Thrive: To Blossom, Flourish, Develop Well, Going Strong, Healthy,Romania and BulgariaThe second half of September was spent in Eastern Europe. This was my first time to this area of the world. It was very eye opening. Growing up, I had a lot of thoughts about communism and it was interesting to gain perspective from those who lived through the fall of communism. It was bleak to still see the communist bloc type of housing and to imagine what it would have been like to have lived there. My thoughts about this extend far beyond a newsletter so feel free to reach out to me for further discussion. I am super excited though to see the Lord opening up doors in this area. We held a Convening Session for Trauma Healing in Brasov, Romania and Sofia, Bulgaria. The purpose of a Convening Session is to give top leaders enough of an exposure to trauma healing so that they can decide if they want to integrate it into their ministry, The benefit is it helps those who are not familiar with the model to gain awareness. As well, when a group of leaders gathers and decides that they want to integrate trauma healing into their ministries, this provides a strong foundation on which to build the trauma healing program. The downside for us is there was enthusiasm and commitment but now we are trying to determine when to come back and hold the Initial Equipping. It is ideal to hold an Initial Equipping about three months after the Convening so that the interest aroused can be channeled into action before it disappears. Due to other obligations we are struggling to find the right time to return in that 3 month window but trust the Lord's timing is always greater than ours. We had the chance to meet with the Romania Bible Society. This was beneficial as it continues to foster relationships with the local Bible society on the ground. We were able to make sure we were not stepping on any toes either so to speak by proceeding with planning an Initial Equipping. The Bible Society has been actively engaged in equipping both the Orthodox and Evangelical communities so it gave us the opportunity to sit in as learners as well as there are distinct differences between these communities. Outside of these Convening Sessions, we also met up with Rhonda, who is the European Regional Member Care Director for Global Outreach. Sharon, Rhonda and I had the opportunity to engage actively with member care for those missionaries with Global in Bucharest, Brasov, and Sofia. We also had the chance to encourage a missionary outside of Global in Bucharest, And it was a treat to get to spend time seeing some of the local sights, such as Dracula's Castle, with the missionaries. Again we want to be used by God to encourage, love, listen to and serve those He has called to ministry so that they know they are loved, supported, heard, valued and understood. If they know these things, they will thrive not just survive and we feel like we were able to fulfill this in our time in Eastern Europe. Stateside Training's: Omaha, Indianapolis, Orlando The month of October has been back to back training's for Trauma Healing. I arrived back to the states on October 2nd and headed off to Omaha for an Advanced Equipping. We had 17 participants (maximum is 20) in attendance and 4 Training Facilitator's that we were intentional about coming alongside to train well. The model that Good News is using to train the trainer's is very exciting to be a part of and has made me realize some of the gaps I had in my own training. Advanced Equipping Sessions are also fun as it is much more participant led and it is awesome to get to be a part of their action planning as they prepare for their own trauma healing ministry roll out. I went from Omaha to Indianapolis for an Initial Equipping. We had this one planned since April and it is a testimony of how God is the best net worker. The host of the event has a daughter who attended one of our Initial Equipping Sessions in Uganda while she was there as an intern. Her daughter is originally from Greenwood, Indiana. As a result of her daughter's attendance and enthusiasm about the training, conversations began about holding one in Indianapolis. We ended up having 34 participants (maximum is 36) attend, with many of them being from Indianapolis. What is exciting for me is to get to be a part of training in the area that I use to call home when I worked in the states. We had quite a few also serving in cross-cultural missions and 16 of those participants work in the mental health field.There was a group of them also part of the Catholic faith and they had many ideas of how to implement Trauma Healing Groups into their community, especially among those who have experience trauma at the hands of the church-an unfortunate consequence of the fallen world we live in. Finally, I went from Indianapolis to Orlando for our 2nd Advanced Equipping this month. In Orlando, we had 19 participants and 2 Training Facilitator's who moved on up as Master Facilitator's-the highest level you can achieve in Trauma Healing. The Advanced Equipping helps to provide clarification as to what the program model is all about. It gives the participants a chance to go deeper through the material-especially at the review of each lesson during practice facilitation where they have a chance to ask questions, gain clarification, and discuss any challenges they faced. Many of them gained an appreciation of the participatory model during the advanced and often state they wish they could re-do their first groups. One of the challenges I have personally faced though is a heavy travel schedule with minimal time to recoup before moving on to the next event. This is how the next few weeks will go as well, leading up to Thanksgiving. I knew this would be a full schedule so I am trying to be intentional about a time of rest at the end of November. As I am often speaking to others how they are no good pouring out if they do not have a chance to be poured into, I am reminded to take my own advice and am thankful for those in my life who are holding me accountable. To end on a praise report: We are thanking God in that it was reported that 4 people committed their lives to Christ during the healing groups and 1 rededicated their life to the Lord. We know how trauma creates a barrier to the Lord and we see the impact healing groups have had on removing that barrier.  A little sightseeing in Bulgaria Prayer Requests
Thank you for your support of Ministry Care! 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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence!
