House Call

Our church has a variety of people with a variety of gifts and talents. There are those who are very good at administration, and others who are gifted Pastoral Elders and Deacons. We have people who have the gift of hospitality, and those who show much compassion to others around them. We also have an active prayer ministry in Calvin. There are several different groups that meet. One every Thursday AM at 6:30 in the Church. Another every other Monday night. There's also a Wednesday night soaking group, as well as something that is called House Call Ministries (HCM). It's that one I'd like to focus on for a moment. This group is headed up by Annette. There are several others who assist her in this group too. This prayer ministry if focused on praying for healing in people's lives. I've heard many wonderful stories from Annette as to how people in our congregation have been blessed by HCM. I've often wondered how this group worked, what they did, etc. Low and behold, yesterday I got a call from Annette asking about my arm, and if HCM could come over and pray with/for me. I jumped at the opportunity. Jodi, James, and Annette arrived last night. We settled down in our basement, Joycegina joining us. Annette asked about my fall, and the pain in my arm. All then laid their hands on me and began to pray. Now, this ministry isn't only about physical healing. It delves into the spiritual and personal as well. Annette asked if I'd forgiven myself for my act of what I called "stupidity". I was very angry with myself for not thinking things through when I fell, so I had to admit that I probably hadn't really done that yet. So Annette led me through a pray of forgiveness. Very cool! Then they concentrated on my arm and my spirit. They encouraged me in the ministry I do at Calvin and just wanted me to receive for a while. I gladly did. After some time in prayer, Annette asked how my arm was feeling. To my amazement, I was able to move it much more than before. The pain was dramatically reduced, and motion was much more evident. There was still stiffness and pressure, but things were much better. Annette, James and Jodi continued on in prayer. We covered other topics as the three felt led to pray and all the while my arm continued to loosen up. By the end of our prayer time, I was almost able to fully extend it. My fingers didn't hurt using the typing motion (They don't hurt now as I'm typing either), which was really cool. As time moved on, we moved on to some family issues needing prayer, and then the group concentrated on Joycegina and prayed for her, her knee pain, and other personal issues. We ended by praying for the couple who came to install our satellite dish. That was nice to do as well. All in all, we prayed for almost 2 hours. The time flew by. My arm is not completely better, but it is greatly improved. PTL. It was truly a blessing to receive from others. That doesn't happen much in my line of work. Thank you HCM for the work that you do. Thank you for letting me in on what you do. Thank you for using your gifts of healing, both physical, emotional, and spiritual. May God continue to use you mightily in our congregation, and beyond. If you would like to have HCM come to your home and pray with/for you, you may simply let me know, or Pastor Ken know, and we'll be sure to make that happen. I highly recommend them.