133: You Don't Need All the Answers to Start a Group | Keith and Judy Hook

Summary

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Podcast Summary — I AM HealingStrong, Episode 133

Title: You Don't Need All the Answers to Start a Group
Host: Jim Mann
Guests: Keith and Judy Hook
Release Date: April 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode shares the inspiring journey of Keith and Judy Hook, longtime HealingStrong group leaders in the Seattle area. With warmth and humor, they reflect on how they started their support group, overcame doubts, and built a diverse, international healing community. The discussion explores practical tips for new leaders, emphasizes the power of connection, and highlights that you don’t need to have all the answers—or a background in medicine—to support others through cancer and chronic health challenges.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hooks' Background & Approach to Community

• Judy and Keith, both lifelong educators, have cultivated a life rich in hospitality, hosting over 100 international and foster children over 30 years ([02:09]–[03:44]).
• They bring their experience as teachers and connectors into their HealingStrong leadership roles, balancing responsibilities: Keith focuses on research and presentations, Judy on relational outreach and personal support ([00:00], [17:33]).
• Their lives have been “full of internationals and mostly teenagers and early adults... it’s made a huge difference in our lives.” —Judy ([03:13])

2. Cancer Journeys & Discovery of HealingStrong

• Judy’s stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis prompted her to pursue a plant-based diet and seek alternative practitioners ([04:15]–[04:53]).
• Discovering HealingStrong: After connecting with a naturopath, Judy learned about Chris Wark and HealingStrong. Her first direct contact with Susie Griswold (the organization’s founder, though she thought Susie was “the secretary”) was “so gracious and loving and prayed with me” ([05:18]–[06:42]).
• Keith was later diagnosed with stage 1 cancer. Their joint experience inspired them to become group leaders ([07:35]–[08:13]).

3. Starting and Leading a HealingStrong Group

• The Hooks initiated their group in-person right before COVID-19, then pivoted online via Zoom. This allowed them to expand their reach: “People from all over the country, actually all over the world” now join their sessions ([08:39]–[09:45]).
• Their meetings typically see 15–25 participants, about half local, with others from Canada, Italy, and beyond.
• Not all leadership requires expertise: “We have college degrees, but not in electronics”—Judy ([08:34]).
• “You’re not necessarily teaching the lesson. You’re pointing to video lessons... There’s so much material out there.” —Keith ([26:54])
• HealingStrong provides a year’s worth of curriculum and free resources, making leadership accessible ([26:20]–[27:09]).

4. Support, Connection, and Group Dynamics

• The greatest value: peer support and shared journeys. “It’s not so much...the curriculum...but sharing stories...being kind of like on the same journey—even though each journey is individual.” —Jim ([14:40])
• Open discussions, testimonials, and prayer are central. Judy fosters community by connecting personally with new members via FaceTime and maintaining a WhatsApp group for ongoing encouragement ([13:13], [18:49], [17:33]).
• Demonstration of group support: a visually impaired member expressed need for book readings; instantly, another member volunteered to read with her weekly, forming a deep friendship ([12:09]–[14:38]).
  • "In that fraction of a time, Debbie knew she was the one. And now they've read so many books together... they've become best friends." —Judy ([13:13])

5. Encouraging New Leaders — “You Don’t Need All the Answers”

• Both Judy and Keith, and host Jim Mann, stress that group leaders don’t need medical expertise—just compassion and willingness.
  • Jim jokes: “My qualifications are I have the code to the door and the alarm system. No one else does.” ([15:56])
• The HealingStrong structure allows co-leadership, mentorship, and group sharing to relieve pressure ([23:42]–[25:09]).
• Practical advice for hesitant leaders:
  • “I think some people do a group all by themselves. I would encourage people try to do it with a partner.” —Keith ([25:09])
  • “You simply need to say, Lord, I may not have it all together to do this, but... you just want my availability more than my ability. If this is you asking me... I’m in. And he'll provide.” —Keith ([27:26])

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Sample Meeting Structure ([18:44]–[21:47])

