Starting in a couple of weeks, I’ll be seeing clients at Mt. Hope Christian Counseling Center on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. And since I’m an intern, Mt. Hope offers clients a sliding scale payment option that makes sessions pretty inexpensive.
Please help spread the word, and let me know if you have any questions.
Here’s the announcement from Mt. Hope’s Facebook page:
Meet Jonathan Trotter, our newest counseling intern!
We are excited to announce that Jonathan is currently accepting new clients for individual and couples counseling.
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Read Jonathan’s bio:
As an intern with Mt. Hope, Jonathan is excited to offer marriage counseling, pre-marital counseling, and individual counseling to clients thirteen and over. Since 2014, Jonathan has walked alongside hundreds of couples and individuals in dozens of countries. He has experience journeying with people through issues such as grief and loss, life transitions, anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, abuse (spiritual, sexual, physical, emotional), debriefing, ministry burnout, and addictions.
With couples, Jonathan utilizes an attachment-based, emotion-focused approach. He also greatly appreciates the evidence-based tools and resources from Dr. John Gottman. With all clients, Jonathan takes a person-centered, trauma-informed, experiential approach.
From 2012 to 2020, he and his family served as cross-cultural missionaries in Phnom Penh Cambodia. Prior to that, he worked bi-vocationally as an ER/trauma nurse (RN) and youth and worship pastor. He is a licensed attorney in California (inactive) and is currently completing his master’s in clinical mental health counseling at Colorado Christian University.
For questions, or to schedule an initial consult, contact the office at (417) 624-9659 or contact Jonathan directly at JonathanTrotterCounseling@gmail.com.
I love to write, and I love to edit, but I was still lost when it came to teaching my own children the craft of writing.
I remember something Susan Wise Bauer said once. It was something to the effect of, “Good writers intuitively know how to construct sentences, paragraphs, and papers that are beautiful and logical, but they’re not sure exactly how they do it.”
That means that if writing comes easy for you, you might not know how to explain the process to someone else. But students who struggle with writing need explicit guidance. And so do their teachers.
That’s where writing curriculum comes in. But which one should we use?? There are so many to choose from! So today I’ll share some principles for writing instruction, along with practical resource ideas. I’d also love to hear about the resources you have used and loved (or loathed).
First, a little primer on the writing process. Susan Wise Bauer, whom I consider to be an expert on the subject, has explained in many places that there are two distinct steps to the writing process. The writer must first put an idea into words; they must have something to say. Then, they must put those words down on paper. These two steps aren’t necessarily related — at least not in the beginning.
The first step is really a thinking step. In fact, Bauer has said that bad writing isn’t a writing problem; it’s a thinking problem. The second step involves our physical bodies: we must hold the pencil or pen properly, we must know how to construct each letter legibly, we must know how to spell words (mostly) correctly, and we must put the words in the correct order on the page. Eventually we must know how to type quickly and accurately.
This is all quite complex work, which is why Bauer recommends developing the skills separately. For the thinking piece, she recommends oral narration, or a re-telling, of the selection. The student isn’t required to write anything down yet; they are just practicing coming up with something to say. The parent can either listen to the narration and write it down or just listen.
For the pencil-and-paper part, she recommends dictation and copywork. Copywork is exactly what it sounds like: copying sentences from another source. In general we try to choose beautiful sentences for copywork so that the child develops an appreciation of what good writing looks like and sounds like. (This is also why we read them living books and develop a read-aloud culture in the home, but that’s a topic for another article.)
Dictation is harder and involves more memory work. The teacher reads a sentence aloud (usually only once, but sometimes twice), and the student listens and records the sentence as they see it in their mind. Here they are remembering and recording at the same time, but they are not formulating original thought.
In the early years these can be combined if a parent writes down the child’s narration and then assigns copywork or dictation from that narration, but the two activities are not yet happening simultaneously.
Eventually the student will connect both parts of the writing process. They consider the thoughts they want to communicate while recording those thoughts on paper (or a screen) and also remembering to implement spelling and grammar rules as they write or type.
Bauer’s elementary writing program, Writing with Ease, is based on these two principles of narrating (thinking) and recording. I used this program in the early years and enjoyed it.
