Healing Leaves Ministry began its mission to the 00:01:01.49\00:01:04.41 Dominican Republic in October of 2001 when founder 00:01:04.44\00:01:08.76 Dr. Rob McClintock, responded to an invitation to conduct 00:01:08.79\00:01:13.19 evangelistic meetings on the island. 00:01:13.22\00:01:15.67 The meetings were very well attended, even the children 00:01:15.70\00:01:19.31 came in droves. 00:01:19.34\00:01:20.48 Many nights we were forced to turn away 40 or more. 00:01:22.05\00:01:25.47 The large number of baptisms that came as a result 00:01:27.17\00:01:29.83 of the meetings was rewarding but it was the physical needs 00:01:29.86\00:01:33.01 of the people that made the biggest impression 00:01:33.04\00:01:35.51 on Dr. Rob's mind. He had no prior knowledge of 00:01:35.55\00:01:37.23 He had no prior knowledge of the vast needs of the people 00:01:37.26\00:01:41.85 in the Dominican Republic. 00:01:41.88\00:01:43.77 Large numbers of sick people would show up between meetings 00:01:43.80\00:01:47.24 needing care. 00:01:47.27\00:01:48.29 It soon became apparent that most of the conditions 00:01:48.32\00:01:51.58 being treated were the results of wrong lifestyle habits. 00:01:51.61\00:01:55.81 The common diet, high in fat and sugar, coupled with 00:01:55.84\00:02:01.13 the prevalence of little cardio-vascular exercise 00:02:01.17\00:02:03.99 was taking its toll. 00:02:04.02\00:02:05.76 Numerous patients came with headaches and dizziness 00:02:05.79\00:02:08.98 from dangerously high blood pressure. 00:02:09.01\00:02:13.78 Dr. Rob was amazed that even though the climate was hot, 00:02:15.92\00:02:19.78 few people drank enough water or bathed frequently enough. 00:02:19.81\00:02:24.39 He immediately began to make arrangements with the local 00:02:27.92\00:02:30.81 church headquarters for a future health training seminar. 00:02:30.84\00:02:34.56 Returning in February of 2002, Rob held a seminar for the 00:02:34.59\00:02:39.32 entire pastoral staff of the East Dominican Conference 00:02:39.35\00:02:42.59 in San Pedro. 00:02:42.62\00:02:43.65 Each day began with prayer for success. 00:02:43.68\00:02:46.73 Sometimes the heat made everyone sleepy. 00:02:46.76\00:02:49.84 so they took breaks for water, singing, and exercise. 00:02:49.87\00:02:53.47 The seminar included a crash course in basic health 00:02:53.51\00:02:56.62 principles with an extra emphasis on the connection 00:02:56.65\00:02:59.48 between the physical body and victory over sin. 00:02:59.51\00:03:02.31 At the end of the third day, Rob's translator, Pastor Cadaņo, 00:03:02.34\00:03:07.30 expressed his appreciation on behalf of both himself 00:03:07.33\00:03:10.63 and the Dominican people. 00:03:10.66\00:03:12.63 "I praise God that we receive this seminar. 00:03:13.17\00:03:17.16 I really praise God so many things seem impossible for 00:03:17.19\00:03:21.40 one time, that we didn't know those things. 00:03:21.43\00:03:25.27 The message of health is more than I thought before. 00:03:25.30\00:03:29.68 It's a lot more than I thought. How much wisdom we can receive. 00:03:29.71\00:03:35.85 Now we know scientifically the reason why certain things, 00:03:35.88\00:03:44.32 many things, God taught us long time ago. 00:03:44.35\00:03:48.74 Now the science says, "Yes" this is the reason why God 00:03:48.77\00:03:53.55 told us before. 00:03:53.58\00:03:55.99 Thanks God! I'm appreciate a lot. 00:03:56.02\00:03:59.23 Thank God, this notice can go all around the world, 00:03:59.26\00:04:03.62 especially hope each pastor we can go to our people and 00:04:03.65\00:04:13.74 share with them all the thing that can make better mind 00:04:13.77\00:04:17.72 and better bodies for Son of God. 00:04:17.75\00:04:22.03 Praise God for that!" 00:04:22.06\00:04:23.03 After the seminar was over Rob spent several days holding 00:04:25.22\00:04:30.58 medical clinics in various barrios. 