• Open with prayer and acknowledgment of reliance on God
• Disclaimer: “None of us are doctors”
• Testimonial sharing and open discussion
• Topic presentation (material researched by Keith or from provided curriculum/video)
• Group discussion, sometimes through Zoom breakout rooms for smaller conversations
• Ongoing connection via WhatsApp group and follow-up
• Encouragement for couples and caregivers to attend

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Welcoming new ideas and tech help:

  • "I didn't know how to do [WhatsApp], but Lucia in Italy helped me figure it out... They will contribute some prayer requests or music or prayers for people that have given the requests. So it's a great connector thing that’s not just once a month.” —Judy ([00:00])

• On the value of shared stories in healing:

  • “People just...when they come to the meeting...they just talk the whole time. It’s all ladies, and they’re sharing their stories and I have no control...but they just love the fact...they share things they’ve learned. Probably a half hour before I can get a word in, but it’s fine because that’s the best part of the meeting.” —Jim ([14:40])

• On spiritual calling and encouragement:

  • “We simply need to say, Lord, I may not have it all together to do this, but I’m going to trust that you're with me...you just want my availability more than my ability.” —Keith ([27:26])

• Scriptural encouragement for becoming a leader:

  • “One of the things that really encouraged me...is 2 Corinthians 1:4...we’re to encourage others with the encouragement that has come to us...This journey...is not just for us. It’s to share with others.” —Judy ([27:55])

• On satisfaction and new beginnings:

  • “Take the risk, open yourself up to doing something brand new...the growth that comes from it, the new people that you meet, the fulfillment looking back..." —Keith ([32:44])
  • "I just think that is incredible." —Judy ([33:20])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00]–[03:44]: Hooks’ background, international hospitality, and community roles
• [04:15]–[07:35]: Cancer journeys, discovery of HealingStrong, and early support experiences
• [08:39]–[10:17]: Transition to online group—broadening reach, fostering international connections
• [11:08]–[12:11]: Overcoming overwhelm as new leaders, valuing honesty ("I don’t know but I’ll find out")
• [12:09]–[14:38]: Story: Group member volunteers to read to a visually impaired participant, highlighting organic support
• [14:40]–[15:49]: Power of shared journey and group bonding
• [17:33]–[18:44]: Defining co-leadership roles; the value of WhatsApp group
• [18:49]–[21:47]: Detailed sample meeting format and the importance of discussion and adaptability
• [23:42]–[27:26]: Encouragement for new leaders, practical advice, finding co-leaders, and trusting God’s provision
• [27:55]: Scriptural encouragement for group leadership
• [29:40]–[31:34]: Community empowerment—panel presentation example and personal growth
• [32:44]–[34:02]: Final encouragement and reflections on embracing new beginnings as older adults

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Closing Encouragement

• Keith and Judy exemplify that anyone—with or without all the answers—can foster healing and connection through starting a group.
• “Take the risk...the growth...the fulfillment—God used me to bring these people together. Huge satisfaction.” —Keith ([32:44])
• “This is going to be the most awesome time of our life...that God would use us to impact young people...and be an encouragement to them.” —Judy ([33:20])

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For information on joining or starting a HealingStrong group, visit healingstrong.org.
Keith & Judy's group meets the second Saturday of every month—open to participants worldwide.

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Transcript

[Judy Hook]

Keith and I kind of diversify our roles here because both of us have been teachers, but I taught elementary kids and. Or one on one, and Keith taught college and adults, and so he's much more fitting for this kind of a group. But I'm a connector kind of person, so I'm the one that gets to write the letters and talk to the people and when they call. And we have a WhatsApp group, too, which is. I didn't know how to do that, but Lucia in Italy helped me figure it out. And so there's probably 44 more people on our WhatsApp group, and they will contribute some prayer requests or music or scriptures or prayers for people that have given the requests. So it's a great connector kind of a thing that's not just once a month, and it can go on. And we're just. I'm just so thankful for other people's ideas of what. What to do.

[Jim Mann]

You're listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast, a part of the Healing Strong organization, the number one network of holistic cancer support groups in the world. Each week we bring you stories of hope, real stories that will encourage you as you navigate your way on your own journey to health. Now here's your host, stage four cancer thriver Jim Mann.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

It is my pleasure to talk to Keith and Judy Hook again. We had you on, what, three years ago, I believe it was. You were, like, just married.