Later on, Bauer teaches that the student will need to come up with their own thoughts rather than retelling ideas through narration. This is a higher-level process and involves learning how to outline nonfiction works and beginning to create their own outlines and compositions. That program, entitled Writing with Skill, took a lot more time and energy from both me and my oldest child, so eventually I gave up on it and simply used the Sonlight writing assignments.
Now, I love Sonlight, but there are some weaknesses in their writing curriculum. The main issue is that it tends to focus too much on creative writing and not enough on expository writing. This weakness seems to work itself out around level 200 or so, when more of the assignments become expository in nature and fewer are creative. This is important because, as Susan Wise Bauer has explained in several places, not everyone needs to know how to do creative writing, but everyone needs to know how to do expository writing.
As I was transitioning my oldest to the Sonlight writing program, I continued requiring copywork from my younger students. Their copywork was usually in the form of poems and hymns. I also assigned daily written narrations based on their science and/or history reading. They would begin with just a sentence or so in 4th grade and move on to short paragraphs from there, gradually lengthening over time to longer and longer paragraphs.
In these years I used the following articles from Mystie Winckler as my “handbooks” for teaching writing. I printed them out and referred to them regularly:
The more I read about Charlotte Mason education, however, the more I realized I wasn’t doing narration right. True Charlotte Mason instruction requires narration after a single reading, which focuses the child’s attention and requires more of the mind. And the more I read about Charlotte Mason, the more I became convinced that her style of education is one of the best for children. Which means I could have taught writing better in the middle years.
So if you, like me, are convinced of the efficacy of Charlotte Mason principles but don’t know where to begin with writing, here are a few resources:
Karen Glass has written Know and Tell, an entire book about narration.
Cindy Rollins (one of my favorites!) writes about the magic of narration in her magnificent memoir Mere Motherhood.
If you’re short on time, you could read this article about narration to help you figure out if the approach is right for you.
And if you tend toward more a more classical style of education, you may want to check out the Progym. This particular program looks to be an excellent resource from some trusted voices in the homeschool world. (I love Schole Sisters and have learned a lot from them.)
Here are some practical recommendations in case you skipped narration or paragraph writing with a child who had difficulty with spelling or handwriting or some other skill involved in writing. As a homeschool teacher, I appreciated the step-by-step instructions, because I didn’t feel competent to develop them on my own.
Paragraph Writing for Kidsby Ann Roeder is designed for students in 4th through 6th grade and teaches them how to write descriptive, narrative, persuasive, expository, and comparative paragraphs. It breaks down the writing process into very small steps – it takes a couple weeks to learn how to write each type of paragraph! But after the student has truly grasped the process for each type of paragraph, they can write another sample paragraph in one sitting. This workbook is especially good for students who are nervous about the writing process and lack the confidence that they can do it. By the end of this book, my student could confidently write paragraphs and was ready to move on to a more robust composition program.
Jump In: Middle School Composition by Sharon Watson is the next step in that process. In this program, students learn how to write entire compositions. Everything in Jump In is also broken down into small steps, which both my student and I needed. I recommend getting the teacher’s guide along with the student book.
At the same time, I know literary analysis is coming in high school, and I want my students to be prepared. One way to prepare them is to start having them think about story structure for some of their assigned reading in upper elementary or middle school. You can have a conversation about the ideas with your younger students, or if your student is a little older and thus more proficient in writing or typing, you can assign a short paper that covers just one or two of the ideas. Here’s my template for beginning literary conversations.
A discussion of writing instruction wouldn’t be complete without a mention of spelling and grammar.All About Spelling is, hands down, the best and easiest way to learn spelling.
Grammar is much harder to teach. I’ve tried so many programs, trying to fit the program to each child’s needs. What I’ve learned is that there are a lot of not-great ones out there. Two of the better ones are Shurley English and Rod and Staff English. Shurley is more fun, but Rod and Staff is extremely thorough (though at times too thorough – who really needs that many practice problems?!).
In case you didn’t know. . . .