00:04:30.61\00:04:32.89 He felt impressed to keep experimenting until the most 00:04:32.92\00:04:36.20 effective method of holding clinics could be developed. 00:04:36.23\00:04:39.75 Within days, God helped him develop the Healing Leaves 00:04:39.78\00:04:43.51 medical evangelistic model. 00:04:43.54\00:04:45.46 In this model, the clinics are held in churches when possible, 00:04:45.49\00:04:49.50 with the sanctuaries being used as waiting rooms. 00:04:49.54\00:04:52.52 While the patients wait they are invited to participate 00:04:52.55\00:04:56.19 in learning Christian songs. 00:04:56.22\00:04:58.31 They listen to members share their testimony of what Christ 00:05:17.61\00:05:21.27 has done for them. 00:05:21.30\00:05:22.68 They were given Christian literature and church members 00:05:28.28\00:05:31.31 record any special needs that the church might be able to 00:05:31.34\00:05:34.43 assist them with. 00:05:34.46\00:05:35.43 Sometimes local members are taught how to give continuing 00:05:35.44\00:05:38.92 therapy for patients. 00:05:38.95\00:05:40.45 In subsequent trips the effectiveness of this model has 00:05:40.48\00:05:43.81 been proven with numerous baptisms as the result. 00:05:43.84\00:05:47.32 In February 2003 the Healing Leaves team planned 00:05:55.97\00:06:00.10 a special trip. 00:06:00.13\00:06:01.36 This time we took large quantities of clothing to 00:06:01.39\00:06:04.02 distribute. 00:06:04.05\00:06:05.10 Church groups in the United States responded 00:06:05.14\00:06:07.80 generously by giving large quantities of good, 00:06:07.83\00:06:10.45 quality clothing. 00:06:10.49\00:06:11.52 Many times patients come to the clinics wearing 00:06:11.56\00:06:14.77 the only clothes they own. 00:06:14.81\00:06:16.82 Local church members assisted us in sorting and categorizing 00:06:16.86\00:06:20.46 the clothes for easier distribution. 00:06:20.49\00:06:22.84 A time or two the recipients got a little out of hand 00:06:24.69\00:06:27.30 while the clothes were being handed out. 00:06:27.33\00:06:29.63 Many people have only one pair of shoes. 00:06:39.47\00:06:42.32 Sometimes they don't have any at all. 00:06:42.75\00:06:45.01 The ones that they have may not fit, 00:06:45.70\00:06:48.12 or be practical for the occasion. 00:06:48.16\00:06:50.54 During earlier trips, Dr. Rob observed that besides 00:06:51.01\00:06:55.72 lifestyle violations, malnutrition was a very 00:06:55.76\00:06:58.81 real problem that was common among the majority 00:06:58.85\00:07:01.87 of the poorer people. 00:07:01.91\00:07:04.40 He had his lab manufacture a barrel of 00:07:04.53\00:07:07.28 chewable multi-vitamins to give away at the clinics. 00:07:07.31\00:07:10.73 Snack bags aren't exactly child-proof, but hopefully the 00:07:10.76\00:07:14.14 vitamins tasted bad enough to prevent anyone from 00:07:14.18\00:07:16.75 eating too many. 00:07:16.78\00:07:18.37 It's a typical hot, sticky morning. 00:07:21.86\00:07:25.37 The team prepares to travel the short distance to 00:07:25.40\00:07:28.43 Batia Innocencia. 00:07:28.46\00:07:30.72 Traffic is like a beehive. 00:07:39.81\00:07:41.66 An amazing mix of vehicles can be seen. 00:07:41.70\00:07:44.40 Motorcycles, cars, trucks and horse carts all compete 00:07:44.81\00:07:49.57 for the road. 00:07:49.60\00:07:50.57 The modern and the ancient blend together better than 00:07:51.17\00:07:53.41 you might expect. 00:07:53.45\00:07:55.35 Batia Innocencia is a very poor village. 00:08:05.93\00:08:09.97 The population is a mix of poor 00:08:10.00\00:08:11.53 Dominicans and Haitian immigrants. 00:08:11.56\00:08:13.93 They live a miserable existence 00:08:16.40\00:08:18.07 in the middle of a sugar cane field. 