Cheryl Savageau talks with us about the needs and realities of Parents of Missionaries.

ABOUT CHERYL W. SAVAGEAU, EdD, LPC: After an early career as a secondary school teacher Cheryl dedicated her professional life to Christian counseling. For more than 35 years she counseled and taught families, teens, couples, individuals and groups in churches, colleges, private practice and in public agencies located in Ohio, SC, NC, the Philippines, and India. She considers her work with Parents of Missionaries a highlight of her service. Together with POM Diane Stortz, Cheryl co-authored the groundbreaking book, Parents of Missionaries. Today Cheryl volunteers as head of the Wellness Ministry at her church in North Carolina where she worships with her husband, daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters. Her son, daughter-in-law and three grandsons live in Ohio. Her entire family shares faith in Jesus Christ and cheers for The Ohio State Buckeyes.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: • Parents of Missionaries: How to Thrive and Stay Connected When Your Children and Grandchildren Serve Cross-Culturally by Cheryl Savageau, Diane Stortz • Tip Sheets for Parents of Missionaries by Diane Stortz and Cheryl Savageau (PDF file)

• Parents of Global Workers - POMs (Facebook group)

• ABWE: Parents of Missionaries Ministry

Ericka Lopez-Harris gives a Biblical and practical understanding of lament in the life of a global worker. ABOUT ERICKA LOPEZ-HARRIS: Ericka Lopez-Harris has been serving in cross-cultural ministries since 1992. In 2010, she joined Oasis Rest International (formally known as Life Impact Ministries) with a desire to further the Gospel by strengthening global Workers. Ericka Lopez-Harris also facilitates grief workshops for ministry leaders primarily living cross culturally. Providing coaching and caregiving retreats for countless leaders, she is honored that many find her “easy to talk to” including strangers in the grocery line. Her lamenting poem, "My Soul's Winter" received the “Author’s Pick” award and is published in Poetry in Winter. She studied Psychology at California State University Long Beach. Her expansive learning of loss and life transitions occurred while living in 12 different countries. Most recently, she, her hubby and two active sons lived in Costa Rica for eight years. Currently living in Bend, Oregon, she enjoys walking near the Deschutes River in the summer and being fireside with a good biography in the winter. Ericka Lopez-Harris gives a Biblical and practical understanding of lament in the life of a global worker. ABOUT ERICKA LOPEZ-HARRIS: Ericka Lopez-Harris has been serving in cross-cultural ministries since 1992. In 2010, she joined Oasis Rest International (formally known as Life Impact Ministries) with a desire to further the Gospel by strengthening global Workers. Ericka Lopez-Harris also facilitates grief workshops for ministry leaders primarily living cross culturally. Providing coaching and caregiving retreats for countless leaders, she is honored that many find her “easy to talk to” including strangers in the grocery line. Her lamenting poem, "My Soul's Winter" received the “Author’s Pick” award and is published in "Poetry in Winter". She studied Psychology at California State University Long Beach. Her expansive learning of loss and life transitions occurred while living in 12 different countries. Most recently, she, her hubby and two active sons lived in Costa Rica for eight years. Currently living in Bend, Oregon, she enjoys walking near the Deschutes River in the summer and being fireside with a good biography in the winter. Ericka is also nearing the publishing phase of a resource for teens/young adults TCKs. "Remembering: A creative memory journal about a special person in your life." This journal will use art, story, poems, nature and songs to create a very personal and treasured collection of memories. Find more information about her work at OasisRest.org ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: • Poetry in Winter by Christine Owens

• No More Faking Fine: Ending the Pretending by Esther Fleece Allen • Ericka will also be co-facilitating a 5-month cohort for ministry leaders who are actively processing loss(es), meeting virtually starting February 2024. “Journey through Grief: A Cohort for Leaders”

Link to Flyer | Link to Registration

Dr. Herb Lamp unpacks the importance of holistic self-care.

ABOUT DR. HERB LAMP:

Dr. Herb and Debbie Lamp are Midwesterners at heart, even though they have lived for much of their adult lives in Europe—Serbia, Austria and Germany. Presently, the Lamps serve with Barnabas International and pastor the global workforce of mission personnel through word, prayer, counsel, and encouragement.