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Member Care: Caring for global workers so they can remain healthy emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually so they can be effective on the field Bahir DarIt has been an incredible first half of this trip that takes us both into Eastern Africa and Eastern Europe. The first week was spent in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia facilitating an Initial Equipping in the Healing the Wounds of Trauma program. To say our time there was blessed would be an understatement. We (myself and co-facilitators Sharon Batley and Joy Stevens) were hosted by missionaries Andrea and Jeremy Ireland. With permission from Sharon, here is what she has to say about our time in Bahir Dar: "It is a big deal to be hosted by missionaries in their home… they open themselves and their lives to you. Not to mention that ministry demands continue even though they are hosting and coordinating the specialized training. I have organized and hosted many teams through the years and often it is an exhausting blessing to have people in your home, continue with the daily demands of ministry programs, give attention to your spouse and children and the list goes on. I truly appreciated that Andrea and Jeremy were willing to have us fold in with their family and include us in ministry activities outside of the training. I loved getting to know them and the children better, seeing where they live and minister and meeting national partners they work alongside. Experiencing all this gives me a better insight on how to pray specifically for them, for their ministries and the city they serve. Please pray for this wonderful family as the minister to boys of the Bahir Dar streets and university students. One of my greatest desires is to be used by God to encourage, love, listen to and serve those He has called to ministry so that they know they are loved, supported, heard, valued and understood. If they know these things, they will thrive not just survive." I agree with Sharon, which is why last month my emphasis was on Missionary Care. It is exciting to see it lived out this month. The Initial Equipping went really well. Even though this is a training to equip the attendees to be able to facilitate healing groups, we walk the participants through the lessons as a healing group. Our desire and prayers are that the participants would experience God’s healing in their hearts and lives. Through experiencing the healing of wounds on their hearts, they will be able to comfort and help others. At the end of our time together there was great conversations and revelations about suffering, how does healing begin, grieving, lamenting, and taking the pains of our hearts to the Lord, and finally forgiveness. Please pray for the attendees that God would continue to reveal to them His meaning of forgiveness. In many African cultures, the true purpose of granting and asking for forgiveness has been twisted and distorted into an obligation, expectation, and a way to avoid consequences of actions. At the end, it was a blessing to hear how God used our time together to bring awareness, correct false teachings, bring healing and freedom. Testimonies from Bahir Dar
Please continue to pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of these beautiful people. Pray also for how God would use the healing, freedom and fresh understanding of truth in their families, church, friendships, and community.  Blue Nile Waterfall Again with permission from Sharon, here is her perspective on missionary care. "Following the training, we had the privilege of sharing a couple of meals and fun outings with the Ireland’s and their co-laborers in ministry. These were important moments of caring for the caregiver. The needs and demands of ministry do not fit into an 8-5 schedule. I understand well how hard it can be to make sure you are taking care of yourself in the face of continuous ministry demands. We took time to sit and listen, to hear their struggles and joys in daily life and ministry. This downtime revealed to me the love they have for the people and country. It gave them great pleasure to share with us the beauty of the Bahir Dar area, through a boat ride on the Blue Nile to an Orthodox monastery. Later a day outing to the spectacular waterfalls of the Blue Nile. It was a rigorous hike to see the power of God’s creation. During the hour hike to and from conversations were had, laughter shared, and I was able to see a more carefree side of them." I asked Sharon permission to share as I felt it may be helpful to hear about missionary care from another point of view instead of just mine. Addis Ababa The rest of our time in Ethiopia was spent in Addis. Ethiopia operates on a different calendar so we had the honor in joining in on a celebratory New Years Day Lunch with friends. We were able to spend time with several of the missionaries in the city as well as touch base with a few who participated in the Initial Equipping we held earlier this year. One of the challenges we faced in Addis was multiple protesting that was occurring, which limited our time out. Please continue to pray for peace and unity For Ethiopia.  Ethiopian New Years Lunch! Melkem Addis Amit 2011! Thank you for your support of Ministry Care! 