I have so enjoyed teaching and utilizing some of these tools all over the world for over a decade now.
Now, for all my therapist/missionary care/pastoral counselor friends out there, as well as anyone else who might find handouts useful…
I’m excited to start offering them in a more professional manner.
Now available: The Shapes Diagram The Triangle The Stoplight Tool
The Stoplight Tool is available for $2.99 here. You can read more about it here.
The Shapes Diagram and The Triangle are available for $4.99 here. Read more about them here.
These resources are NOT a substitute for professional mental health help or treatment. If you are experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis, it is crucial to seek medical help and/or advice from a licensed mental health professional who can provide personalized guidance and support.
I had the chance to talk about a bunch of ideas from Digging in the Dirt on a couple of different podcasts recently. Read about what we discussed, and check ‘em out!
The Clarity Podcast with Dr. Aaron Santmyire: We talked about married sexuality, the danger of centering America in the story of global Christianity, why not to call our kids “world changers,” the uniqueness of having a work spouse, Shiny Happy People, and more.
Missionary Life with Sarita Hartz: We talked about the fun stuff like depression, anxiety, the “missionary life cycle,” and the important distinction between anger and aggression. It’s a vital conversation for those in missions and pretty much everyone else too.
I am thrilled to announce that as of September 1st, I have officially joined the member care team at Team Expansion!
We’ve talked about this transition before, but since even I’m confused by my life lately, I thought I’d explain again. Also, since this position is a support-based position, we remain entirely grateful for your prayers and financial support. If you’ve ever thought of making a one-time gift, or partnering with us a monthly giver, those links are below. To get back up to fully funded, we’re needing to raise about $300/month, so any bit helps!
Team Expansion has about 350 workers in 50 countries. As part of the member care team, my role will be coming alongside of some of those folks to provide pastoral care and empathetic coaching. I’ve committed half of my client hours to Team Expansion workers, while the other half will be available to cross-cultural workers from the broader missionary community.
Doug Lucas, president of Team Expansion, explained my job like this:
“By helping to care for our field workers, Jonathan is the equivalent of a field ‘medic’ in the military. When our troops yell, ‘Medic!’ we hope he can already be in the theater of operation, wherever he is needed. In addition, we’ve asked him to help us make ready the field workers before they depart, as well as to properly care for them when they return.”
But what about Ozark? Yes, Elizabeth and I are teaching missions classes at Ozark this semester, and if you’ve been following along, you know that we’re loving it.
We hope to stay connected to the wonderful people and students of Ozark long past the end of this semester, and we plan to continue training future cross-cultural workers here. But at this point, it looks like our official capacity at Ozark ends, as planned, in December.
In the meantime, we’re looking for housing in the Joplin area, and waiting for our shipment (aka homeschool books) to finish its journey across the Pacific.
We are so grateful for you, our friends, our brothers and sisters. May the love of the Father, the presence of the Son, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit be very near to you this day.
As always, thank you for praying and thank you for sending!
— Jonathan T.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This link describes the work I am tremendously privileged to do, both with Team Expansion and the broader missionary community: www.seeingtheheartsofthehurting.com
Jonathan & Elizabeth Trotter 