In addition to my editing services, I also provide homeschool consulting. Whether you’re in the early years of home education or are wondering how to approach high school, I’d love to help you with your questions! I’m especially passionate about helping moms who are overseas. You can find the intake form here. I’m offering a discount until August 31, 2023.
It’s been about a year since I published one of these roundups, so buckle up! There’s a lot to talk about. From the best missions books to the Duggar documentary to menopause, married sex, and toxic masculinity, it’s all in here. ~Elizabeth
BOOKS
Magic for Marigold by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I’ve loved Lucy Maud since I was in sixth grade reading Jane of Lantern Hill on a porch swing with V-8 in hand. I even dressed up as Montgomery for a middle school language arts assignment. But I’d never heard of Magic for Marigold until last year. It was absolutely delightful (and cheap on Kindle!). When I got to the last page, I was ready to begin all over again.
And I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I like to read Montgomery’s The Blue Castle about once a year. It’s also cheap on Kindle and well worth the read if you’ve never experienced it. (I love to read from my Kindle before bed; it doesn’t have the bright blue lights to keep me awake, and I don’t have to worry about a book falling on my face or about flipping the book from side to side as I read.)
Mere Motherhood by Cindy Rollins. This was perhaps my fourth time through the book and my first as a parent of adult children. Somehow Cindy speaks to the moms of littles, middles, and bigs all at the same time. Each successive reading has been better than the previous. I wrote more about Mere Motherhood here, so be sure to check that out if you’re interested in Cindy or her book(s).
Facing Fear:The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution by Anna Hampton. I loved Anna’s work on both witness risk and dysfunctional family systems so much that when I found out she was writing a new book, I practically begged her for the opportunity to read an advance copy and endorse it. This book specifically focuses on facing the fear that comes with living in “witness danger,” but the Biblical teachings in Anna’s book will help and encourage any believer who deals with fear, even one who doesn’t live in danger or risk. Here’s my official endorsement of the book:
“Facing Fear is a book for all believers. Author Anna Hampton dives deeply into the Hebrew and Greek words for fear and courage, explores the neuroscience of fear and attachment and their implications for our relationship with God, and shows us a better way to respond to the grief and suffering of others through her compassionate treatment of the wife of Job. For those living in dangerous situations, she also offers a roadmap for assessing risk and discerning the next right step. Facing Fear offers comfort, courage, and a way forward even in the darkest of circumstances.”
The Missionary Mama’s Survival Guide: Compassionate Help for the Mothers of Cross-Cultural Workers by Tori R. Haverkamp. Tori was my first book coaching client to reach publication. And while I’m super excited for her and so proud of the book she has produced, her message also moved me on a deep heart level. Tori helped me understand how hard it was for my own mom to be separated from family (those grandkids!) for so long. Reading Tori’s book also inspired me to host more pieces from parents of missionaries at A Life Overseas; this has historically been a missing part of the missions conversation.
You can read an excerpt from my favorite chapter at A Life Overseas. Even though I’m only launching my kids to college and not the mission field, I still relate to what Tori writes in that excerpt. And I love that she’s not afraid to talk about menopause or midlife (more on menopause later!).
She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up by Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenbach, and Joanna Sawatsky. I don’t know how they did it, but the authors of The Great Sex Rescue have managed to create another gem for the modern church. Each page is packed with Biblical and thought-provoking commentary, along with data analysis (which the scientist in me loves). If you grew up in the church and sometimes wonder about purity teachings that, though well-intentioned, placed a disproportionately heavy burden on the backs of girls only, while giving boys a pass, you’ll be interested in this book – especially if you have daughters yourself.
Gregoire, Lindenbach, and Sawatsky produce theBare Marriage podcast, which unpacks a lot of the ideas in both The Great Sex Rescue and She Deserves Better. Importantly, they discuss the fact that evangelical women have much higher rates of pain with sex. This can be traced back to the obligation sex message, the idea that women “owe” their husbands sex whenever they want it. But in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, sex in marriage is painted as something that is mutually pleasurable. So if we’ve got pleasure for the husband and pain for the wife – or even pleasure for the husband but no pleasure for the wife – that is not how God designed sex in marriage to work. If this is your situation, please know there is help available. You can see a counselor, a physician, and/or find resources for female pleasure on Gregoire’s site.