[Keith Hook]

Yeah.

[Judy Hook]

Right now it's been 52, so.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yes.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah. Almost 53.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Whoa. You're starting to get used to each other.

[Keith Hook]

Yeah.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

Takes a while, you know.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yes. You've learned to say yes, ma', am. Right?

[Keith Hook]

I've learned to say a number of things and.

[Judy Hook]

And no soup.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Okay, we'll leave that subject right now. Now, you're in Seattle, Washington area, right?

[Keith Hook]

Yeah, we're about 20 miles north of

[Judy Hook]

Seattle, and it's a gorgeous spring day today. Oh, my word. Gorgeous. It's above 60, and when it's above 60 here. The other big part about our life, Jim, is that we started hosting foster care first, and then when we moved to Hong Kong, we changed focus and we. We did international students. So we. We've had well over 100 people live with the kids, live with us over about 30 years. We just said goodbye to our last one a year ago in September, and then just this last couple weeks, we had a student that we had from 2020 till off and on through 2024 come back and visit us for a week. So it's just. It's our life has been full of internationals and mostly teenagers and early adults. So like early 20s mostly.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

That really enriches your life, doesn't it?

[Judy Hook]

Huge. It's made a huge difference in our lives. Yeah.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

I've only had experience with one international student from France that my cousin hosted. And I still think about her. I mean, I was in my 20s when she came along and it was just something about being exposed to someone else who speaks a whole different language, a whole different culture, trying to connect. I don't know. It was a great experience. I can't really describe it.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah, it was great for st. So some of them were short term, but most of them were six months or several years.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

That's incredible. That's a richness that you wouldn't have had otherwise, right?

[Judy Hook]

Very much.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Now you're in your 30s, 70s, same thing, right?

[Keith Hook]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Originally we talked to you three years ago and I know if people listening right now, they want to hear your total story, obviously. Go back. I think it's episode number 37 back in February of 23. Of course, just in a nutshell, Judy, of course, you got stage two breast cancer first.

[Judy Hook]

Right.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Changed your diet, went plant based. And then you let me see you. Yo. You had a naturopath living right down. I mean, not living, but his office is right down the hill from you, Right?

[Judy Hook]

Exactly.

[Keith Hook]

Just a mile down.

[Judy Hook]

A mile from. From us. Yeah.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Wow.

[Keith Hook]

She's been there for a long time, but we just didn't realize it until she got diagnosed and then we found out and they. They become good friends.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

That's great.

[Judy Hook]

The sons are actually running the. The office now. And the father was the one that I started out with, with one of the scents, so.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Judy Hook]

But we recommend them highly to everybody in our group and people who live around us, you know, have opportunity to go and experience their care, their love, their specific guidance and direction. It's really been wonderful.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

And then of course, that's when you found Chris Wark and then you found Healing Strong.

[Judy Hook]

I was, you know, doing some on my own research and heard Chris work and he mentioned Healing Strong and how important it was to have support and encouragement that you can't walk through this journey alone and all of that. And I thought, yeah, I'm sure it's out in the east coast like everything else. And so we're a little bit far from the east coast, way out here in Western Washington. And so I looked it up, put in our zip code, and there was a group leader that was trying to get a group started. I wrote to her a Couple times. But she just didn't really. I didn't connect with her. And so I thought, well, I'll call the office, the main office of Healing Strong and I'll talk to the secretary and see what we can find out. And the little pretty secretary that answered was Susie Griswold. And she talked aunt for an hour and was just so gracious and loving and prayed with me. And I thought, oh, my word. What? This is awesome. I need to investigate this more. So I, I think I called her another time and it was the same secretary because I didn't know she was the founder and director of Healing Strong. Had no clue. And then we ended up getting to come out to visit in Atlanta and what a privilege.

