Ukraine Appeal — The Power of Trauma
A story from The College of Theology and Social Sciences in Warsaw, Poland
The Outreach Foundation has been supporting the Counseling Center of the College of Theology and Social Sciences (CTSS) in Warsaw. This center was birthed during our visit in June and since then they have seen over 500 psychology professionals, social workers, and pastors take part in their training program. The following story comes from Rev. Dr. Larry Michael, Pastor for Adult Ministries at South Highland Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama, who is an expert in grief, has written two books on the subject, and led seminars in England, India, and Ukraine. He has joined the counseling training team of CTSS and will be part of this process through the end. He offers this story to us.
Recently I have done something most unique for me. I have been involved in grief counseling for many years, and recently was asked to help teach a Zoom course on trauma/grief and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The lecture was translated into Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian languages simultaneously.
What I experienced in this training was both stirring and heartbreaking. As I worked through the lecture on PTSD, I became increasingly aware that for them it was not post traumatic, but present traumatic. You really can’t talk about PTSD when it is the reality of what’s going on now. Most of the students were still in Ukraine, and as they asked me “what can you learn from trauma when your children are being murdered, your husbands are being killed in the war, your homes are being destroyed, and there is no safe place in Ukraine today?”
In the end, it was instructive for me. I learned far more than what I brought. Yet they were so appreciative of our support and asked for our continued prayers, the spiritual component which they believe is so important.
Please continue to pray for Ukraine. There is no safe place for anyone there today. But our God is still there, in the midst of the grief and trauma, and very much present in their lives, as was evidenced to me today.”
The Outreach Foundation is continuing to receive gifts for the work of the College of Theology and Social Sciences and our other partners providing humanitarian relief and now emotional healing in and around Ukraine. Please continue to keep them in your prayers and sustain them with your generous gifts. You may make a gift HERE or by sending a check to our office.