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March 2006 Newsletter
( March 5, 2006 )
From Janelle’s Desk
I just returned from a Regional meeting of ministry leaders and professional counselors who are either directly connected with Exodus International or work in the area of relational and sexual brokenness. As soon as I received the notice of this meeting, I blocked off the day and time on my calendar. Even though I am extremely busy with conference preparation, counseling, and writing, I knew it was important to attend this get together.
Whenever I participate in one of these meetings, I feel filled, renewed, and reminded of my call as one to come alongside people who despair of ever being known and loved for who they are. I can once again say “Thank you” Lord for calling me. I am also reminded that I am not alone as I struggle to keep up with the demands of a non-profit organization, the financial concerns, the organizational burden of putting a conference together, the frustration of trying to explain to people what I do and what our conference is about, and the weight of knowing how huge the need and the extent of our brokenness as a human race.
My fellow sojourners give me hope and strength to face yet another day and another year. If they can persevere and endure, so can I. And then I’m reminded that this is why we need each other – the Body of Christ. We are not meant to walk alone – whether in leadership or in recovery or in life in general. We are to join hands to support and to extend His love to one another. And as we walk, I realize that this is everyone’s journey – following God and loving one another. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Upcoming Conference
We are all hard at work in preparation for our next Restoring the Glory conference. The conference is scheduled for the last weekend in April at a dynamic inner city church in Denver, Colorado. Ever since we started presenting the Restoring the Glory conferences, I have wanted to take it to this church. The church houses a wonderful cross-cultural congregation that has a passion for God, missions, and healing. My team and I have a sense that God is going to do mighty things at this conference. We believe Jesus is going to show up and perform very deep healings.
In reviewing the evaluation forms from our previous conference in Boulder, Colorado, my ministry team and I were recently reminded at how God uniquely meets each individual person according to their needs. The following testimonies represent a small sampling of the encouraging words we have received after one of these conferences:
“This conference opened up doors to my heart that I haven’t even been able to approach in the past. I still haven’t walked through those doors but I think I have caught a glimpse of hope to do so.” Male, age 25
“The conference was permeated with TRUTH! It ministered LOVE. I have never heard the gospel presented in this manner. You gave me hope, you gave me freedom, you gave me back my life!!! This conference was superior!” Female, age 43
“Restoring the Glory confirmed so much that God has already done and still wants to do. It reinforced and deepened my passion towards the lover of my soul, Jesus Christ. It encouraged me to step more boldly towards ministry. It reinforced the last two years of lessons of “the crucified life” (Gal 2:20). The crucified life IS the redeemed and restored life. I was filled again with the sweetness and tenderness of my Lord. Thank you!” Female, age 52
But Now Some Sad News
The inner city church hosting the upcoming Restoring the Glory conference is a church rich in God’s mercy and grace but poor by the world’s standards in terms of material wealth and resources. The average income for this congregation is probably less than half of the mean income of the other churches at which we’ve presented. We’ve already received more calls for scholarships for this conference than we have for all of the conferences combined up until now. We knew going into this conference that many people from the congregation would not be able to pay the conference fee. We also knew that we did not want money to be a deciding factor in terms of whether someone could attend or not.
Unfortunately, funds to subsidize this conference have been slow in coming. Further, the Desert Hope general operating fund is also currently being stressed to a major breaking point. I am not sure what God is up to, but I do know that there are many desperate people who need to attend this conference.
We are hoping and praying that God has appointed several of you to participate in this ministry opportunity by sending in a special donation for the purpose of subsidizing this event. So many people in the past have told us that this conference is life changing. We want all men and women who have a deep hunger for God and for personal wholeness to attend. Please consider taking time before the Lord to explore whether or not He would like you to give a one-time gift at this point in time. We would be encouraged and I am sure some blessed soul will forever be changed.
Other News
I was blessed to be able to offer a group experience for mothers of daughters with same-sex attraction this past month. The retreat was called Healing a Mother’s Heart and Terry Vratny, with New Heart Ministries and Exodus International, was my assistant. We had a full house of moms who were anxious to learn about building a stronger relationship with their daughters and loving them with God’s love. It was a powerful weekend of learning, fellowship, grieving, laughing, and healing. Many mothers reported at the end that they have a new way of seeing their daughters and certainly more compassion for her struggles. One mom wrote a note to me and said, “Janelle, God has equipped you in a mighty way and I shall be forever grateful for your spiritual wisdom.” Another woman commented that the retreat was beyond her expectations.
I plan to offer another retreat in August of this year and Terry and I are both thrilled to be used by God in this way. For more information on the Healing a Mother’s Heart retreat please see my counseling website, www.janellehallman.com.
You may send donations to:
Desert Hope Ministries
P.O. Box 620575
Littleton, CO 80162
Voice Mail: (303) 277-8358
Desert Hope Ministries is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation and operates solely on the contributions of people such as you. All donations to this ministry are tax deductible and will be recognized by a receipt.
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