[Keith Hook]

Some of these backstories are kind of neat to look at because you see how God's been working in things.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

And we'd never been to. Well, I'd been to Atlanta for one conference, one time, but otherwise not. And we'd had no plans to go there except that our daughter and son in law from Singapore, we're going to go to a conference in Birmingham. They registered for the conference and no sooner did they register than they found out they couldn't take their newborn along. Nursing newborns were not allowed at the conference. And they said, oh, what are we going to do? We already got these tickets, got everything. So they called us up and said, mom and dad, you want to babysit? So they paid our way hotel airfare to get to Birmingham. And we thought that's not far from Atlanta. That actually it was cheaper to fly into Atlanta and then rent a car to go back to Birmingham.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

So that's how we got to Atlanta. I got connected with Susie, just had

[Judy Hook]

a delightful time and decided to become group leaders as we walked out of their little office.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah. And of course Keith felt left out, so he got his own diagnosis. It was a stage one, right?

[Keith Hook]

Yeah. In fact, that was the, that was a summer that we went out to Atlanta. I had gotten that diagnosis. And then we got this trip to Birmingham. In Atlanta and time with Susie, I thought, wow, I'm on my own journey. But we can, we're doing this journey together. We can, we can do a group.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

We don't know what it all is going to entail, but let's do a group.

[Judy Hook]

Yes. And I was so thankful because I couldn't do it by myself for sure. And it was be great to have Keith there.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Well, that's what I want to talk about today is your experience with the group being A group leader and what all that entails. You gotta have like a college degree, right, to be a group leader?

[Judy Hook]

Well, we have college degrees, but not in electronics.

[Keith Hook]

Judy said electronics, partly because we laugh at that a little bit. When we started a group, we started an in person group. This was just before COVID Great.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

And we, so we got this in person group. We found a local church that John was willing to host it. Then we, then we couldn't have the group anymore because Covid happened and we thought, well, we're not going to just stop. So we investigated Zoom and we got this Zoom group going and we've been going ever since via Zoom. And that has been so neat because it enables people from all over the country, actually all over the world, to be part of that group if they, if it's, you know, if the time meets with them, if the subject matter meets with what they're looking for. So I would say, you know, we get 15 to 25 people on a typical second Saturday of the month. And roughly half might be local, the others are from different parts of the state or country, and oftentimes a couple from overseas.

[Judy Hook]

And Canada for sure. You know, because we're close to Canada, but they don't have as many groups up there yet. But we're trying to plant some. We're trying to encourage the people in our group to start new groups wherever they are.

[Keith Hook]

One of the internationals we have is a lady from Italy and she started a group on her own and she has also translated the healing strong materials from English into Italian.

[Judy Hook]

And she's not native born Italian, she's actually from Peru, I think. So she, she's a language specialist. But now she's moved on. She does. She kind of personally talks to her group, people that were in her group. But she actually is a mentor for other international leaders. And Jesus reels support for us too.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah. I think I met her at the. Did she come to the ten year anniversary? Yeah, she's delightful.

[Judy Hook]

Yes. We just hung around with her. Yeah. And there was a gal from England that we. We just kind of stayed with them the whole time.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

That's right. Yeah. That was a good time. Good time. Now, when you first started, it did seem overwhelming. Did you feel like, I don't know if I can do this or how'd that go for you?

[Keith Hook]

You know, I think there was some of that partly because the material was so new.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

I had, I had led some groups before. We'd been in groups before, but this is a whole different type of material than what we have covered before, we knew that we were going to get asked questions that we didn't have answers to. And we knew that the best our experience had been that the best answer to that is I don't know, but I'll find out. I see that a lot of I don't knows for, for a while and there's still some. But, but with the Internet and with the connections that you get to have, there's all kinds of resources available. And, and I think that's one of the key parts of a group is the in person thing, the, the, the relationships that develop, but just the familiarity with more and more resources that are there that you can refer people to. I mentioned about the resources that develop or the relationships that develop. We have an individual in the group that is blind. Yes.

[Judy Hook]

This is incredible.

[Keith Hook]

Judy put out the, the need for this person to have somebody read some of the healing strong materials or some of the healing books to her. And we immediately had a volunteer from the group. And so they regularly talk together and she donor of her time reads the books to her and they've become best, best friends.