REFLECTION & CONTEMPLATION
Aviva Romm (a midwife, herbalist, M.D., and expert on all things healthy living) on perfectionism.
This article (if you can access it) reflects even more deeply on masculinity in society. I found the discussion to be nuanced and well-researched. There are a number of reasons masculinity is in crisis in our society, and we need solutions and role models other than the voices pushing toxic, abusive forms of masculinity.
Shiny Happy People, a documentary about IBLP and ATI, the homeschool group my husband Jonathan grew up in. We found it to be both highly accurate to the experience and empowering to survivors. WARNING: the subject matter begins dark and only gets darker throughout the episodes. So if you’re not in the mental space to watch it, please feel free to give it a pass.
If you are in a place to view the documentary, the Aftershow is also worth watching. There’s good news here: you don’t have to reject Jesus or even the church because of the false teachings in IBLP-adjacent groups. Gothard and other teachers twisted Scripture to control people, and it distorted many people’s view of God. But there’s hope – we can find God outside fundamentalism. Alex Harris was particularly well-spoken in the follow-up interview (yes, THAT Alex Harris – co-author of Do Hard Things and brother to I Kissed Dating Goodbye’s Joshua Harris). So if you watch nothing else, skip to the second segment at 23:15 and watch only the parts where Alex talks.
FULL DISCLOSURE: There was a time a few years ago when I wanted to reject everything I had ever believed. I wanted to be an atheist and was about to give up on God. Not believing in God seemed like a less painful option than believing in the God some people around me were preaching. I had to do some hard soul searching and some hard seeking after God, and eventually I found Him again.
What I know now is that I wasn’t chafing against Christ himself, but against Christian nationalism and other forms of cultural Christianity, such as those depicted in Shiny Happy People. It took me so long to untangle man-made religion from the God of the Bible.
I wanted to say this here in case any of my readers are in a dark place right now. It’s ok to be where you are. It’s ok if you find yourself rejecting human religion and desperately searching for something more. It’s ok to respond out of pain. It’s ok to not understand everything. It’s ok to take time in the valley — there’s no need to rush. What I want you to know is that God is still with you and that it’s possible to find God again.
HEALTH & LIFESTYLE
Ballet class. I’m still attending ballet class and finding it to be a good workout. Like any good workout, it is both challenging and relaxing. The teacher added a tap class this summer, so I’m getting back to my roots. (I took both ballet and tap as a child, but I wasn’t very good.) These days I’m working hard on my technique and enjoying the process.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor or medical practitioner. I am just a woman living in a 40-something body who still wants to be happily married to a man in a 40-something body. The things I’m writing about below are things that have helped me, but do your own research and talk to your own doctor.
At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to talk about this, but I’ve talked about everything else in life, and neither Jonathan nor I have shied away from talking about sexuality, so here goes: Hormone therapy has been life changing for me.
I never thought I would say that. I never thought I would use hormones. I was into natural living, and besides, everyone knows hormones are dangerous. The Women’s Health Initiative proved that in 2002, right?
But the more I looked into solutions for perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms, the more I became convinced that not only is hormone therapy safe, but it also reduces the risk for heart disease, osteoporosis, and dementia (diseases that increase after a woman enters menopause). And of course, hormone supplementation reduces the bothersome symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
I wanted to manage my symptoms as naturally as possible for as long as possible, but my symptoms started getting worse this year, and I was determined not to walk out of my midwife’s office without a prescription. Thankfully we had discussed options in the past, so when I told her things were getting worse, she whipped out that prescription pad immediately.
My symptoms improved almost overnight. Hormones are like magic.
I don’t share all of this TMI just for the sake of oversharing. I want this information to help someone. So first of all, if you’re in your late 30s or early 40s, you might be experiencing symptoms of perimenopause. That’s because your hormones can start shifting up to 10 years before your periods actually stop.
