During this unprecedented season of Covid-19, our lives, work, and ministries look very different. Many of us are sheltering in place, seeking creative ways to serve. Still, others are continuing to provide vital services. Our emotions are being affected, we are all suffering individually, but also experiencing a collective trauma. Some of us may be feeling sad and anxious, while others may be experiencing uncertainty or unexplained anger.

Our usual coping methods are limited, so we may feel a lot of emotions that we can't explain.  We are uncertain how long this disruption will last. Some of us may be faced with an uncertain future. In traumatic situations, it is natural to feel stress, anxiety, anger, helplessness, and loss of control. Hear me say this... it is okay to feel these emotions, and it is okay not to be okay!
 
The Trauma Healing Institute has developed specific material called, "Healing from the DIstress of the Covid-19 Crisis" and we have been using it to facilitate discussion on processing our feelings and emotions from a Biblical perspective. Sharon and I have been offering 2.5-hour sessions several days a week on this topic. If you are interested in being a part of it, please let me know. Our desire is to help you reflect on God's love and care during this time, feel encouraged, and gain an understanding that you can use to help others.  

Here is a glimpse of the discussion. I encourage you if you cannot join in one of our zoom discussions, to talk these questions over with a trusted loved one or journal about them. I am always willing to talk anytime either in a group or one on one.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. How has the crisis created by this virus affected you?

2. Do you feel:

• Helpless? Explain.
• Angry? Explain.
• Afraid? Explain.

3. What kinds of losses have you experienced due to COVID-19?

4. If you have been isolated from other people, how has that affected you?

After discussing or journaling your responses to these questions, look at the list below to see if there
are things you did not already think of.

• Helplessness: You may feel like your voice is not heard, or that you have lost control over your life. You may feel like a victim of something unexpected and beyond your control. The world may not make sense. You may not know who or what to believe.
• Anger: You may be angry at leaders who have made poor decisions, or at people who are critical of leaders you support. You may be angry at people who are not following the rules or using good judgment. You may be angry at how others are treating you, or you may even be angry at yourself for mistakes you may have made. Sometimes, when we examine our anger, we find that beneath it we are expressing our fear.
• Fear: You may fear death, or change, or loss of a job, home, way of life, or sense of purpose. If you test positive for the virus or are from a group with high infection rates, you may fear being stigmatized. You may fear being unable to get medical care for yourself or your loved ones. You may fear overreacting or under-reacting.
• Loss: You may have lost your job, your income, your home, or contact with your loved ones. You may have lost the opportunity for farewells, ceremonies, or funerals. Events you had been looking forward to maybe canceled. You may have lost the predictable rhythm of life.
• Isolation: You may feel sad, lonely, worried, suicidal, trapped, or bored. If you have stayed at home with family members in close quarters, you may feel crowded or harassed. These emotions may take all your energy and leave you feeling tired all the time. Some of these feelings may continue long after the quarantine is over.

Everyone is feeling the stress of this time. Know that you do not have to journey through this alone though. I will walk with you! And we serve a Big God who has promised to never leave nor forsake us. 

Thank you for your continued love and support and let me know how I can be a support to you,

Misty

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2020? 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 as ministrycareinternational@gmail.com

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10

This month this verse keeps showing up in my life. It is an encouragement to me to keep seeking the Lord, following Him, letting Him strengthen me to carry out the good He has called me to. Sometimes when moving from place to place, changing time zones, and having multiple meetings, it is easy to become weary but the promise of harvest spurs me on.

The rest of my time in Uganda was filled in several ways. First, we facilitated our first Community of Practice (COP) in Jinja. The goal in a COP is to bring together facilitators, mental health professionals, administrators, and advocates from ministries and churches that work with trauma survivors for networking, collaboration, professional development, encouragement, and prayer. This builds momentum for trauma healing in a country or area. We have now been involved in Trauma Healing in Jinja for 3.5 years so this was a perfect opportunity to come together and talk through successes and challenges faced.
​
We held an Advanced Equipping where I mentored and coached two Training Facilitators who moved on as Master Facilitators after this training. Both have a huge passion for Trauma Healing and ideas for seeing it grow in other parts of Uganda. I also went through an Orientation for the Audio Version of Trauma Healing. This will help those groups where literacy is an issue. They have the materials translated in Amharic, therefore, I was able to take the training to Ethiopia and pass it on to 9 others. The feedback from several of them is the audio is an answer to prayer as they were trying to determine how to do healing groups in their context but were unsure the way forward. I love how the Lord provides as He knows what the needs are before we do.