[Judy Hook]

And what's amazing is that this came up just during the, the group itself. The Lord just said, let's just hear from. You know, we often have open discussion in our group. And I think that's one of the reasons people like to be in the group because they, they feel like they're part of it. But when this new gal came on and I always try to facetime the new people that I get, I get contacts from when they write and they ask about the group, I try to get on them with a FaceTime call. And so I build some rapport so that when they get on the call it's like, oh yeah, that's Judy. I know somebody, you know here. No big deal. And so I can share. Well, anyways, Debbie got on for the first time after our FaceTime call. She got on and she said, she said, you know, I just really appreciate being in this group. This is so cool. And then the gal, the gal that was going blind at that time, she's progressed now, came on and she said, you know, I really would love to have somebody read to me because I'm having a hard time reading. And this gal was of her first time on too. She was from California, she was far from us. And the new gal who I just interviewed said, I'll do it. She's. And so they made the commitment right during the group and I, and I thought, whoa, that's quite a Commitment. But I mean, in that fraction of a time, Debbie knew that she was the one. And now they've since met each other. They live several hundred miles apart, but they've read so many books together, you know, radical remission and 10 hours to live and on and on. I mean, they just have a running list of books that they read together, and they read every. Every week for an hour at least.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Wow.

[Judy Hook]

It's just amazing.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah. That's one thing I have found in leading my group, which I believe I started pretty much same time you all did in 19. 20, 19. Because then I had to stop doing the COVID thing. But it's not so much. I mean, it's great what they learn, the different knowledge that we share with each other and the curriculum that is offered by Healing Strong. But it's actually just sharing stories with each other and being kind of like on the same journey, even though each journey is individual. But it's like we're all. It's like going to war, I guess, like. Like military people always talking about those they fight with. You know, there's this bond that normally there. It's the same type of thing. People just. When they come to the meeting, like, mine's in person, so I get to see them. Well, they just talk the whole time. It's all ladies, and they're sharing their stories and I have no control. It's like, just like at home. I have no control. But they just love the fact, you know, each one catches them up on, you know, their own story, then they share things. They've learned it probably a half hour before I can get a word in, but it's fine because that's the best part of the meeting.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

The support they gain from one another is huge. A huge part of the healing.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

Really is.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

And I'm a perfect example of how you don't have to be a natural leader. You don't have to have a lot of knowledge, medical knowledge, especially to lead a group. My qualifications are I have the code to the door and to the alarm system. No one else does. So that's my qualifications. And it's funny, I. I've been asking for someone to step up because, like I say, it's all women and me. And they're all very qualified for it because they do all kinds of research. They knew about tests. And there's one lady, she. She's done every blood test there is, and she talks about it. And I'm like, you're all qualified to be leaders here way more than me. Some of them are teachers by trade. One's a nurse by trade. I think they just like watching me squirm. But just recently, in fact, our next meeting, we're going to have new leaders. They finally said, okay, two of them are going to co lead. So I'm like, oh, what a.

[Judy Hook]

Excellent.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

I'll open the door. I can still do that. I'm going to let them just go with it. It'll probably be so much better. So that's kind of exciting, but, yeah.

[Judy Hook]

Oh, that is.

[Keith Hook]

One of the things that Healy Strong has done now to help group leaders is they have some leaders that have been in it for a while and have done well, and they've become mentor leaders. And for us, that's dawn down in Rancho Cucamonga. She has offered so many resources to us, and she invites us to be part of this. Their.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Their tiny group.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah, yeah. They got the Group of the Decade conference. And Keith and I kind of diversify our roles here because both of us have been teachers, but I taught elementary kids and. Or one on one, and Keith taught college and adults, and so he's much more fitting for. For this kind of a group. And. But I'm a connector kind of person, so I'm the one that gets to write the letters and talk to the people and when they call. And we have a WhatsApp group, too, which is. I didn't know how to do that, but Lucia in Italy helped me figure it out. And so there's probably 44 more people on our WhatsApp group, and they will contribute some. Some prayer requests or music or scriptures or prayers for people that have given the requests. So it's a great connector kind of a thing that's not just once a month, and it can go on. And we're just. I'm just so thankful for other people's ideas of what. What to do.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right. Well, give us a brief rundown of what your meetings are like.

[Judy Hook]

Okay.

