June 2017 Update-Back to Africa!

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord, Jesus Christ! I shared a bit last month about being involved with Trauma Healing Groups and participating in an Advanced Equipping Session in Dallas at the end of June. I am now certified to train others and am excited to head back to Uganda and facilitate at least 2 Initial Equipping Sessions for Trauma Healing with both Ugandan Social Workers and American Missionaries.

Why the need for Trauma Healing? Devastating events like war, abuse, and natural disasters leave people feeling hopeless, angry, empty and alone. Healing often feels impossible as people struggle to believe in or connect with a loving God. But there is hope! God is near the broken-hearted. He restores lives that have been shattered by extreme violence or loss. In God's Word, trauma survivors can encounter the resurrection power of Christ. By combining mental health best practices with the healing message of Scripture, the broken-hearted can find restoration and hope. Here are some benefits of Trauma Healing Groups:

1. Tell your story of pain and grief, and bring your laments to God.
2. Experience the love and hope of Christ by taking your pain to the Cross.
3. Experience healing, restoration, and reconciliation with God, self, and neighbor.
4. Help the church/community become a place of hope and healing for others.

​The Bible-based Trauma Healing program (working with the American Bible Society, the Trauma Healing Institute and other organizations such as SIL/Wycliffe) equips local churches and ministries to care for people with deep emotional and spiritual injuries caused by refugee situations, trafficking, robberies, domestic violence, etc. It combines biblical and mental health resources into an effective intervention that fosters healing and restores relationships with God and others.

This is a vital outreach due to to the scale of trauma around the world:

1. Women 15 to 44 are at risk for rape and domestic violence more than cancer, car accidents, war, and malaria (World Bank)
2. Middle East has unprecedented scale of overwhelming challenges (UNHCR, 2015)
3. Every 4 seconds someone is forced to flee (UNHCR March 2015), resulting in millions of refugees! From 2014 to 2015 the number rose from 14.4 million to 21.3 million. At the end of 2015, there were 65.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.
4. Since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced by natural disasters.
5. 300,000 child soldiers (SIL)

​The more marginalized, the more vulnerable to trauma. Minority language groups are among the most vulnerable. Trauma can create a barrier to: God and the Bible; Community; Self and Trauma Healing can assist in breaking that barrier. 

I leave July 15th to travel to Uganda first. I will be facilitating with Sam and Suzie Davis, who also just completed the Advanced Training with me. Our first 3 day training at Good Shepherd's Fold (an orphanage in Uganda) occurs August 2-4th. I am in Uganda until September 9th, at which stage I will return to Ethiopia for one month. I look forward to sharing more details in my next newsletter about what God is doing!!

Ministry Care is a 501c3 organization, therefore, your donation will be tax deductible. You may donate one of 2 ways. You can make checks payable to “Ministry Care” and send them to: 

Ministry Care
14934 Pacer Ct.
Carmel, IN 46032
 
Or you can make an online donation, using Givelify, on our website at www.ministrycareinternational.org or click the button below

If you have any questions feel free to email us as [email protected]

Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence!

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Prayer Requests:
For continued healing for my mom as she has a fracture in T-11 in her back. She returns July 17th to see her doctor and to hopefully be released to return to work
For safe travels to Uganda; leaving July 15th and arriving July 16th
For Sam, Suzie, and I as we work together to prepare the lessons to facilitate
For the Initial Equipping Session we will facilitate August 2-4th; for God to be Glorified and for this to add to ministry already occurring
For additional opportunities to lead Trauma Healing Groups in Uganda
For continued wisdom for the Ministry Care Board

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