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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. This month has been full of continued service in Trauma Healing. This time our initial equipping took us to Salt Lake City. We had the opportunity to tour the correctional facility (one of the largest in the states) where we were met with an enthusiastic administrative staff who is on board with seeing Trauma Healing Groups occur in their facility and the benefits it can have with the inmates, As a reminder, trauma can create a barrier in hearing the word of God and by bringing Trauma Healing inside the jails, where there is a highly traumatized population, we trust that God's Word will not return void and lives will be transformed and barriers broken down to hearing His Word. During the tour, one of the chaplains said something that has stuck with me these last few weeks. Her comment was that seeing the inmates in shackles always reminds her that we can visually see their bonds but we too carry invisible shackles-people just do not see what weighs us down. Her comment has made me reflect that God sees our brokenness and wants to break the chains in our lives-that His love is always greater than those shackles that keep us in captivity and that He is here to set the captives free-what a mighty God we serve!! The month of September leads me back overseas. I will spend 2 weeks in Ethiopia and then 2 weeks in Eastern Europe-Romania and Bulgaria. Part of that time will be spent facilitating a Trauma Healing Training in Northern Ethiopia as well as holding Awareness Sessions in Eastern Europe to determine the viability of Trauma Healing for the ministries there. Part of the time is to continue to do member care. I included a definition at the start of this newsletter. I would like to expand on that. In her book "Healthy, Resilient, and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry", Dr. Laura Mae Gardner defines member care as follows: "Member care is doing whatever it takes, within reason, to ensure that our workers feel cared for and supported by their agency and church, that they have the resources they need to work effectively, and to care well for themselves and their family. It is comprehensive – the ongoing preparation, equipping and empowering of workers for effective and sustainable life, ministry and work." Member care is an integral part to Ministry Care but honestly it should be a part that we, as the Body of Christ, should be playing as a whole. It is a privilege and honor to stand in the gap for missionaries in prayer but also to come alongside them in care to ensure they stay healthy on the field-not just merely surviving but thriving. Please pray for this part of our work in September as our paths will cross with a variety of missionaries. Please pray how you too can be a part of Member Care for the missionaries you know. Thank you for your love, care, and support of me as I continue to serve as a missionary as well. Testimonies from Salt Lake City Trauma HealingThis seminar has opened a whole new pathway for healing and effective evangelism. I have participated in many trainings. This group and process is easily one of the best I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. I really appreciate the high standard for evaluation and honor for the work. Thank you. A response to the question of how has the seminar impacted you? My own healing and self-discovery of trauma that has been in my heart since childhood. I thought I had dealt with it but obviously not. God is Faithful and Good. He healed me and met me at my need. I feel better able to minister to others and also face the future. Thank you training team. Praise God! This training taught me to have the courage to allow and trust someone with my trauma in order to be healed. It felt great to share with someone. I believe that God has made a way for me to be here. I am grateful and blessed. He has done a mighty work in me and I am Free!!!! A response to the question of what session that was most helpful? Lamenting. I needed to voice my complaint to the Lord for the death of my first born daughter. I was brutal because the trauma was sudden, unexpected, and violent (she was killed by a hit and run). I then needed to follow up by bringing this pain to the Cross. I experienced a wonderful healing. The process began from the beginning of the first lesson and was deepened with each lesson exercise. I praise the Lord for all of you.  Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. This month in a conversation with someone, I was reminded about a similar conversation in 2013 in Zimbabwe about fear. Let me set the stage. I was helping with a youth camp with 2 dear friends of mine, Corky and Jo Sheppard. Over dinner one night, Corky asked me what was my biggest fear. I gave my usual response, "sharks." What I appreciate about Corky is that he was not accepting of my initial response. After further conversation, I confessed that my biggest fear was I felt the Lord was asking me to do great things for Him-for His glory and His kingdom-bringing freedom to those in captivity, which lead to my questioning of what if I am not capable, what if I am not confident, what if I fail Him? These are questions maybe you have asked yourself as well; they are certainly questions Moses asked of the Lord. You see, the Lord placed on my heart a few years before that a vision of traveling and training-helping equip and empower others to bring hope and healing to their communities. But I had no idea how this would work or what it would even look like and I had definitely never voiced this out loud to someone else. Isaiah 61:1-3 was the Scripture the Lord revealed to me-seeing people be free from their brokenness and experience healing only He can provide.But I did not know the tools or way to make it happen. Please do not misunderstand-not that I am special or intending this in a prideful sort of way. I have wrestled with even sharing this in my newsletter but after prayer, feel it is important to be more personal. God has a calling for each of us but I was truly afraid of failing Him-not recognizing that it is in His strength that His power is made perfect in my weakness. Corky had some great insight and wisdom and encouragement on patience and continued seeking and reliance on the Lord for both vision and subsequent provision. Two weeks ago I was driving to church and thinking about how Trauma Healing is going to be a huge piece of ministry moving forward. I was reminded of the vision years ago of "traveling and training." (I never could figure out a better way to word this). As I was praising God that this vision was starting to come together and really more make sense, I felt Him urging me that He is planning to expand the territory. Again, I had no idea of how this would look but I am committed to serving Him wherever He leads. The next week I was in Memphis for a variety of meetings. One of those was with Global Outreach. We were talking through some ideas of incorporating trauma healing into member care for 2019. No firm plans are finalized but if the various pieces come together, we will be serving in Southeast Asia in February and April, Latin America in May, and Eastern Europe in August as well as plans to continue to facilitate Trauma Healing in Eastern and Southern Africa. Wow...what confirmation right away of the Lord expanding the territory! I am now understanding that Trauma Healing is one of the methods and tools the Lord will use to fulfill what He has placed on my heart. What else have I been up to this month? Well, I spent one week in Memphis. It was a time of various meetings but also catching up with my friends who serve in Ethiopia that are stateside as well as connecting with ministry partners. We were able to do some strategic panning as I will spend 2 weeks in Ethiopia in September. We also held an Advanced Equipping Session in Abingdon, VA for Trauma Healing. We had 12 participants attend, where 6 became Training Facilitators and 6 Healing Group Facilitators. While in VA, we had a chance to visit inmates in the Abingdon Regional Jail who participated in a healing group. They had testimonies to share of how the Lord has used those groups and unpacking their trauma to bring healing and change in their lives, Each one was quick to give glory and honor to the Lord, with one saying, "I was saved in here but this group helped me get to a place of freedom." It was such a great encouragement to hear this before we stepped in to facilitate the training. We then traveled on to Dulles to a conference held by Kairos-a ministry that serves in the correctional setting. There was much excitement among the attendee's about Trauma Healing and here is where I was reminded about fear. One of the participants in the workshop had quite a testimony to share about the Lord's hand on her life and the changes He has made in her since time served in prison. She spoke with me one on one about the fear she has had as she felt the Lord prompting her on to share her life and testimony to those currently in prison. She was fearful that the Lord wanted to use her in a powerful way but in her brokenness and past, how could she be used by Him to speak into other's lives? And I was suddenly in a conversation 5 years prior where I was asking similar questions. I look forward to staying in touch with her and hearing how God is using her to impact others. One final note: Zimbabwe has just held elections. It is the first time since their independence in 1980 that Robert Mugabe has not ran for president. Results have not yet been posted but please continue to keep the country and its people, whom I love deeply, in your prayers.  At camp in Zimbabwe in 2013 Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. This month I started a new partnership with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry (GNJPM). Ministry Care partners with a variety of missionaries and organizations to offer support, care, encouragement, and training and we are excited about this latest partnership! Here the vision of Good News: That every inmate in the world is reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ and that they might become growing disciples. Also, that Christian chaplains are placed in jails and prisons to minister to the spiritual needs of inmates and staff. Good News has just recently partnered with the American Bible Society and Trauma Healing Institute to bring a contextualized version of Healing the Wounds of Trauma