[Keith Hook]

Okay. So we'll open in prayer, and Judy and I pray beforehand as well. But then we also open the meeting with prayer for us realizing and expressing that realization that we're not doing this on our own. We can't do this on our own. This human body that was created by God and created to heal, and he knows best how to get it back to functioning well. And so we ask the Lord for guidance for each meeting. Wisdom. We begin with a disclaimer. None of us are doctors. We're presenting information and encourage people to look at it, but that's up to them. And they have to find their own healthcare provider that can work with them on this. Some of our people are just doing naturopathic type of treatments. Some are doing fairly strong conventional treatments, whether it's radiation or chemo, and some are doing a combination. And all are welcoming in the group or preventative or some are doing preventative. Yeah.

[Judy Hook]

Or caregiving too.

[Keith Hook]

And then we have a time, not every week, not every month, but a testimonial time when somebody can. One or more people can share what's been happening in their lives. We have oftentimes a prayer time where we'll ask for prayer requests and then we do a particular subject, present that. And it might be 20 to 30 minutes long. Sometimes it's longer.

[Judy Hook]

We've gone through the book.

[Keith Hook]

We've gone through the book and gone back through the book at times in various orders, but trying to bring additional new information in as well. So one of the things that I'm kind of the researcher between the two of us. And so one of the things that I'm doing during the course of the each month beef ahead of time is doing some research about. Okay, we think we're going to lead with this topic next month. Let's see what else is out there that's new, that fits with the curriculum, but. But it's new, new stuff. And there's always tons of new things out there that are happening. There's no dearth of materials that you can use. So we present that material. Oftentimes it might be somebody in person. It might be a video, speakers that's available on the Internet. It might be something that Don from Rancho Cucamonga has suggested to us to use sometime. And so we present that sometimes we have conversation taking place in the. With the whole group right after the presentation. At other times we break into small groups. One of the things you can do in Zoom is break into small discussion groups. And we used to have those for maybe 10, 15 minutes.

[Judy Hook]

But there's women that like to talk broad.

[Keith Hook]

They're saying, can we have more time? Because they're talking about the subject.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

But they're also talking to each other. About each other.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

You know, they have lots to share together. And I think that's one of their favorite parts of the whole meeting is, yeah, it's what we present, but it's them talking with one another. And I think like you, we. We have two, maybe three men, but

[Judy Hook]

we try to encourage couples to be on there together.

[Keith Hook]

Yeah.

[Judy Hook]

And so when we first introduced interview them or, you know, they talk FaceTime with me. You know, a lot of times I will ask about their spouse and I say, you know, they're so welcome on the meeting. It's so helpful for them to kind of get some of this background themselves and encouragement. And we do have several that are on like that, which I think helps grind it out a little bit. And then we have some guys that are by themselves, too. And then we try to encourage them to, if there's somebody that they want to talk to later, they want to connect with, we mentioned that they should just write to me and text me and I'll. I'll check it out with the other person. And you know, the one that just shared the testimony today, I would like to get a hold of her, but I don't know what her name is. Oh, yeah, for sure. And they always want to connect. They always.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

And oftentimes somebody will put, you know, we have the chat open on Zoom, so people can respond to things to there as well.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

I know there are people listening who, who. There's no group around them, and they want to join, they want to start one, but they don't feel like they're qualified, which I thought my example would. Would just kill that. But what would you say to somebody like that that's just hesitant. I mean, I know there are a lot of people that are hesitant to start one. They go, I just. I just can't do it. But what would you say to them?

[Judy Hook]

We've had a couple people who have said they were going to start a group, and then they tried to, and then they kind of backed out, but then they stayed part of our group, which is fine. And even if they're starting, because you can list, you can be a part of more than one group at the same time. If you're out in the middle of Nevada and there's nobody living around you, there's no group or whatever, and you don't know anybody else who's wanting to do this kind of a treatment or journey you can get on a Zoom. And on our website, there's a calendar that actually will show you the groups that are having meetings every day of the month and how to get on and what times they are and that kind of thing. And I talked to one gal in Australia, actually, who wanted to get onto a group, and so I met with her on FaceTime and we just kind of shared a little bit with her, and she's actually doing a group now. And then there's a gal in Florida that I talked to too. She wanted to start a group in South Africa, but do it from Florida. I said, what about if you have your relative in South Africa be your co leader and both of you do the group for South South Africa, you know, so just that encouragement one to the other I think is huge.