00:08:18.11\00:08:20.38 Since there is no church here, we set up our clinic 00:08:20.79\00:08:23.63 in the school house. 00:08:23.67\00:08:24.81 The school master is glad that we can help his people 00:08:24.84\00:08:28.33 and gladly entertains the children outside while we 00:08:28.37\00:08:31.85 occupy his space. 00:08:31.89\00:08:34.42 One has to expect and be prepared for almost anything. 00:08:38.34\00:08:41.98 This poor woman has suffered with these tropical ulcers 00:10:15.83\00:10:19.46 for years. 00:10:19.50\00:10:20.60 With God's help we will have them cleared up in a matter 00:10:20.63\00:10:23.87 of a few weeks. 00:10:23.90\00:10:26.09 Even in this small village we were amazed at the amount 00:10:29.48\00:10:33.15 of people needing care. 00:10:33.18\00:10:34.95 We worked for hours in stifling heat only broken at times 00:10:39.36\00:10:42.99 with tropical downpours. 00:10:43.02\00:10:45.20 In time, even the members of the team and the local helpers 00:10:52.38\00:10:55.72 were beyond exhaustion. 00:10:55.75\00:10:58.12 In the United States, the Healing Leaves approach 00:11:03.50\00:11:06.87 to health and healing has always been to use methods 00:11:06.90\00:11:09.44 as natural as possible. 00:11:09.47\00:11:11.45 But in the Dominican we sometimes find it necessary to 00:11:11.48\00:11:15.15 use antibiotics and other medications sparingly 00:11:15.18\00:11:19.09 in order to save lives. 00:11:19.12\00:11:20.99 This somewhat eclectic approach to care, continues to motivate 00:11:21.02\00:11:24.96 Healing Leaves to try even harder to conduct more training 00:11:24.99\00:11:28.73 programs for the church and school leaders. 00:11:28.76\00:11:31.31 Rob feels that with sufficient training of local leaders 00:11:31.34\00:11:34.91 we will some day see an improvement in the 00:11:34.94\00:11:37.12 life practices of the people. 00:11:37.15\00:11:38.86 That will mean that fewer and fewer people 00:11:38.89\00:11:41.57 will find their health in crisis. 00:11:41.60\00:11:44.01 His vision is to see the churches developed into 00:11:44.04\00:11:45.89 lighthouses that would have both spiritual and physical resources 00:11:45.92\00:11:49.95 for their communities. 00:11:49.98\00:11:51.57 On the first Sabbath during the February 00:12:04.26\00:12:06.81 medical evangelism trip, the local church leaders held a 00:12:06.84\00:12:10.36 parade to announce the evangelistic meetings being held 00:12:10.39\00:12:13.33 at the various churches in San Pedro. 00:12:13.36\00:12:16.52 Curious people came out of the homes and shops to see what 00:12:18.55\00:12:21.76 all the noise was about. 00:12:21.79\00:12:24.91 Volunteers made certain that everyone received 00:12:28.80\00:12:31.57 announcements of the meetings and an invitation to attend. 00:12:31.60\00:12:35.32 After the parade had finished, one of the marchers asked, 00:12:35.79\00:12:38.47 "Rob, do you do this back in America?" 00:12:38.50\00:12:41.77 Rob replied that in America people are more self-conscience 00:12:42.01\00:12:45.13 and perhaps more afraid of what people would think 00:12:45.16\00:12:48.01 and that he had never seen anything like it before. 00:12:48.04\00:12:50.83 The young man said, "We would be more afraid 00:12:50.86\00:12:54.21 that someone would miss heaven then at what somebody 00:12:54.24\00:12:56.71 might think about us. " 00:12:56.74\00:12:58.46 Many times Jesus met the physical needs of the people 00:13:21.40\00:13:24.36 before the meeting their spiritual needs. 00:13:24.39\00:13:26.68 We've discovered that His methods still work. 00:13:26.71\00:13:30.34 Each evening the team held evangelistic meetings in a 00:13:35.76\00:13:39.04 local church. 00:13:39.07\00:13:40.38 Many of the people attending the meetings were patients 00:13:40.41\00:13:43.23 from the clinics. 