So what does perimenopause look like? It might look like worsening anxiety or PMS. It might look like heavier or more painful periods. It might look like sleeping problems or brain fog or increased irritability. It might look like frequent urinary tract infections or pain during sex. It might look like hot flashes or a sudden gain in weight, especially around the middle. Your mind and your body just aren’t working the way they used to, and these hormone changes might be affecting your relationships.
But we don’t just have to suffer through the symptoms, even in perimenopause. There are a number of safe, effective, inexpensive, FDA-approved formulations of body identical (bioidentical) hormones, so if your symptoms are feeling more and more unmanageable, please talk to your doctor, midwife, or nurse practitioner about your options.
Importantly, be aware that there are local estrogen therapies to treat the genitourinary symptoms of menopause (whether that’s dryness or pain with sex or recurrent urinary tract infections), and these medications are not absorbed systemically. For more information on local estrogen therapy (usually in the form of a cream, tablet, or ring), see: Dr. Kelly Casperson or Dr. Rachel Rubin (both urologists). A woman’s quality of life matters. Her sex life matters too. Hormones help with both.
I still do a lot of lifestyle interventions to stay as healthy as possible, especially when it comes to diet and exercise – because there are certain changes with menopause that hormones can’t fix, such as loss of muscle and increased insulin resistance. The following authors have helped me on my journey:
1. Lift heavier than before. It’s harder to build and maintain muscle in midlife and beyond, but we need muscle to keep our strength and our balance and to manage our metabolism and blood sugar. This motivated me to buy a heavier set of dumbbells.
2. Eat more protein. We need more dietary protein as we get older because our bodies aren’t as good at building and repairing muscle. Protein also helps us modulate our blood sugar. This motivated me to increase my protein intake.
3. Do more interval training (especially high intensity interval training, or HIIT). Interval training is kind of hard, and I don’t always like it, but I gave it another try and found that I actually do like the way it makes me feel.
4. Stretching, mobility, and balance are more important than before. Honestly I’ve always skipped stretching and core work because they were SO boring. I’m trying to adjust.
The Galveston Diet by Dr. Mary Claire Haver (also check out her YouTube channel, which has a wealth of information). One of the main things I’m learning from Dr. Haver is the importance of intermittent fasting. As women get older, the hormone shifts of perimenopause and menopause cause us to be at higher risk for insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. Intermittent fasting, or time-based eating, is one way to reduce our insulin resistance. Humans are designed to eat during the daytime and not eat at night, but modern life with its electricity and constant streaming capabilities has interfered with this pattern. Intermittent fasting honors it. Intermittent fasting doesn’t have to be extreme – Dr. Haver doesn’t recommend going over 16 hours of fasting. Just go at least 12 hours without eating at night: it’s the way humans used to live.
Like Stacy Sims, Dr. Haver also recommends increasing our protein intake in perimenopause and menopause. Actually, she recommends tracking all macro and micronutrients. I refuse to do this. It would be stressful and would take over my life. So I loosely aim for more protein in my morning and noon meals but stick to a plant-based meal for dinner, because I find I feel better and sleep better that way. And all the menopause experts say you need to get better sleep.
Cold brew coffee. I loved cream in my coffee and couldn’t imagine drinking it black. But one of the ways to go 12+ hours without eating is to drink your morning coffee black. I tried Dr. Haver’s tip of adding a pinch of salt to cut the bitterness, but it didn’t impress me much. The black coffee hurt my stomach, and my taste buds still cried out for cream. Then I tried cold brew. It’s so much smoother and richer than hot brew, and it never gives me a stomachache. I think this has something to do with the reduced acidity (though minor) in cold brew as compared to hot brew. It also tastes a lot better!
[I know, I know, we’re not supposed to consume caffeine at all, and a few years ago I had managed to wean myself off all caffeine. But these days I find I still need a little bit of kick in the morning, so I use a mixture of half caf and decaf in my morning coffee.]
MUSIC & SPIRITUALITY
The song “Wandering Day” from the Rings of Power series. Granted, the show wasn’t the perfection of Peter Jackson in the original Lord of the Rings, but it was good for what it was (something completely made up), and this song was breathtaking.
