart for individuals that most of society has locked up and forgotten.

Several years ago I was invited to visit Purdy Women's Correctional Center to sit through the last week of the Healing Hearts study that was in progress. It was amazing for me to sit and listen to the testimonies of the women and how God had healed them through His Word. In this prayer letter I would like to share an update that I received from one of the Healing Hearts leaders there:

"I feel like my heart is going to explode because I'm so excited about what is happening here at Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW)!

We just finished a group with two offenders. Both ladies were very committed to the study and had their homework done every week. Our group took 5 months to complete. We have to be very flexible (like when we were delayed a couple weeks because a Norovirus outbreak kept our ladies in quarantine.)

Both of the offenders were believers and had accepted Christ before we met them. One of the ladies, her name is Shaun, was heavily involved in the Wicca religion prior to receiving Christ. She was a Wiccan priestess and converted others. She is serving a life sentence for committing a double homicide. She has already served 27 years in prison. She has a soft , sweet personality and tears flow easily when she speaks of her past. She writes beautiful poetry, reads the Bible and other books to grow her faith.

The other offender's name is Needra. She is only 22 yrs old and has been incarcerated since she was 17. She just graduated Cosmetology school and looks forward to work release in December 2016. She comes to our group with questions each week and is eager to learn about Christ. Her friends say that they have seen a change in her attitude and she has expressed the desire to be a Healing Hearts leader when she gets released.

Both ladies expressed a desire to be baptized when we started our group. We told them it wasn't part of our usual curriculum, but we would see what we could arrange. It took several months to coordinate... but with God's will and timing it happened Saturday, August 22nd!! I arranged to have Pastor Brian baptize the ladies. At the last minute he asked me to speak to the congregation (I've learned to always be prepared!) so I gave a short message on the Biblical meaning of Baptism and commitment, covenant and commission. The prison had a big baptismal tub all set up with towels for the ladies and there were about 100 offenders present in the chapel. Pastor Brian gave a wonderful sermon and led worship with his guitar. I love prison church.

After the baptism, I attended a butterfly release ceremony at Overcomer's Covenant in Auburn to remember those in prison. It's a wonderful ceremony put on by 'Hearts for Hope' and a great opportunity to share with others about the Healing Hearts ministry at WCCW.

The next day (Sunday) marked the end of our 5 month long Bible study with Shaun and Needra. It was clear that the ladies were healed from their abortions and feeling confident in Christ. They are excited to share with other inmates what they have learned. I'm confident that they will be a light in that dark place.

We look forward to beginning another group this fall. It was encouraging when another volunteer at WCCW told us that the ladies that have gone through Healing Hearts have benefitted greatly from our group. Yay!!! He also asked me to send him a flyer when we start our next group so he can let them know about it. Yay!!

Every Sunday night when we make our 40 minute commute out to the prison, spend 2.5 hours in our Healing Hearts group and then 40 minutes back home ( we get home about 10:00 p.m.) we rejoice in the fact that God is using us this way. Every week is a new experience. I can't believe I've been doing this for 7 years now. God is so good! God bless this ministry!"
- Sue Sanford


PLEASE PRAY WITH US: for all of our prison ministry workers and for the ladies that they are ministering to; for their safety; that God will continue to change hearts and save souls for His glory.

We have several Healing Hearts leaders, just like Sue, who make great sacrifices to go into the jails and prisons to minister. The string of desctructive decisions that have led many prisioners to jail too often include past abortions - these women desperately need the hope and healing only Jesus can offer!

Every life Healing Hearts touches is only made possible through volunteer leaders and God's provision through the generousity of individuals like you. Thank you for giving of your time, prayers and finances. A monthly gift of $25, $50, $100 or more makes a real difference for broken lives like Shaun & Needra.

We thank God for your partnership in carrying this message of hope & healing in God's Word to the many 'prisoners' around us (both physical and emotional) who would be held fast by the chains of sin if not for His sufficient, saving grace.

In His Grace,

Sue Liljenberg
International Coordinator



Ways you can help



To Make a Donation

You may use the donation form on our website to make a donation, or you may also submit your check to the address provided below.

Healing Hearts Ministries is a federally registered non-profit corporation, all contributions are tax deductible. One hundred percent of all contributions made to Healing Hearts go directly toward supporting the various aspects of our ministry no "administrative fee" is collected by a fund-raising service. All donations and expenditures are internally and independently monitored and audited. Annual financial statements are available upon request.

We thank you for considering contributing to our ministry. Your contribution will enable us to reach out and touch individuals who need the hope and healing message that only Jesus has to offer.

To donate online click this link:
https://www.healinghearts.org/donate


Send checks to:
Healing Hearts Ministries
PO Box 44670 Rio Rancho, NM 87174

phone (505) 355-6922