Healing Hands

“…and laying his hands on each one, he healed them.” – Luke 4:40

The x-ray showed a fracture in my younger son’s hand. The orthopedic resident in the emergency room presented a grim scenario – my son will need surgery to insert a pin so the bone will set correctly. It has to be done under general anesthesia. 

The diagnosis was from the orthopedic surgeon the resident had sent pictures of the x-ray to. We were advised to consult with him the next day.

My insides churned with fear. Surgery. The word brought images of my son in pain, complications during the procedure, and a gaping hole in my pocket. That was a heavy load for a mother’s heart to bear so I requested for prayers from my community that we find another doctor and my son will not need the operation.

The wonderful thing about being in community is the avalanche of prayers you get with just a couple of text messages. A prayer brigade was started by The Feast Alabang Intercessory Ministry and the request spread like wildfire. 

I wanted a second opinion, one that didn’t involve surgery so I asked for recommendations. I got another doctor’s name from a doctor-friend we trusted. The appointment was set two days after I brought my son to the ER. But my son wanted to be checked right away so off we went to the doctor who made the original diagnosis. 

I was not very hopeful because he already gave his opinion through the resident. He gave two options: 1) to put a cast and hope it heals properly and do the surgery if it doesn’t; 2) go straight to surgery. My son chose option 1. The doctor manipulated the bones in my son’s hand and sent us to get an x-ray to see if he was able to align it before putting the cast. I thought that was it. Nothing more will be done.

Then I saw God’s healing hand move. The doctor followed us to the X-ray Department and said he will try to set the bone correctly while viewing it through the x-ray. I sent a couple more requests to friends to be prayer warriors. After two attempts, the bone was aligned and the surgery option shelved (this I claim in Jesus’ mighty name).

Sometimes we doubt if we are doing the right thing or we feel that we are asking the wrong person. But when we surrender everything to God, everything falls into place. He can touch anyone and correct anything with His healing hands.

Feast Alabang Rocks GK Taguig

The priest introduced our group as the Fantastic Feast. We chuckled. He just read that on our shirts and thought that’s the name of our community. We were clad in Feast Alabang’s 4th anniversary shirt which said “Fantastic 4 Fantastic Feast”.

But come to think of it, the introduction was apt. There are many fantastic things that happen at The Feast – relationships are healed, financial and physical health are restored, and faith is deepened among many other things.

As for Feast Alabang (FA), the “Fantastic 4” stood not just for 4 years of weaving miracles in people’s lives in our area but also for our phenomenal growth. In 4 years, Feast Alabang has given birth to 4 more Feasts: Wednesday Feast Alabang (WFA), Saturday Feast Alabang (SFA), Feast Bicutan (FB) and Feast Alabang Town Center (FATC).

And here we were being blessed to join hands with another community in pioneering another fantastic event – The Feast Outreach. Gawad Kalinga (GK) thru one of its leaders, Alex Wollboldt, invited FA to bring The Feast lock, stock and barrel to their project in Taguig.

We met bright and early on October 6, a Sunday. It was a day many of us would rather be in dreamland a little longer but our team (SFA Builder James Nicolas, his wife Jinky, Evangelism Pillar heads Dom & Dee Dimalanta, and servants of the Music, Outreach, Intercessory and Media Ministries) was called to serve at the GK Family Fest and we answered.

The event was held in a gymnasium with about 400 to 500 people in attendance. After the mass, SFA Music with worship leaders Yo Martinez and Meds Rana rocked the place.

Standing by the Tech booth in the back, I was awed by the transformation I saw. In the beginning, only the GK members were participating in the worship. There were old people sitting and staring blankly at the stage. There were teens huddled in groups chatting. Small children were running around. But by the third song, they were all singing and dancing their praises to God.

When Bro James gave the talk, one of my co-servants commented, “You can really feel their hunger for God’s word”.  The talk “Pasasalamat vs. Utang na Loob” from the series Original Pilipino Magnificence was just the nourishment they were seeking.

The Feast Alabang Team

It was astounding to realize that the talks from The Feast can move people from all walks of life. It has the same effect even when transported to a totally different place.

We left the place with a warm feeling (literally and figuratively ;) knowing that God’s Word has reached more people and from the thought that through The Feast Alabang, we change lives in FAntastic ways.

Photos by: Romy Are