Chording. This year I’m trying to teach myself chording so I can play modern worship songs (and songs like “Wandering Day”) with lead sheets. I only took a year of piano lessons as a child, so my skill level is very low, but I’m still learning and enjoying as I go. Every few years I try to get back to piano, but this is the first time I’ve tried to learn chording.
Searching for song. I’m happiest when I’m singing. Some of you might remember my first email address, isingbunches@yahoo.com. What you might not know is that I fell in love with singing when I was 10, the summer I went to church camp for the first time. I’ve been told that on the three-hour trip home, I was either singing or sleeping. If I was awake, I was singing.
And I’ve been singing ever since. Some of you may remember me as the girl in youth group who was always saying, “Let’s sing!” And since we were in a cappella churches, we really could just sing anytime, anywhere. All we needed were our voices and our memories. (Excuse me a moment while I reminisce.)
All of this to say, I have to do whatever I can to get enough singing in my life. One of those things is playing the piano and singing at home, and another one of those things has been attending worship nights at local churches wherever I live. There were a couple international churches in Phnom Penh that hosted regular Saturday worship nights, and I tried to attend whenever I could. It was always such a rich experience with God.
Here in Joplin there’s a local church that hosts a worship night once a month. It reminds me of worship at our international church in Cambodia, the way the leader creates so much time and space to commune with God. I cried the first time I went to one of these monthly worship times. It felt so much like being in Cambodia. I can’t make it every month, but it’s been such a comfort to have the option of more worship through song.
Lent series on the saints and their different expressions of Christian spirituality. When I attended Ash Wednesday service in February, I saw an announcement for a teaching series on the saints and their various forms of spirituality. I was intrigued; I didn’t know anything about the saints or their spirituality.
I’m so glad I went each week during Lent. I would walk in, and the tension in my shoulders would start to unwind. I could breathe more easily. Father Ted just had a way of ushering us into a deeper connection with ourselves and with the Lord. I’m know I’m drawn to contemplative Christianity and am currently trying to figure out how to get more of it in my life. I’m considering finding a spiritual director; I think I would benefit from the guided prayer times. But whatever I decide to do in the future, I’m glad I spent this spring learning about the saints and their faith.
I posted this on Facebook and thought I would share it here too. ~Elizabeth
Are you overwhelmed by the thought of homeschooling overseas?
Are you confused about how to begin homeschooling in those early years?
Or perhaps you’ve been homeschooling for a while and feel pretty comfortable with it, but your student is about to start high school, and you feel nervous all over again?
If so, I’d love to help!
I’ve been homeschooling my four children for 15 years, including eight years in a developing country with regular power and water cuts.
I’ve launched one child to university (engineering school), I’m preparing to launch another (who is currently taking dual credit classes), and I’m still teaching my 13- and 15-year-olds at home.
After a decade and a half, this homeschooling venture feels pretty natural to our family, but I remember how intimidated I felt both in the early years and when my oldest started high school.
I’m offering an introductory rate of $30 per session for homeschool consulting in the months of July and August.
You can fill out the intake form, and I’ll get in contact with you soon!
Topics we can cover include:
homeschooling overseas
the early years
high school and that dreaded transcript
building your homeschool around your strengths while shoring up your weak spots
recognizing when you need outside help
how to approach learning issues, scheduling issues, and discipline/connection issues
answering any curriculum questions you have
evaluating (and celebrating!) your progress
In addition to my 15 years of homeschooling both in the States and in Cambodia, I have experience in:
developing hands-on math and science classes for coops
[Photo circa 2013, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A visitor had just brought us some curriculum, and I was very excited. Note the periodic table in the background.]
Would you consider joining us as a monthly partner in our service to the Global Church? To donate via our Team Expansion page (preferred), please click here. To donate via PayPal, please click here.
A monthly gift of $50 to $200 for the next two years would help us provide heart-focused ministry to missionaries and local leaders around the world. (You can read some client testimonials below.)
Your monthly support also enables Elizabeth to continue her ministry via A Life Overseas, providing resources to the missionary community and poignant articles that reach over 20,000 people per month.