[Keith Hook]

I think if somebody is thinking, feeling maybe led or has an interest in a group become a part of. Even if you don't have cancer, become a part of a group first and just experience it. And then also I think some people do a group all by themselves. I would encourage people try to do it with a, with a partner.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

If somebody else. Partly because if you're doing a Zoom call, somebody is kind of concentrating on letting people into the group on different. A variety of things. With Zoom, which I usually do, but I don't always catch something in the chat. It's just helpful to have a couple of people working together and you don't have to necessarily be in the same physical location. With Zoom, you could be opposite ends country, but working together well.

[Judy Hook]

And during the meeting, a lot of times I'll get a text from somebody in the group. I can't get in. Would you help me send the link again or whatever. So I have my phone there to be able to send the link again or whatever. We've decided to do the same link so that we don't have this all the time, but we're not into it very long yet, so we'll see. But it's good to have both of us working together.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Yeah. And the fact that we. Right. On the website, they have a year's worth of curriculum that you can just push play and just go through the curriculum. That gives you a year of cushion to figure out, hey, this is not that. Not that hard.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

Yeah. You know, I'm kind of a teacher. I mean I've.

[Judy Hook]

You are.

[Keith Hook]

I've pastored a number of churches. I've taught at a Bible school. I love to do that. But you don't have to be a teacher by profession to do this. There's like, like you said, there's so much material out there. You're the group leader. You're helping bring this group together.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah.

[Keith Hook]

You're not necessarily teaching the lesson. You're pointing the video lesson by sick.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right. The participant guide. Yes, they love that one. And you can get it free off the website also.

[Judy Hook]

Yes.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Rather than the hard copy. But I like hard copies. Old fashioned.

[Judy Hook]

But you can press the links on the, on the resources and that's what we encourage people. Do both. Do both.

[Keith Hook]

I Think people oftentimes think I can't do that.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Right.

[Keith Hook]

And oftentimes I think that's the enemy, not wanting you to do that. And we simply need to say, lord, I may not have it all together to do this, but I'm going to trust that you're with me.

[Judy Hook]

And.

[Keith Hook]

And you just want my availability more than my ability. And if this is you asking me to do this, Lord, I found the best thing to say is I'm in. And he'll provide. Doesn't mean I don't have to work on something, but he'll provide.

[Judy Hook]

One of the things that really encouraged me in the very beginning to be part of a group is 2 Corinthians 1:4, where the Lord says that we're to encourage others with the encouragement that has come to us. I didn't get the words exactly right, but we're to be there. This journey that we've gone on is not just for us. It's to share with others. And there's so many people around that have no clue that there's alternative ways to heal cancer. They think that whatever the doctor says is what is fine for every single person. No, God is individual. He has. He's created us with a healing mechanism to heal our cell, our bodies. Everybody's gotten cut and have seen how God heals the cut. This is something that's on the inside. He can heal on the inside as well as the outside.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

That's right. Yeah. He's pretty good at that.

[Judy Hook]

He is, yeah.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Before we wrap this up, which you've given us a lot of good information, and I think you've relieved some of the. The stress or the confusion of people who maybe are thinking about starting one. And like, yeah, I think I can do this. But I do like the advice of being a part of a zoom meeting and just kind of see how it goes. Yeah, I didn't think of that simple process. I am not a teacher. As for. My wife was a teacher for, you know, like 14 years. That's her gifting, but not mine. So are there any stories that you would want to share quickly about any of your participants or anything like that?