into the correctional setting. Chaplains within Good News are also considered missionaries and their field is a challenging one. One question to ask is why focus on inmates? Research shows that 97 percent of women who are incarcerated in the United States have a background of physical or sexual trauma. It is their pathway to the criminal justice system. Rutgers University did a recent study on men and found that 85 percent of them had street violence trauma and 75 percent had sexual abuse in their background. Trauma is also then in fact their pathway to the criminal justice system. As a reminder, trauma can be a barrier to hearing the Good News. When healing begins, an individual is more receptive then to the Gospel. Good News, American Bible Society and Ministry Care share a common bond in our desire to see the Word of God bring transformation to the lost of this world. We also share a common audience—those who have suffered significant man-made and natural trauma. A cooperative program to bring trauma healing to jails and prisons in which chaplains serve will be powerful as we see the eyes of men, women, and children open to experience biblical, life-changing healing. The goal of this partnership is to integrate the trauma healing program model into the ongoing ministry of the Good News chaplain network so that traumatized inmates and staff in the U.S. jail and prison system can experience healing in Christ. Eventually the hope is also to implement this in the international Good News community too. Here are some of the following outcomes that are prayerfully desired:
 Opera House in Sydney Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. This month started off with two back to back Initial Equipping Sessions for Trauma Healing. As Trauma Healing has become a portion of Ministry Care this year, here are some questions I want you to think through regarding trauma: How do people recover from trauma? Can the Bible help? What can the church do? That is what I love about the Trauma Healing Model. It seeks to answer these questions and reconcile the suffering that is seen to the healing God we know. Unfortunately trauma is part of the human experience in the broken world, especially cross-culturally. The actual definition of trauma is it happens when a person is overwhelmed with fear, helplessness, or horror in the face of death. This effects their psychological, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.This is the tragedy of trauma:
Healing the Wounds of Trauma helps local churches and ministries provide compassionate responses to traumatized people in their communities. The model uses biblical and mental health principles for trauma healing and uses a “training the trainer” approach. The program offers narrative, experiential, and participatory lessons to bring healing to traumatized people. Additionally, the Healing the Wounds of Trauma model has been contextualized to reach diverse communities-it is not a Western model so to speak. I love being a part of this model and it fits right into my heart of training the trainers. By the end of our Equipping Sessions this month in Tupelo, Mississippi, and Omaha, Nebraska, we now have certified 31 more apprentice facilitators that are working in various locations both here in the states and internationally to offer hope and healing to the broken and traumatized communities they are in. This model has also helped me personally. May 23rd is the 5th anniversary of our traumatic break-in in Zimbabwe. 2nd Thessalonians 3:2-3 was my reading that morning and it says: “Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.” This Scripture took on significant meaning in my life that day. Usually in May I find that I reflect on the ways my life has been radically altered due to that traumatic experience, my sense of safety and security shattered. This month I choose instead to reflect on God's goodness, His hand of protection and sparing our lives, the many blessings that have resulted since, the joy that comes in the morning and how He has brought beauty from the ashes, continually bringing restoration in my life. He is so faithful and truly strengthened us and guarded us. His love never fails and even when I have walked through the valley of shadow and death, His perfect love has cast out all fear. I sing praise for the life He has given me! And I am so thankful to be a part of the Healing the Wounds of Trauma model. The hope and healing I have now from the trauma we experienced is the same hope and healing I want to bring to others. One final note, the rest of May I was blessed tremendously by an aunt who needed a traveling companion to go to Australia. This was her dream since I was a young child. But she has some health challenges and needed someone to travel with. I was the lucky one chosen. She paid for both of us to go, which was a huge blessing. We spent 10 days creating special memories together. It was also the first real vacation I have had since 2005. I will share a few highlights next month but I am so grateful for the time we had together.  Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. A highlight of this month was serving as a pastoral care person during the Global Outreach Retreat at Diani Beach in Kenya. During the retreat, I had an opportunity to speak on Stress and Burnout and had many one on one meetings with missionaries. I thought I would share some of the thoughts I shared with the missionaries during my talk. Ministry and missions can be demanding and even grueling. There seems to be a wear and tear on missionaries, and this stress is multiplied if we work with those who have undergone extreme or traumatic situations. The Bible appears to recognize the strain on those who seek to help others. In 2nd Thessalonians 3:13, Paul encourages believers, saying, “But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good.” He makes a similar statement in Galatians 6:9, where he says, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” Paul acknowledges that it’s possible for any believer to run low on energy, to become fatigued, or even exhausted. Elijah, the great Old Testament prophet, is an excellent example of exhaustion in ministry. First Kings chapter 18 and 19 provides an account of a man of God experiencing discouragement and fatigue. Elijah accomplished a great victory in the name of the Lord. He had a front row seat to an incredible display of God’s holiness, His power, and His provision. A single prophet wins the contest against hundreds of others. I would assume that Elijah would be ecstatic after this victory and that he would long bask in the afterglow of this amazing experience. However, after the great religious triumph, Elijah experienced an emotional and physical crash. He was afraid, discouraged, exhausted, and even suicidal. This great man of God underwent a period of extreme difficulty in the midst of following and serving God. This passage clearly demonstrates that those in ministry can experience times of personal struggle, doubt, and exhaustion. What can we do then to reduce the likelihood of experiencing unproductive fatigue or exhaustion, and what can be done to avoid burnout? If a missionary does experience burnout, exhaustion, or secondary trauma stress, what should he or she do to cope most effectively? To answer these questions, consider God’s care for Elijah, when he hid in the wilderness, exhausted and alone. Following his triumphant encounter with the priests of Baal, Elijah flees to the wilderness, sits down under a tree, and asks God to end his life. God’s response provides insight into His concern for and care of those who minister to others in His name. First, God allows Elijah to rest (1 Kings 19:5). Whether from the overall strains of ministry, the pressure of the contest between prophets, or the energy expended in fleeing from Jezebel, Elijah was exhausted. Next, God feeds His prophet. An angel awakens Elijah and instructs him to eat: “Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So, he ate and drank and lay down again” (1 Kings 19:6). God provided nourishment and rest for Elijah, not just once, but twice. After Elijah rests again, God tells him to eat yet one more time (verse 7 and 8). After Elijah is rested and fed, God takes him on a journey, far away from others, where the prophet meets alone with God. In addition to providing for Elijah’s physical needs, God then addressed his spiritual concerns. Elijah voices his frustration to God, including how the wicked people were behaving, and his sense of futility in ministry. On two occasions (verse 10 and 14), Elijah complains that he’s the only one fighting Gods battles. In this, we see his sense of isolation. God’s response to Elijah is noteworthy. He reveals Himself to Elijah through the quietness of a gentle breeze. It appears that God pulls Elijah away from the active noise of ministry to enable the prophet to hear God’s voice. God then reassures Elijah that he is not alone; seven thousand others exist who have not prostituted themselves to foreign gods (1 Kings 19:18). God gives Elijah instructions for returning to ministry, where once again we see this strong man of God fighting battles. In this encounter between God and Elijah, God did not scold, punish, or reject Elijah for his discouragement and exhaustion. He provided for Elijah physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He allowed Elijah to retreat from ministry and then prepared him to reenter. God helped Elijah rejuvenate to continue doing the work to which God called him. God’s care of and provision for Elijah is instructive to the rest of us serving Him. Please pray for these missionaries as they have re-entered their fields of service, after a time of rest and retreat. Pray that they employ self-care strategies to stay healthy and thriving on the field.  Advanced Equipping Participants in Wheaton, IL Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! This is a testimony written by one of our participants. The purpose of sharing this is to give you insight into the level of trauma we have seen as well as show how the Equipping Sessions for Trauma Healing is having an impact on the lives of those who are participating and offering them hope. I am so grateful and blessed to be a part of this trauma training. I believe it was made for me because it was exactly what I wanted and needed to hear in this season of my life. Truly my heart was hurt and broken. I was carrying a lot of stress and luggage that my body could not handle. I did not know I was suffering until I attended this training. Now I know I was having a lot of trauma and heart wounds going through my life. I had never been comforted and encouraged like this before. I always felt lonely, distanced, blamed, condemned, shamed, and I always felt guilty for everything I do. This training impacted my life in so many ways I view myself now and even in handling situations in my life. I was a child soldier, abducted by rebel group of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of 9. Afterwards I served in different military in Uganda and South Sudan, as that was all I knew. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been one of central Africa’s cruelest and most enduring armed groups over the past 30 years. The LRA has abducted over 67,000 youth, including 30,000 children, for use as child soldiers, sex slaves, and porters, and has brutalized communities since its inception in 1987. It was designated as a terrorist group by the United States and prompted the first ever set of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court against the LRA’s leader, Joseph Kony, and other top commanders. Rather than focusing on military targets, the LRA usually targeted the very citizens it claimed to be fighting for, raiding villages for supplies and forcing children to carry the goods into the bush. In northern Uganda, the LRA became increasingly brutal. Civilians suspected of supporting the government or forming self-defense forces had their ears, lips and noses cut off. During attacks on villages, rebels carried out mass abductions of children who in turn were forced to carry out future attacks - making them both victims of the conflict and perpetrators. Around Gulu and Kitgum, two of the bigger towns in northern Uganda, the threat of abduction became so great that tens of thousands of children from nearby villages marched into the town centres each night to sleep in schools, hospitals and on pavements – anywhere they could find safety in numbers. The plight of these so-called "night commuters" helped to focus world attention on the crisis. During my time in the community I experienced a lot of challenges and judgment, which led me to close my heart and feelings to people around me. It is very hard for me to trust anyone and even God with my life. I became deceitful and hopeless in life. Most of the people I met in life would tell me soldiers do not belong or enter the kingdom of God because they work and do things against the law and commandments of God. I personally killed and did so many dirty things during my time in the LRA and the military. I started believing in what the lies of people and what they said about me. I always tried to dodge and distance myself from seeking the truth about what God says about me. This training led me to opening my heart more and I was able to extend grace and forgiveness to people who have wronged me and also I asked forgiveness to myself. I always looked before unto what people did wrong to me but now I am learning to take responsibility of my own mistakes during this training. I feel so comforted and encouraged to allow God into my life. I am also moving into a new direction with hope and also trusting and gaining back trust from other people. My greatest thanks goes to all of the founders of this program. To the organizers and the facilitators, may the Lord God continue to lead you as you reach in and through the different ways people have wounded hearts. This has made such an impact on my life and for the first time, I am now experiencing healing from what I have faced. Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. This update wraps up our time in Uganda, where in total we had 2 Initial Equipping Sessions for Trauma Healing, 2 Advanced Equipping Sessions for Trauma Healing, a day of Optional Lessons for Trauma Healing (where we covered domestic violence, rape, suicide, and addictions), and many one on one meetings with people who are hurting-both missionaries and Ugandan nationals. It was a joyful reunion with Rumbi as well when she came for the Advanced Equipping and she summed trauma healing up best when she said: I have learned about how those in my healing groups are not objects, but people-people with heart wounds. I have realized how fragile a wounded heart is and that what we are doing is a sacred task. God has work He needs to do in the people in the group and He uses us as His vessel to do this. She is absolutely correct. Wounded hearts are fragile and we must proceed with care when we are facilitating healing groups. The Lord grants the wisdom and knowledge of how to proceed cautiously, with love and tenderness as we offer hope to those who are hurting. In the end, we certified 46 apprentice facilitators (across 3 Initial Equipping Sessions), 10 Training Facilitators, and 17 Healing Group Facilitators. There are many valuable lessons we have learned as we think through the next few weeks how to develop additional policies and procedures as we proceed with additional opportunities in this area. We are so thankful that the Lord comes close to the brokenhearted, bringing comfort to those who grieve as we continued to see many with broken hearts. We are thankful we were used in small ways to encourage, pray, and care for those