The rest of my time in Ethiopia was spent in missionary care meetings in Addis and in Soddo. As well, my time overlapped with a team, and more importantly friends, from my home church. It was great to spend some time with them, serving at Compassion Family International. I missed last year as I was in Thailand so it was a joy to get to be with them and to be reminded of how hearts are touched when it is their first time here. February also brought time in Florida, piloting the 2nd Strength from Weakness group (9 new lessons developed by the Trauma Healing Institute). The feedback we had was phenomenal as it gave an opportunity to go deeper into layers of hurt and trauma and see the Lord continue to meet each person where they are at for healing. My heart keeps being tugged to do more and more within Trauma Healing as there is such great value because I see the Lord right in the center of it. And in my free time this month, I worked on developing protocols for a missionary care crisis response team. It has been a full and joyful month!

Thank you for your continued love and support,

Misty

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2020? 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 as ministrycareinternational@gmail.com

"There are not enough mental health professionals to meet the immense need for
comfort and to teach basic emotional strategies that can bring relief and healing to
people in our communities-including children and teens. This is how the church can
help." Excerpt from the Life Hurts, Love Heals curriculum.

Trauma is part of the human experience in the broken world. Trauma happens
when a person is overwhelmed with fear, helplessness, or horror in the face of
death or threat of death. This affects their psychological, physical, emotional,
and spiritual well-being.

This is the tragedy of trauma:

• Trauma disrupts lives.
• Trauma destroys hope.
• Trauma perpetuates in cycles of violence.
• Trauma isolates people from self, others, and God.

Which brings up our central questions. How do people recover from trauma?
Can the Bible help? What can the church do? You know I have been involved in
the adult and teen curriculum for Healing the Wounds of Trauma. This month, I
also had the opportunity to participate in the children's version.
Why is Children’s Trauma Healing Needed?

Whenever a community is traumatized, children suffer, but often they are
without a voice and their heart wounds go untreated. Children have some basic
needs: safety, structure, order, protection, comfort, intimacy, adults they can
trust, autonomy, and control of their lives. But when there is trauma, it fills
their formative years with violence, abandonment, neglect, chaos,
unpredictability, danger, cruelty, abuse, boundary violation, and exploitation.
Living in the present, children have no backdrop of the past to help them
under stand what has happened. Because they believe adults are good, often
they conclude they are responsible for bad things that happen. They have great
difficulty articulating their inner pain because their language skills are still in
development. When adults don’t know how to help traumatized children,
their response is one of frustration, which only increases the child’s pain and
despair.

This is where the Children's Training in Healing the Wounds of Trauma can help.
In Uganda, we did a 3-day classroom training with 26 adults and then
facilitated a 5-day Healing Hearts Club camp with 84 kids from the ages of 8 to
13 in attendance. It was a long 8 days but beautiful in how we saw the Lord
work, including 7 of those children giving their lives to Christ. We are thankful
for the facilitation team who made it possible, Good Shepherd's Fold for hosting
the event, and the Trauma Healing Institute for continuing to develop tools for
our tool kits in helping those whose hearts have been wounded! Thank you to
my partners in the states for making it possible for both me and Rumbi to
attend!!

Thank you for your continued love and support,

Misty

Prayer requests and praises:

• For my family as we walk this grief journey, transitioning from times of anger and denial to no hope
• For travel to Ethiopia February 2nd and then to the states February 14
• For travel to Florida February 23rd and as we pilot our 2nd To Strength From Weakness Group February 24-26
• For my mom: for peace and financial provision as she received some unexpected news about her health
• For continued healing for my grandma as she continues Physical Therapy after a fall
• Praise for the 7 who gave their lives to the Lord
• Praise for the Advanced Equipping in Uganda
• Praise for our first Community of Practice for Trauma Healing in Jinja
• Praise for renewal of friendships and relationships in Uganda
• Praise for time spent with Rumbi

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner of Misty Bodkins in 2020? 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 as ministrycareinternational@gmail.com

Would you prayerfully consider becoming a partner in 2020? 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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com

It is Giving Tuesday! What is Giving Tuesday? It is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when nonprofits focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.

