 I have been holding back removing my fall decorations and putting up the Christmas ones, though usually, that is the first thing I want to do when the Thanksgiving meal is over. Instead, I have wanted to take the time to sit in gratitude for all that the Lord has done this year, including the mighty works of healing for some of my loved ones, versus rushing into the bustle of the holiday season. I have also been reflecting on the faithful partners of Ministry Care through these years, especially the challenges that Covid brought for all. As you know, it is that time of the year again. It is time for Giving Tuesday. This is an opportunity to give back. Would you prayerfully consider giving to Ministry Care? Your contribution will make a difference, no matter what the gift is. And if you cannot give monetarily, would you consider partnering with us in prayer? Prayer has made a vital difference this year. Let me know if you would like to receive updates on how you can pray for Ministry Care. Ministry Care exists to offer support to grow and sustain thriving ministries, and we often do this through partnerships and relationships with other organizations like Global Outreach and the American Bible Society. At the heart of Ministry Care is equipping, empowering, and training nationals (natives of that country) while offering care, encouragement, and help to missionaries. I truly could not do this important work without your generosity and kindness, encouragement, prayers, and love. You have held me up many times this year in the same way we have served to hold up others. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Blessings to you and with love, Misty As holidays can be tough for many, check out a 5 reading plan on YouVersion from the Trauma Healing Institute Hope for Wounded Hearts: Readings From Isaiah The book of Isaiah contains rich imagery, prophecies about the coming Messiah, and reminders of God’s faithfulness towards his people. The prophet Isaiah recounts God’s faithfulness to the Israelites and speaks of his hope in a future redemption through Jesus. On this plan, you will learn more about God’s justice and compassion and how he is present and near to those who are suffering. If you would like to make a donation for Giving Tuesday, there are 2 ways you may donate. You can make checks payable to “Ministry Care” and send them to:
Ministry Care 14934 Pacer Ct. Carmel, IN 46032 Or you can also make an online donation, using Givelify, on our website at www.ministrycareinternational.org. Ministry Care is a 501c3, therefore, your donation will be tax-deductible. If you have any questions feel free to email us at [email protected] or call at 765-603-3643.
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Happy Thanksgiving!1st Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) Rejoice always Pray continually Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We are so grateful for your prayers this year. Honestly, we would not have been able to have faced so much without them. There have been many beautiful examples to us of how you have been the hands and feet of Christ. Thank you. My apologies for the delay in getting the 3rd quarter newsletter out, but it is perfect timing in celebration of Thanksgiving, for we do have praises to report! Radiation is finished for my mom but continues to work through her body for a few more months. She has had her 3-month PET scan follow-up and just saw her oncologist to see where she stands. We had asked for prayers for complete healing at that stage, and no indication of cancer, and I am so pleased to report that our prayers have been answered!!! The oncologist feels like there was evidence the radiation worked and that what cancer was there has likely died. Can I get an Amen?! And a celebration dance?! She will continue to be monitored every 3 months for the next 5 years, alternating between CT and PET scans. His biggest recommendation was to avoid smoking and secondhand smoke. Please continue to pray for freedom from smoking. It has been almost one year now, but the struggle is still there for her. We ask for your prayers as well for the protection of healthy lung tissue, as her shortness of breath seems to have worsened in the past few months. As we move into the holidays, we ask for your prayers for reminders of God's Presence and Comfort in our grief and that we will continue to lean into Him for our healing. Keep those prayers coming for both my stepdad and grandma too. After a few months of chest pain, my stepdad had a heart cath, a stint put in, and one cleaned out. We continue to give praise here as well for how the Lord has had His hand on his health over the last 20 years. My grandma continues to be seen by a myriad of doctors. The biggest request for her is for the lymphedema in her legs. She will start daily therapy soon for 4 weeks, and we pray that will help with the swelling, pain, and infection she currently has. It is definitely time to keep a separate calendar for medical appointments :-) As for ministry, the Lord continues to move mightily. The project and partnership I have been involved with in the Philippines will formally wrap up at the end of this year, though the trauma healing ministry will continue. It has been such a blessing to be a part of the growth and development of the facilitators there. I love being able to work myself out of a job, so to speak, as the facilitators take over, train others, and continue to facilitate healing groups. Over 20,000 people were able to attend a healing group in the last 6 months due to this partnership with ABS and ICM, and I am thankful to have been a small piece of the healing that has occurred. Continue to pray for the facilitators as they lead healing groups and training moving forward, providing safe spaces for their hurting communities. Please pray for networking and cooperation between the various ministries using trauma healing as they work to serve their communities. Translation into local Filipino dialects has also been occurring, and we ask for prayers as those materials are finalized. This quarter I also had the chance to participate in a missionary care retreat in Malaga, Spain. It was a privilege and honor to work with the teenagers during the retreat, a very different role than my usual one of serving the adults. Emily, our Missionary Kid director, has developed an amazing curriculum called Rooted. We explored their identity as missionary kids and teenagers and their identity in being rooted in Christ, focusing on Psalm 139 as our Scripture. Seeing these teenagers connect and form friendships with one another was incredible. At the end of the retreat, we had the chance to pray over each child while their parents were there. This was such a powerful and emotional time, and I am thankful to have been a part of it. Malaga is in Southern Spain, and the heart-shaped rock in the picture is one I found on the beach while walking with another missionary. I found it to be a beautiful reminder of how the Lord continues the healing journey in our hearts with such great Love and Compassion poured on us. Working with teenagers at the retreat reminded me that this is an area of passion and ministry focus for me. If you work with teens, let me point you to a free resource called Unstuck, a Teen Guide to Living in Uncertain Times. This can be used as a journal or as a small group discussion. Reach out to me, and I would love to tell you more about how I have used it in ministry. