Rescue centre teens pursue recovery in person

By Sheryl Greenwood | Ecuador in South America

God opened the door for trauma healing ministry to take place face to face in southern Ecuador after a year and a half of strict pandemic regulations and virtual meetings.

This emotional workshop offered 15 people at a rescue centre for sexually abused teens the opportunity to seek healing in Jesus.

“It was difficult to realise that hurts from my childhood were still affecting me and I needed to express them and forgive,” said one participant in the emotional trauma healing workshop.

The three facilitators spent two weeks with the teens playing games and teaching on emotional recovery from trauma using stories and lessons from the Bible. Initially, the teens were reserved and hesitant, but as time went on, they warmed up, joined in activities, and responded more and more.

On the final day, one teen who had been struggling with forgiveness toward her abuser at the start, said the workshop had helped her a lot and desired to move forward in her own healing.

Each teen received their own Bible on the first day, and a certificate, celebration, and Samaritan’s Purse Christmas Child box at the end. They couldn’t have been more pleased!

“We are glad to have a Bible so we can learn more about God,” expressed another teen.

Five of the girls also received boxes for their babies who were living at the centre with them. SIM team members were able to go back later to continue building relationships with the teens through beginning a community garden outside their dinning facility.

The team has been grateful to God for these opportunities to share hope in Christ during pain and for open hearts longing for restoration.

Pray with us

 • For God to use his Word for transformation in the lives of Ecuadorian facilitators and participants.

 • For strong partnerships with more local churches to expand the number of local workers and outreaches.

Read more from SIM Ecuador Trauma Healing below.

June and July adult workshop participant testimonies

“The Trauma Healing workshop helped me cure my wounds and showed me how to listen to others.”

“The most valuable part for me was how to forgive and how to write a lament.”

“Everything was useful, but the most helpful for me was that I was able to express and free myself from the heavy burdens I was carrying.”

“The diagram of the process of grieving helped me to understand where I was in the process and how to heal.”

SIM Asset Publisher Portlet

Asset Publisher

SIM Asset Publisher Portlet

Asset Publisher

Related stories

Phil Bauman is SIM’s new International Director

Phil Bauman will take over as SIM International Director when Joshua Bogunjoko steps down at the end of February, 2024. We look forward with confidence and faith to what God will do with SIM through Phil’s leadership in the coming years.

Gospel bears fruit in hard-to-reach places

SIM writer Lee Forland shares the joy of seeing how the good news is spreading and bearing fruit among the Yao people in the hard-to-reach rural areas of eastern Malawi.

How did he make you feel?

SIM Kenya director Dr. Peter Okaalet sadly passed away last year, having made a significant impact in the field of HIV/AIDS medicine, as well as in the lives of the people around him. SIM stories writer Tohru Inoue remembers his personal experience of the man behind the medic.

Bathtub baptism brings joy in North Africa

More than a year after stepping into a SIM woker's local church just to find out what it looked like inside, a woman in North Africa comes to faith and is baptised.