There are many wonderful ministries to give to and I ask that you prayerfully consider giving to Ministry Care. In particular, I ask that you give to a specific project. In January 2020 in Uganda, there will be a Children's Equipping Session for Trauma Healing. Rumbi Pisirai, who is now running the counseling ministry in Zimbabwe, has a heart to work with younger children in Zimbabwe. This training is a perfect opportunity for her to gain more experience and equipping in this area. When we worked together, we primarily worked with teenagers as my background is not in working with children and this is a gap in training for her.

The total cost for her to attend is $998. The breakdown of this is:
 
Flight: $458
Transport to and from the airport: $140
Housing and meals for the 8 days: $200 
Registration fee and materials for the 8-day training: $200

$200 has already been given to this project. We just need to raise an additional $798. If 16 of you would be willing to consider a one-time donation of $50, we would meet this goal.  
​   Therefore, in honor of Giving Tuesday, would you consider making a donation to Ministry Care this month?
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.

You can make a note that is donation is for Rumbi. Because of the economic situation in Zimbabwe, Rumbi cannot attend this training on her own. But you can help make this happen for her! Thank you for your support for her and thank you for your partnership with Ministry Care. 
 
Ministry Care is a 501c3 therefore your donation will be tax-deductible.
 
If you have any questions feel free to email us at ministrycareinternational@gmail.com or call at 765-603-3643.

From my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

It is with gratitude and a full heart that I write to you. Thank you for the many prayers and financial gifts that you have shared with Ministry Care this year! We would not have been able to have done this work around the world without YOU! 

Because of YOU, missionaries in crisis have been walked alongside, listened to, and encouraged. YOU have traveled to places globally like Bangladesh and Nicaragua-to places the Lord opened up that never seemed possible. YOU have provided a space for missionaries to debrief their service and to find a time of refreshment and renewal. YOU have provided training's in the states and in Ethiopia and have been involved in emotional healing with teenagers. YOU have prayed and walked alongside me when we had our own unexpected death and grief journey. This year has been full of mountains and valleys and YOU have been there every step of the way. What I do would not be possible if I did not have YOU!    

May your Thanksgiving be filled with remembrances of what the Lord has done this year. And thank you again or your continued support and love as we work TOGETHER to further His kingdom and for His Glory.   ​

Sometimes life throws you an unexpected curveball. My intention was to write about our time in Ireland, share a bit about what I learned about the 'trouble' between the Central Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and brag on how the Lord is opening doors with the Northern Ireland Bible Society for Trauma Healing. Instead, while in Ethiopia, I had a phone call that turned my life upside down. My Aunt Tammy unexpectedly passed away on September 13th, very likely of an aneurysm at the age of 60 though she had some other health issues as well. She is a walking miracle as the Lord spared her from an aneurysm in 2011 and gave us 8 more years with her. Instead of leaving for Kenya on September 16th, I instead returned to the US, thankful we had finished our main ministry obligations in Ireland and in Ethiopia before the call. 

There have been times through my years in ministry that I did not return for various emergencies. And I know these are some of the hardest decisions missionaries have to face. But I knew without a doubt I needed to be a support for my family. It is a complicated situation that would warrant way too much detail than this newsletter but the short end is I have a very close relationship to this family member, who is also the mother to my half brother, Shaun. Plus, after just finishing facilitating a lesson on Grief, how could I not be with my family during our time of grief?

The viewing and funeral have passed and now the real work of grieving begins. In case you have not experienced this journey, I have put in a picture of what the journey looks like. It takes about a month to work through denial and anger, which is where we are currently at. The praise? I had the honor of sharing the Gospel and baptizing my aunt in 2012 so though we do not despair, as we know she was welcomed by our Lord, our hearts still hurt for this current burden and it does not lessen the journey we are on. ​