00:13:43.26\00:13:46.20 Rob's Spanish vocabulary wasn't sufficient to preach the Word 00:14:01.97\00:14:06.76 but Livi Bell, fluent in both languages was a very capable 00:14:06.79\00:14:11.14 translator. 00:14:11.17\00:14:12.58 Together they shared the good news of the coming of Jesus, 00:14:12.61\00:14:15.54 expounded on the prophesies, and called sinners to repentance. 00:14:15.57\00:14:19.60 The results were seen early in the campaign. 00:14:19.63\00:14:23.95 Alter calls brought many forward as the Holy Spirit led 00:14:34.64\00:14:38.90 the listeners toward the cross. 00:14:38.93\00:14:40.67 For this we praised God! 00:14:40.70\00:14:43.99 Dominicanos love music and each evening local musicians 00:15:04.23\00:15:07.44 lend their talents to God, supplying beautiful, 00:15:07.47\00:15:10.40 heart touching messages for the meetings. 00:15:10.43\00:15:12.98 One special conversion story is that of Alfredo Rodriguez. 00:15:13.01\00:15:17.94 The church had been praying for Alfredo for many months. 00:15:17.97\00:15:21.22 Yet Alfredo was indifferent to his need. 00:15:21.25\00:15:24.10 He was invited to attend and one evening he surprised 00:15:24.13\00:15:27.06 the overjoyed members when he showed up 00:15:27.09\00:15:29.61 in the baptismal tank. 00:15:29.64\00:15:31.88 Iglesia Rosa de Sarom or The Rose of Sharon Church 00:16:04.57\00:16:09.04 only had a membership of 70 members. 00:16:09.07\00:16:11.11 The 3 week campaign added 44 more members. 00:16:11.14\00:16:15.40 The baptisms were occasions filled with power. 00:16:17.39\00:16:20.67 as the Holy Spirit's presence filled the hearts of all those 00:16:20.70\00:16:23.82 who participated and those who watched. 00:16:23.85\00:16:26.69 Imagine what it would be like if your church's membership 00:16:28.13\00:16:31.30 increased by 63% in 3 weeks. 00:16:31.33\00:16:36.03 Besides the medical work, day times gave time to check 00:16:49.41\00:16:52.75 progress on church building programs. 00:16:52.79\00:16:55.34 A quick trip to check on a church with a local driver 00:16:55.38\00:16:57.99 can be a bit unnerving if you're new to the island. 00:16:58.02\00:17:01.21 One tries to look fast because the island is beautiful 00:17:03.95\00:17:06.39 and you don't want to miss anything. 00:17:06.42\00:17:09.04 Healing Leaves has been involved in 3 church building programs. 00:17:28.51\00:17:32.99 The funds provided by Healing Leaves Ministry 00:17:35.20\00:17:38.41 and local volunteer labor has been a great combination. 00:17:38.44\00:17:41.95 The local people many times are too poor to buy 00:17:41.98\00:17:44.72 building materials, but are willing and capable 00:17:44.75\00:17:47.75 of furnishing the labor. 00:17:47.78\00:17:49.62 The Ortega congregation was meeting in a cow shed when 00:17:50.69\00:17:54.28 Rob first visited. 00:17:54.31\00:17:55.96 The heat radiating from the tin roof down onto the 00:17:55.99\00:17:58.81 congregation was almost unbearable. 00:17:58.85\00:18:01.17 Without walls the noise and confusion from local villagers 00:18:01.21\00:18:05.86 made a reverent atmosphere in the church impossible. 00:18:05.89\00:18:09.92 When members showed Rob a lot they owned nearby he said, 00:18:09.96\00:18:13.96 "Let's build a church!" 00:18:13.99\00:18:15.87 The local leaders sensing his earnestness, held a 00:18:15.90\00:18:18.97 ground breaking ceremony the next morning. 00:18:19.00\00:18:21.49 Today the church is finished and Healing Leaves is focusing 00:18:21.52\00:18:25.58 on other projects. 00:18:25.61\00:18:27.56 Now this is really fantastic to see the stucco on, 00:18:28.44\00:18:31.91 window grates are in, the roof steal structure is on, 00:18:31.94\00:18:36.11 the metal roofing is on, the lighting is in, and even 00:18:36.14\00:18:40.27 the pews are in here. 00:18:40.31\00:18:41.84 This is the Seventh-day Adventist church 00:18:41.87\00:18:43.46 here in Ortega barrio in the town of Ato Mayor. 