Over the past eight years, I (Jonathan) have had the privilege of walking alongside hundreds of individuals and couples as they processed transition, grief and loss, abuse, relational challenges, traumas, and so on. Since we relocated back to the States in 2020, I’ve been able to continue that support-based ministry with our sending organization, Team Expansion, meeting with folks both inside and outside our organization. (You can watch Team Expansion’s president discuss my role in the ministry in the video below.)
It has been my privilege to serve as a sort of field medic for these missionaries.
I am currently meeting with clients in the Dominican Republic, the Middle East, Germany, Switzerland, Jordan, Central Africa, southern Africa, Canada, a closed country in Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, the US, and more.
This work is heavy. I’ve walked with a missionary couple whose young daughter was molested on the field, several folks recovering from terrifying home invasions, countless missionaries dealing with overwhelming anxiety and freezing depression. I’ve had clients who’ve been robbed in the streets or assaulted. I’ve had a client who was drugged in a public place and then robbed. Would you prayerfully consider helping me to continue to support people going through hard things like these?
Why We’re Asking Now
In order to get back up to fully funded (which is something we have to do about every two years and is required by our missions agency, Team Expansion), we are needing to raise about $1,000 in monthly gifts. This isn’t a personal raise; it just gets our ministry back up to adequately funded for the next two years. Some clients are able to donate for their sessions, which is extremely helpful, but the truth is, without the gracious support of the Stateside Church, this ministry would fail. A gift of $50 per month sponsors one article on A Life Overseas, a site reaching over 20,000 people per month. A gift of $100 per month sponsors one pastoral care and coaching session for a missionary each month. A one-time gift would help support things like a three-day training for local believers in Kyrgyzstan ($750) or a field-visit to meet with missionaries serving in Africa ($1,300).
How to Give
There are a couple of ways you can donate. First, you can give through Team Expansion’s online portal here. Or if you’d like to avoid processing fees, you can give by check. Just pleasebe sure to include our account number on the check and envelopeso that your gift gets into the ministry account that we manage.
Mail to:
Team Expansion
Account: 1103
4112 Old Routt Road
Louisville, KY 40299
Please let us know if you decide to set up monthly giving so we can track our progress towards our goal.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to visit in-person or via Zoom, please let me know. Thank you for considering, and may God richly bless you and yours.
all for ONE,
Jonathan M. Trotter
“Time with Jonathan helped give me a safe space to process and work through both past wounds and stressful challenges I was currently facing on the mission field. My sessions with him helped bring healing and health to my soul, and helped keep me going and serving through challenging times.”
A missionary leader in Cambodia
Jonathan was instrumental in helping us work through difficult marriage conflicts that could have taken us off the field if not resolved. His biblical council and practical knowledge about how to help overseas missionaries with their unique relationship struggles are invaluable! We struggled for 5 years looking for help before we found Jonathan so we can honestly say he is a rare jewel. We thank God for your investment in him and the way God used him to restore our marriage and keep us on the field. Two years later I can happily report that our marriage is stronger than ever, and we are seeing great fruit in our ministry. Over 100 souls have come to faith and been baptized this past year as the fruit of your investment in us through Jonathan’s ministry. Plus, it is a relief to live in a harmonious marriage rather than suffer the grief we experienced for many years. The restoration of our marriage will profoundly impact our kids and those we minister too. THANK YOU!
A missionary in SE Asia
“Sessions with Jonathan helped us have a better relationship and learn to communicate in a cross-cultural marriage.”
A Cambodian missionary now serving in Africa
“I spend my days constantly pouring into the people that I serve and my ministry. It is easy for me to feel empty after constant serving. Jonathan is one of the only people pouring into me. My sessions with Jonathan help me focus on what I need to get re-filled, so I can continue the ministry that I love! I also experience second-hand trauma quite often in the work I do, and my sessions with Jonathan give me a safe place to process and make sense of some hard situations and events that I have been a part of. Apart from my ministry, Jonathan has also helped me process some family transitions that have happened over the years and helped me make healthy boundaries with those I love. This has resulted in me keeping my family relationships healthy and in tact, amidst living across the world and during hard family situations. This has been one of the biggest benefits I’ve received through the support of these sessions!”
Jonathan & Elizabeth Trotter 