Vive Mejor! And who wouldn’t want to “live better,” which is the translation for a new, innovative outreach hosted by the San Jose Hispanic church. Now, hundreds of community and church members are living better physically, mentally and spiritually.

The idea was born while three women — Rachel Chavez, Carolann de Leon and Norma Vargas — were brainstorming creative ways to evangelize their community and invigorate their own members. Chavez’s recent experience in learning to live healthier was the inspiration.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, I went back to the basics with diet, sunlight, fresh air, and exercise,” says Chavez. “I’ve been a Seventh-day Adventist for 26 years, and the health doctrine was what really attracted me to the church.”

Learning more about healthy eating, cooking and nutrition was a byproduct of her lifestyle change. She was a natural to provide nutrition and cooking expertise to Vive Mejor. Norma brought great organizational abilities, and Carolann, a family counselor and gifted speaker, team-taught a seminar on healthy relationships with her pastor husband.

Add at least 40 church-member volunteers, a financial green light from the church board and a successful advertising campaign, and the outreach began. Weekly classes from 6:30 to 9 p.m. were composed of three components: weigh-in, nutrition and cooking classes, and education in creating healthy relationships. A prayer team prayed for the participants during each meeting.

The free, 12-week program began in August. “Our initial attendance was 40, then it went to 60, then 80, and for a while, we had more than 100. Most of them were from the community,” de Leon says. Total enrollment reached 250.

Weigh-in was an opportunity for experts to give advice about how to naturally lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and how to exercise safely. Next came an hour about how to live better through nutrition. Tasting new recipes was a highlight. The evening concluded with a session on relationships and their importance to health and happiness.

“'Healing Our Relationships' was what we called the third session. That’s where we were connecting how all of our diet, the kinds of food we eat, how much and when, affects our moods,” de Leon explains. “We shared that our perfect Creator created a perfect owner's manual for the human body, and by following it, we will be healthier, feel better, look better, and our relationships will be healthier, as well.”

The third session taught participants how to heal their emotional wounds, as well.

“Not everyone wanted to participate in the weighing-in process,” Vargas reports. “Many were more interested in the nutrition and lifestyle portions of the program.” At the end of the 12 weeks, those who participated in the weigh-in had lost a total of 229 pounds.

“Every night, I demonstrated at least two recipes and sent them home with those recipes, plus a few more,” Chavez says. “When I served fettuccine alfredo without using milk or cheese, they were surprised it was so good.”

At first attendees were given small tastes of the recipes. But soon Chavez was serving a complete meal — sometimes for as many as 150 people.

The final evening featured a potluck with class members bringing their favorite new recipes. And they received invitations to learn more about how to live better — a one-week evangelism outreach with Pastor Carlos Solozabel. Eight people were baptized after the meetings.

In February, de Leon began another relationship class by popular request and 21 women are attending, most from the community. Chavez has been invited to nearby churches to offer information about nutrition and healthy cooking.

“Our church member gained a deeper awareness of the intricate interaction between the food we eat, our health, and how, in turn, these affect our emotions and behaviors, thus impacting our relationships,” says Pastor Cesar de Leon.

And that’s not all they are learning. “Our pastor and his wife are leading us to relearn Jesus’ ministry concept of doing more acts of kindness rather than just words,” Vargas says. “We have big plans for this coming year!"