Herb holds a doctorate in spiritual formation from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and is the author of Journey With Me: Spiritual Formation for Global Workers (Wm. Carey Publishing, 2021) and co-author with Debbie of The Prodigal: A Spiritual Retreat (Snowfall Press, 2023). ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: • Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us (Transforming Resources) by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun • Journey With Me: Spiritual Formation for Global Workers by Herbert F. Lamp Jr. • Soulful Spirituality: Becoming Fully Alive and Deeply Human by David G. Benner PhD. (Many of his books are helpful.) • Sacred Pathways: Nine Ways to Connect with God by Gary Thomas

Dr. Steve Tracy speaks honestly from his ministry experience, personal life, and walk with God on a theology of suffering and its critical affect on our lives and ministry. ABOUT STEVE TRACY: Dr. Steve Tracy is the president and international director of Mending the Soul Ministries, a global ministry which creates abuse healing resources. Since 1995 Steve has taught theology and ethics at Phoenix Seminary and for almost 20 years he has been privileged to serve abuse trauma survivors around the world. While Steve has a Phd in New Testament, it has been but godly Congolese trauma survivors as well as his wife Celestia who have most helped him develop a theology of suffering. ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: • The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry by Ajith Fernando • Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores by Diane Langberg • Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller • Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff • A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Quiet Times for the Heart) by Michael Card • Hurting with God: Learning to Lament with the Psalms by Glenn Pemberton • Mending the Soul

Dr. Mary Wilder, a pioneer missionary doctor, shares her story of leaving the field to care for her aging parents.

ABOUT DR. MARY WILDER

Dr. Mary Wilder obtained her B.S. from Portland State University and later her M.D. from University of Oregon Medical School. God then called her to serve as a medical doctor with CBInternational in Pakistan. She lived and worked in Pakistan from 1966 - 1983. Her years there were spent caring for women and children who otherwise would not have received medical care. After returning home to care for her aging mother God opened doors for her to teach in the Intercultural Studies Department at Western Seminary where she mentored and trained hundreds of students for 36 years. The book “Dust and Devotion: The Memoir of a Missionary Doctor in Pakistan” was published in 2021 to share her story and legacy with the world.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

• The Innkeepers - Season 5, Episode 3 - Dust & Devotion - Dr. Mary Wilder’s Missionary Story
• Dust and Devotion: The Memoir of a Missionary Doctor in Pakistan
• Dust and Devotion: The Memoir of a Missionary Doctor in Pakistan Kindle Edition by Dr. Mary Wilder

Jeremy Waldridge of Pure Life Alliance helps us understand the struggles of sexual brokenness and the hope for healing.

ABOUT JEREMY WALDRIDGE:

Jeremy Waldridge is the executive director of Pure Life Alliance and has over a decade of experience leading men out of the crippling effects of shame and addiction.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

Books:

• Rethinking Sexuality: God’s Design and Why It Matters by Dr. Juli Slatterly
• Honest Talk: A New Perspective on Talking to Your Kids About Sex by John W Ford
  

Ministries:

• Pure Life Alliance
• Pure Desire
• Be Broken

Filters:

• Vid Angel - Movies
• Covenant Eyes
• Plucky
• Accountable to You
  

Dr. Rachel Heffied unpacks the significance of wellbeing and thriving in missionary life.

ABOUT DR RACHEL HEFFIELD: Dr. Rachel Heffield has been engaged with missionaries and called to international ministry most of her life. Growing up as a PK and headed to the mission field, she began studying counseling to meet people where they were at in their journeys, to bring hope of the gospel. She finds great joy, helping people navigate the highs and lows of life. She served in East Asia for eight years, where she learned firsthand with some of the challenges and joys of being a global worker. In her own life, as well as professional and academic research, she developed a passion for helping global workers thrive and grow in this important work. She currently serves as Assistant Professor and Chair of the Center for Personal and Spiritual Formation at Western Seminary and provides counseling through A New Day Counseling.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: 

Articles & Books:

• 1997 - Caring for People in Missions: Just Surviving or Thriving? Optimal Care for the Long Haul by Lois Dodds, Ph. D. and Larry Dodds, M. D - Inspiration for Dr. Rachel Heffield’s doctoral dissertation
• Healthy, Resilient, and Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry by Dr. Laura Mae Gardner
• Expectations and Burnout: Women Surviving the Great Commission by Sue Eenigenburg and Robynn Bliss

Organizations providing Member Care & Tools:

• Global Trellis - Online webinars and trainings
• Velvet Ashes - Resources and community (for women)
• Valeo - Online counseling
• Thrive Worldwide Blog
• Ongoing Resilience Research
• Headington Institute - Individual and Organizational Resilience

A Portland church pastor shares from his experience on how a church can tangibly care for their global workers.