Over the past 16 months, we promoted two new Regional Directors, Irene Pizzimenti (Great Lakes & Northeast) and Julie Bashore (Canada & Mid-North). These precious sisters stepped into their new roles with grace and humility in response to God’s call. As Directors, they provide essential leadership, mentorship, and accountability to the leaders in their region while setting a vision for regional ministry growth.
As you get to know Irene and Julie through their testimonies, please join us in lifting them up in prayer, along with our entire Director team. They face daily challenges and spend long hours serving others. Ask the Lord to guide their hearts (Col. 3:12), sustain them during spiritual warfare (Psalm 28:7-8), grant them wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-6), and help them care for those under their leadership (Eph. 4:32). Pray that in all they do, whether counseling the broken, leading those in their care, or in their personal lives, they may glorify Jesus.
We invite you to share these testimonies with anyone you feel could be encouraged by them. Often, seeing how God’s grace transformed someone’s life can be the turning point where hope can begin to grow. Then point them to healinghearts.org/get-help-now to learn about joining a Healing Hearts study.
  “I grew up in a good Catholic home, I went to church every week, and went to Catholic school. All my life, I had heard the stories from the Bible, I knew who Jesus was, and I always had a reverence for God. But it wasn’t until I was 17 that my brother told me about the love of Jesus Christ for me, personally, and that he paid the price for my sin and died on the cross in my place. That night, I understood the good news of salvation in Christ, but I spent the next five years trying to live it out in my own strength. And those five years were the worst of my life as I tried to be a good Christian my own way. I committed grievous sins and struggled to find a way to be good and righteous in my own strength. I was tired and frustrated and felt helpless! Finally, when I was 22, the Lord opened my eyes to understand that I needed to surrender my whole life to him… Trying to be good wasn’t enough! He changed my heart and my life that day… I received the free gift of salvation! I know that my old self died, and the Holy Spirit gave me a new life in Christ Jesus. I finally understood my desperate need to know him, walk with him, and be obedient to him. I know I have been saved from the power of sin and death by the grace of God alone and through faith alone, I stand forgiven! One of those grievous sins I committed before I surrendered my life to Christ was taking the life of my first child through abortion. By God’s grace, I found forgiveness for what seemed to be an unforgivable sin as I read through the Scriptures. Thirty-six years later, as I was telling my story to a friend, she told me about Healing Hearts Ministries International. And as I worked through the study, I found even greater freedom and joy in Christ… so much so that I knew the Lord was calling me to point other women to forgiveness and freedom in Christ by training to become a Healing Hearts Biblical Counselor. I currently serve as Regional Director for the Great Lakes and Northeast regions, while continuing to walk women through the study, supporting other leaders, and training new leaders as they follow the call of God in their own lives to work through Healing Hearts Ministries.”
Irene Pizzimenti, Regional Director (Great Lakes & Northeast), irene.p@healinghearts.org
  “It is no secret that I love to go to conferences. I love to learn from people who are experts in their field and network with others who have similar interests. I signed up for a ‘mommy conference’ in the fall of 2000 to learn how to be a better Christian mom and wife. Tracy and I had been married 10 years, had three children under 8, and I was struggling in these roles. The night before, my husband confessed his addiction to pornography to me, and although his confession freed him, I was crushed by the news. I was angry, justifying my negative attitude and coldness toward him at the same time, wondering if it contributed to his sin. As I passed the tables in the exhibit hall looking for marriage help, one table caught my attention: Healing Hearts, a post-abortion ministry. I paused, picked up an information packet from the table, and dashed away before someone could talk to me. I did not want anyone at this conference to see me by the ‘abortion’ table.
Thirteen years had passed since my abortion. I was 23, single, and working at my first career job after college. I wasn’t a Christ-follower and embraced a feminist ideology, which taught me that this was a good choice to make if I became pregnant. Deep down, my choice bothered me, but I wouldn’t admit it. The freedom and peace I thought would follow didn’t happen. I became depressed and had no idea why. I blamed my job, my parents, my boyfriend, and my life. I decided I just needed to start over, so I changed jobs, moved out of state, met Tracy, and we were married a year and a half later. I had decided to forget about the abortion, and, like my feelings, stuff it in the closet in the back of my mind and lock it up. This worked pretty well until we were attempting to get pregnant. Then, the question haunted me, “How could I have aborted my first baby when now I want one more than anything?” I was sure God was punishing me; I didn’t know Him, and I just figured that He probably hates me. Shortly after my daughter was born, God saved both my husband and me at a Christian retreat. Now I could really start over, I was a new creation! I worked hard to be a good Christian wife and mom, but things just got worse. I still kept my secret, but if I saw or heard the word ‘abortion’ ...on a billboard, television, radio, or in a conversation...” especially when I would hear, “I don’t know how anyone could do that?” the guilt, shame, and fear would flood back into my mind. I had recurring nightmares about aborted babies and day terrors that something terrible would happen to my children. I had so much anger towards my husband and parents; I knew I needed help. I tried different counseling programs for nine months and was still suffering; God had more work to do.
Shortly after that ‘mommy conference’ where I grabbed that information packet, I contacted Healing Hearts Ministries and started the Binding Up the Brokenhearted study online. I studied His Word and amazingly, I applied it to everything I was experiencing. My counselor guided me by asking good questions and praying for me. This was so different from my other programs, we focused on where I needed to change, the sins of pride and unbelief I clung to. God knew how to heal my marriage, my past, and my present. He knew I didn’t need some marriage tips from a marriage expert at a conference, but a heart change that had a ripple effect on every aspect of my life. Through His Word and this study, He released me from the guilt and shame over this sin and healed my marriage by correcting my thinking and attitude toward my husband. God enabled me to walk with my parents through a divorce after forty years of marriage, and care for my dad and mom in the last years of their lives. These are two people whom I previously harbored a lot of bitterness and anger toward. I am blessed to be married to my best friend for the last 35 years, and know that our struggles have led me to examine my heart, not drive a wedge between us. I now get to share God’s Word through ministry to women of all ages who have experienced all types of hurt and harm, and are all broken (like me).
I still love to go to conferences, and now I stand at the table I once ran away from, representing Healing Hearts, sharing His hope and truth, and our ministry with women who stop by.”
Julie Bashore, Regional Director (Canada & Mid-North), julieab@healinghearts.org
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