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for each of you! Thank you for your continued prayers, support, faithfulness, and love during this difficult year, With love, Misty Check out a reading plan on YouVersion from the Trauma Healing Institute Hope for Wounded Hearts: Readings From Isaiah The book of Isaiah contains rich imagery, prophecies about the coming Messiah, and reminders of God’s faithfulness towards his people. The prophet Isaiah recounts God’s faithfulness to the Israelites and speaks of his hope in a future redemption through Jesus. On this plan, you will learn more about God’s justice and compassion and how he is present and near to those who are suffering. Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2022? There are 2 ways you may donate to Misty at Ministry Care. You can make checks payable to “Ministry Care” and send them to:
Ministry Care 14934 Pacer Ct. Carmel, IN 46032 Or you can also make an online donation, using Givelify, on our website at www.ministrycareinternational.org Ministry Care is a 501c3 therefore your donation will be tax-deductible. If you have any questions feel free to email us at [email protected]!  Master Facilitators in Training, Cebu, Philippines Thank you for your continued prayers. The Philippines trip was quite a success, even though there were some health hiccups along the way. By the end of the three weeks, we had facilitated 4 Advanced Equipping Sessions (with a total of 60 participants) and an Initial Equipping session for 30 pastors. It was an intense three weeks of training, and we were very intentional in making sure we had down time, rest, and fun on the weekends, especially with our facilitation team, who was not quite used to that pace of training. It made for long days and nights but excellent opportunities for growth and development and mentoring of the facilitation team. Four of the ICM staff were leveled up to Master Facilitators in Training and our facilitator from the Bible Society of the Philippines to a Master Facilitator. Our pastor training also had some powerful testimonies come out of it. In particular, during the laments, one of the pastors shared that he had recently lost his wife. He had not had the chance to express his grief and pain and had been trying to keep it inside. His lament brought other participants to tears, and while one of the facilitators closed the lament section in prayer, the pastor wept and sobbed openly. It was a powerful moment of authenticity, openness, and vulnerability. It was also a gentle reminder from the Lord that this is why I was there and how important this program is: creating a safe space for processing pain and trauma. There have now been over 4000 who have participated in a healing group. Please continue to pray for the facilitators working diligently to provide this safe space for hurting communities. Also, more training is now occurring, and other ministries are starting to become very interested in learning more about Trauma Healing. Please pray for networking and cooperation between these ministries as they all work together to serve their communities impacted by the typhoon. Continue to pray for the facilitation teams to be guarded against secondary trauma as they carry out the healing groups. Please pray as well for the continued translation work into the local Filipino dialects. 2nd Corinthians 5:7 (ESV) "for we walk by faith, not by sight"We are so grateful for your prayer during this time. As my mom continues in this journey, the praises we have to report are no indication of brain cancer, which means the cancer is contained to the lung and the oncologist has classified it as stage 1. We knew surgery was probably not going to be an option due to her current lung functioning, and this is indeed the case. However, the oncologist gave us some hope when he said the next best course of treatment is four rounds of radiation. She started radiation on July 19 and will finish her 4th round on July 28th. She will then have a break for one month though the radiation will continue to work. They will then repeat the PET scan to see where they are at. We are praying for complete healing at that stage and no indication of cancer and ask that you join us in that prayer. My stepdad has been cancer free from his lung cancer since 2003, and we know that nothing is impossible for our Lord. She is handling radiation well overall with the exception of nausea and fatigue. Please pray that this is a time where she can rest and allow healing for her body. Please pray for a healthy appetite and no weight loss. Most importantly please pray that the radiation is God's instrument to kill cancer and keep the healthy tissue intact. Also, pray that as cancer leaves her body, her lung functioning will improve. Yes, her lungs are not good, but I believe God can provide healing and restoration to her healthy remaining tissue while at the same time obliterating the invasive cancerous cells. Please continue to pray for His Presence in our family and that we see His hand of mercy and grace daily, in little and big ways. Please continue to pray for conversations about our faith with other family members too. Feel free to share testimonies you may have of His mighty hand of healing or scriptures that have brought you hope and comfort. I will pass them along to my mom. Thank you for your prayers, support, and love during a very challenging year, Misty Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Misty and her mom, Debbie. Please keep praying for healing Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2022? There are 2 ways you may donate to Misty at Ministry Care. You can make checks payable to “Ministry Care” and send them to:
Ministry Care 14934 Pacer Ct. Carmel, IN 46032 Or you can also make an online donation, using Givelify, on our website at www.ministrycareinternational.org Ministry Care is a 501c3 therefore your donation will be tax-deductible. If you have any questions feel free to email us at [email protected]! |
AuthorMisty Bodkins has a Master's degree in clinical psychology. She has worked both stateside and internationally doing counseling, training, teaching, and research. Her passion is working with people who are in crisis. Archives
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