00:18:43.49\00:18:47.48 It is really fantastic to see this church because 00:18:47.52\00:18:51.44 it was only a year and a half ago that the church was not 00:18:51.48\00:18:54.45 even thought of yet. 00:18:54.48\00:18:55.51 There was nothing there but a small tin shed 00:18:55.55\00:18:58.24 and an empty lot. 00:18:58.28\00:19:00.09 Thanks to many faithful Christian believers in the 00:19:00.13\00:19:04.25 United States, the funds came in, that materials 00:19:04.28\00:19:08.37 for this church could be built. 00:19:08.40\00:19:09.93 It was not necessary for people outside the country to come to 00:19:09.96\00:19:12.99 the construction because the local people possessed the 00:19:13.03\00:19:16.98 necessary skills to build the structure. 00:19:17.02\00:19:19.47 All they really needed was some help with the 00:19:19.51\00:19:21.12 finances to buy the materials. 00:19:21.15\00:19:23.46 Within a year and a half we've got a church 00:19:23.50\00:19:26.41 that went from a vision and a dream to actual reality. 00:19:26.44\00:19:30.61 On the streets today, I bumped into one of the local pastors 00:19:30.65\00:19:34.54 and was overjoyed to hear that he is actually holding 00:19:34.58\00:19:37.23 an evangelistic campaign here in this church, this very week. 00:19:37.26\00:19:40.92 He said the attendance has been really good 00:19:40.95\00:19:43.49 and they are extremely happy to have this facility 00:19:43.53\00:19:46.67 to use. 00:19:46.71\00:19:47.68 From what people tell me there is no problem with 00:19:47.69\00:19:50.90 attendance here. 00:19:50.94\00:19:52.24 The church already, as it is now built, 00:19:52.27\00:19:55.15 is nearly overflowing with people. 00:19:55.19\00:19:58.31 It's a wonderful environment in terms of the climate 00:19:58.34\00:20:01.27 inside of that church compared to the earlier one, 00:20:01.31\00:20:04.17 where you could literally have fried eggs in the bottom side 00:20:04.21\00:20:07.29 of the ceiling - the tin structure. 00:20:07.33\00:20:10.54 It is certainly a lot more room and a lot more privacy. 00:20:10.58\00:20:14.06 It's just a lot nicer place to have a church service. 00:20:14.10\00:20:17.15 It is certainly a whole lot more reverent an attitude 00:20:17.18\00:20:20.20 and atmosphere here. 00:20:20.23\00:20:22.26 It's another hot morning and the team prepares 00:20:28.73\00:20:32.22 for a medical clinic in the Villa Farro Church. 00:20:32.26\00:20:35.71 The Villa Farro congregation meets in a tiny, 00:20:35.74\00:20:39.16 partially finished structure. 00:20:39.19\00:20:41.06 The patients were treated in the room the children 00:20:55.61\00:20:58.25 meet in on Sabbath. 00:20:58.29\00:21:01.10 As Rob cared for the many sick people, 00:21:12.14\00:21:14.57 God was telling him that this church needed to be another 00:21:14.60\00:21:17.82 Healing Leaves project. 00:21:17.85\00:21:19.94 After returning to the States, additional fund raising efforts 00:21:25.58\00:21:29.35 began in order to help this new project. 00:21:29.38\00:21:31.81 It takes a lot of faith and a little imagination to visualize 00:22:00.25\00:22:03.78 this primitive structure as a completed tabernacle 00:22:03.82\00:22:06.96 for the Lord. 00:22:06.99\00:22:08.86 The daily task of caring for the sick was interspersed with 00:22:11.40\00:22:15.55 other equally important activities. 00:22:15.58\00:22:18.19 Lori, Dr. Rob's wife, took on the really big challenge 00:22:18.23\00:22:22.13 of conducting a cooking school for the pastors' wives. 00:22:22.16\00:22:26.03 Holding a cooking school at home can be 00:22:26.07\00:22:28.17 challenging enough, but here in the Dominican Republic 00:22:28.21\00:22:31.28 the job was much tougher. 00:22:31.31\00:22:33.31 No local recipes were available. 