[Judy Hook]

Oh, yeah, we had. One of our participants was in an area where Barbara o' Neill was going to be speaking. And. And in fact, I first heard about Barbara o' Neill from Lucia in Italy. She told us about. Anyway, so I thought we got kind of intrigued about it. And so we mentioned to the group and a gal who was very close said, well, I'm going to go to the meeting and I'm going to take notes, but I see that it's going to be online too. So there were several other people that were going to be online and, and they were going to attend the meeting virtually. So after they did that, they were writing to me and saying, this was so cool. And I learned this and I learned that and I said, hey, guys, what do you think if we put together a panel? So one of them decided she would do kind of the listing of what was covered in the presentation, and another one would tell about going to the meeting in person and what it was really like there. And then the third person was going to list resources or whatever. And the three of them worked together, even though one lived in Seattle, one lived in eastern Canada, and the other one in eastern Washington. But they arranged a time to. They talked together and they planned this, the all out and we just facilitated it and I tried to connect people that wanted to be connected with them. Anyway, it was fascinating and they've talked about it ever. I mean, ever since. People will bring up Barbara o' Neill and many of them got the books that she was recommending and they've been doing the castor oil packs and those kind of things and seeing results. And it's been, it's been powerful.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Wow. Yeah. I think anyone who's listening right now, and it's kind of on the edge of whether they want to start one or not. Once you get into it and you build a community and as you're doing research, you realize, wow, there's more information that we can ever use, it's. It becomes very overwhelming. But if you just stay with the basics and stick with that and, you know, and different people have different stories of something they've tried that's worked for them and, and that's what I find anyway, with my group, you will look back and say, man, I, I wish I hadn't waited so long to start this because I have a family, a community that, you know, can relate to what I'm going through. Perhaps if, you know, the person is going through cancer or whatever. Like me, I. I went through my diagnosis and I had a month or two to live and that's been 10 years. So I kind of went past that and I'm cancer free. They wrote me off. They said, we don't need to see you anymore. I like that. And you two are doing great, right?

[Keith Hook]

Yep.

[Judy Hook]

Yep.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

You're looking fantastic.

[Judy Hook]

Seeing on the protocol, though, we don't want to get off of that. Yeah.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Oh yeah, yeah. You don't Want to go back to the way you were before because something that caused the cancer. So it's always good to be healthy.

[Keith Hook]

I think I'd say, you know, to people, take the risk, open yourself up to doing something brand new. Yeah, there might be some challenging times, but the growth that comes from it, the new people that you meet, the fulfillment looking back on all their things is, hey, you know, God used me to bring these two people together and this and that. Huge satisfaction.

[Judy Hook]

Yeah, yeah.

[Keith Hook]

Just. Just being able to. To touch people's lives in areas where they're hurry and need some help and maybe I can be part of the conduit that brings that help.

[Judy Hook]

I never would have dreamed that Keith is going to turn Moses age in a couple of weeks.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Oh, man.

[Judy Hook]

And I am. Yeah, I've been preparing for this because this is going to be the most awesome time of our life. And we sold our house and so we are all set for this new adventure. And I'm 75 and it's just so amazing that God would use us to impact young people. That we have young people in our group that have had cancer and old people and middle whatever that he would use us to be an encouragement to them. I just think that is incredible.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

Anybody listening? They want to find out more about it. They can always join your group, which is the second Saturday of the month, right?

[Judy Hook]

Second Saturday, right in the morning, our time. So that sometimes works for people that are farther away.

[Podcast Host (Jim Mann)]

So you just go to the website and look up your group and get all that information there. Yep, perfect. Keith and Judy, thank you so much for sharing your great wisdom.

[Keith Hook]

Thank you.

[Judy Hook]

God bless you.

[Jim Mann]

You've been listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast, part of the Healing Strong organization. We hope this episode encourages you and gave you confidence to take charge of your healing journey, trusting God to guide your path. Healing Strong is a nonprofit dedicated to connecting, supporting and educating individuals facing cancer and other diseases through strategies that rebuild the body, renew the soul and refresh the spirit. It's free to join a local or online group.

[Judy Hook]

Just.

[Jim Mann]

Just visit healingstrong.org to find one near you or start your own. While you're there, create a free my HealingStrong account to access all of our free resources to help you live healthier and heal strong. Though our groups and resources are free, we invite you to support our mission through a monthly Hope Givers donation of your choosing. Your generosity helps us reach more people with hope and encouragement. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five star rating and review to help us spread the word. We'll see you next week with another story on the I Am Healing Strong podcast.