who are broken. It feels impossible to share all we saw the Lord do in a newsletter so I look forward to seeing you all in person-giving the glory and honor to God for the work He is doing in us and through us. Testimonies from our participants in UgandaWe are excited for the knowledge and skills that you have shared and that you have heightened our capacities from a Christian perspective. We looking forward to growing together and help heal wounded hearts of our families, friends and neighbors.Thank you for the training and may God bless you. It wasn’t just a lesson for me to undertake and report that I attended: it was something I longed for, an opportunity to reflect upon self and lighten up, I felt energized and confident in my way of life after the training. I thought I was coming to learn to help others but yet God dealt with me first in order to prepare me to deal with others. Because of the healing I experienced, I am now in a position to help others.  Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! Peace be with you and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God's grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ. This update comes from Uganda and covers the 2 Initial Equipping Training's we have done for Trauma Healing. It is very difficult to put into words all that has occurred in the past month. It is an honor, privilege, and very humbling to be a vessel to be used by the Lord-to equip others who can be a light shining brightly in the darkness for those who are hurting and to also be a catalyst for healing and change in our participants lives. Our Ethiopia training started off with 3 participants when I arrived in country. Sharon, a co-facilitator, prayed for 20 participants. Early in the morning of our first day of training, we added 2 more participants for a total of 20! God is so faithful and brought together the group who would best benefit. The attendees were from five countries and a variety of ministries; elder care, street children, orphan care, nursing, international school and a few already in the counseling profession! We knew there was an openness already in Uganda for this training so we were not surprised that we certified 22 apprentice facilitators and had to add a 2nd initial equipping in March due to the interest. The attendees represented 4 countries, included a participant who traveled from the Congo to attend. Several of them work in the refugee camps in Northern Uganda, some are pastors, and we even had a few participants who had been taken as child soldiers during the LRA-it was incredible to hear what the Lord did in their hearts through the training! Across both training's there were plenty of opportunities for us as facilitators to bear burdens. There were many times of praying with and for our participants, one on one time during breaks and lunches, and hearing powerful testimonies of what the Lord was doing in their lives through the lessons we covered. As a reminder, the Trauma Healing program combines best mental health practices and the Word of God to bring people to a place of recognition of their wounded hearts and taking that pain to the Cross for healing. We were equipping these participants to lead those they care for and work with through the healing group experience. We are thankful for the healing journey the Lord has started in these participants lives and we trust He will continue the process. One of the routine comments in our feedback forms is for the need to have a national facilitator with us, especially as we often look at what culture says and compare it to the Bible. We are excited to offer two advanced equipping training's in March because that is one of the goals: to certify those who will then go on to become trainers (the other goal is for those who will continue the vital task of offering healing groups by becoming Healing Group facilitators). Because of the Advanced Equipping's, we will in the future be able to add those national counterparts and that is what the goal is for all 4 of us as facilitators. Pray that the Lord continues to direct our steps in this regards. Testimonies from our participants in Ethiopia and UgandaFor many years, I did not attend training's because I found them to be boring and nothing new, but when the Holy Spirit woke me at 3 am to the importance of attending, I am glad that I did. I learned a lot that I can use in ministry along with personal insights. I uncovered that the emotions I couldn’t express had a name and some of the things I used to do, thinking it was only me, is actually a known pattern of behavior. It gave me hope. It opened me up to take it to God too. It was also breathtaking for me to see this many people being of the same mind, flowing together. It was beautiful to see and makes me believe that God is the one who put it together. I feel I have tools in my toolbox to help others: tools that are culturally appropriate, appropriate for different levels of education and scripturally rooted. Prayer Requests:
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 ministrycareinternational@gmail.com Thank you so much! And may God bless you richly with His presence! |
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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