00:22:33.59\00:22:35.54 She had to basically write a cook book from scratch. 00:22:35.57\00:22:38.72 Armed with a generic outline she shopped local stores 00:22:38.75\00:22:41.90 and markets to see what food items were obtainable 00:22:41.93\00:22:45.20 and then develop recipes using those ingredients. 00:22:45.23\00:22:48.47 The classes were held in less than convenient quarters 00:22:49.29\00:22:52.48 but the food was great! 00:22:52.52\00:22:54.24 The ladies were shown how to mix and bake bread, 00:22:54.27\00:22:57.94 make gluten from scratch, make tofu, and many other 00:22:57.97\00:23:01.60 healthful foods. 00:23:01.64\00:23:03.95 Mollie Peņa, her assistant and interpreter, then helped 00:23:03.98\00:23:09.00 translate the recipes into Spanish. 00:23:09.04\00:23:11.78 The response was heart-warming 00:23:13.60\00:23:15.63 and the ladies were very grateful. 00:23:15.67\00:23:17.66 They truly wished to be able to prepare more healthful food 00:23:17.70\00:23:20.63 but lacked the knowledge. 00:23:20.67\00:23:22.32 Many of them planned immediately to share the new recipes 00:23:22.36\00:23:25.29 and techniques with the women in their husband's congregations. 00:23:25.32\00:23:28.46 The morning of February 27, the Dominican Independence Day, 00:23:31.59\00:23:36.42 Rob conducted a hydro-therapy training program 00:23:36.45\00:23:39.44 for school teachers and other educators. 00:23:39.47\00:23:41.72 Since Dominican time and American time are about 00:23:41.76\00:23:44.83 45 minutes different, it gave him a chance to observe 00:23:44.86\00:23:48.25 the sample churches famous Pathfinder Drill Team practice. 00:23:48.29\00:23:51.64 After everyone arrived, the class began with a short 00:24:17.27\00:24:20.97 devotional and singing. 00:24:21.01\00:24:23.14 The students watched demonstrations and then 00:24:35.20\00:24:38.90 had to replicate the simulated treatments. 00:24:38.94\00:24:42.60 They were very astute students, learning rapidly 00:24:51.79\00:24:54.33 the techniques that they can in turn teach to others. 00:24:54.36\00:24:57.99 With so much disease and suffering, and available 00:24:58.02\00:25:01.57 medical care so limited, these techniques will give much 00:25:01.61\00:25:05.46 relief to multitudes. 00:25:05.49\00:25:06.91 It all takes money. 00:25:38.92\00:25:41.34 You may be wondering - How do they do it? 00:25:41.38\00:25:44.19 Healing Leaves funds this work two ways 00:25:44.95\00:25:47.39 Our Healing Leave's products division 00:25:49.08\00:25:51.14 produces and distributes high quality food supplements 00:25:51.17\00:25:54.56 that are sold all over the world. 00:25:54.60\00:25:57.50 The proceeds of these life giving products help 00:26:02.59\00:26:05.65 to support this work. 00:26:05.68\00:26:08.02 We're also a faith-based ministry. 00:26:11.75\00:26:14.88 Healing Leaves gratefully receives donations. 00:26:14.92\00:26:17.64 used to further God's work. 00:26:17.68\00:26:19.69 Founder, Dr. Rob McClintock, has never charged 00:26:24.95\00:26:27.17 any person for his services. 00:26:27.21\00:26:29.35 He provides care and counsel for thousands of people 00:26:29.39\00:26:33.14 from several countries. 00:26:33.17\00:26:35.30 It may appear to be a lousy way to run a business, 00:26:38.57\00:26:40.48 but it's patterned after the ministry methods of Christ, 00:26:40.51\00:26:44.82 and time has proven that compassion can be successful. 00:26:44.85\00:26:49.13 Caring for the sick, building churches, teaching 00:26:49.16\00:26:53.05 life-improvement courses, giving clothing to the needy, 00:26:53.08\00:26:56.36 all require financial support to continue. 00:26:56.39\00:26:59.34 We'd like to extend an opportunity to you 00:26:59.38\00:27:02.30 to join us in this work. 00:27:02.33\00:27:04.64 You may send your tax deductable gift to: 00:27:04.68\00:27:07.91