Spiritual Trauma Care Healing Training Team Travels to Rivne
by Yanina Mospanenko, Communications Specialist
Rising needs of diversity to provide relief to internally displaced persons (IDPs), Ukrainians who have fled their homes to relocate to safer places, in addition to spearheading more humanitarian aid in war zones, spurred select members of Music Mission Kiev (MMK) and Hosanna Charismatic Church to meet during a chaplain’s training seminar at MMK’s offices a few months ago to discuss various support and healing ministry strategies. Pastor Volodymyr Lanevych and his wife, Tetyana, shared the challenge the church is now facing; they simply do not have the experience or expertise to attend to the fragile mental and emotional health of traumatized war victims.
On any given day, Ukrainians take harrowing risks and face unpredictable circumstances because of Russia’s aggression. There is a never-ending demand for new knowledge and practical skills to provide crucial trauma treatment to a populace not prepared to deal with the harsh realities of war. MMK, in partnership with the Ukrainian Bible Society, hosted a spiritual trauma care healing training seminar, Beyond Disaster, in the city of Rivne in western Ukraine on January 19 and 20, 2024, to help meet those extensive needs.
One church in Rivne had such an overwhelming outpouring of people wanting to train and help that a single teacher was not sufficient. Delegates of the Ukrainian Bible Society sent a second instructor, Stepan Penyaga, from the Trauma Healing Institute to join forces with Irina Donchenko and Serhiy Basarab of MMK, and supplied all handouts and textbooks for the training. Two very special IDPs also offered their assistance and joined the healing team in concert with their church to provide rehabilitation support. The first IDP was a man who went to war as a volunteer and was seriously injured. Through his experience, he was better versed to provide invaluable counsel to those who had also been injured defending their country. The second IDP was a woman who bears a great two-fold weight on her shoulders: her son is currently serving on the front lines and her husband delivers humanitarian aid to hot spots, placing him in severe danger.
What impressed Irina and Stepan the most was the open, healthy candidness and trust from the participants. On the first day of the seminar, the trainees publicly shared their personal anxieties, problems, experiences, victories and defeats out loud. By pouring out their pent-up pain in public, they had the courage to shed those suppressed tears and open their wounds for spiritual cleansing. They openly recognized the need to go through the healing process first in order to be able to help others. This cleansing was the precious nugget of redemption they had sought and could not quite grasp in their aloneness. The transformation of these suffering individuals on just the first day was amazing.
On the second day, many participants thanked MMK’s trauma team for the opportunity to internally find answers to questions that had been troubling them for a long time. They understood that the training was not meant to provide ready-made answers, but instead offered pathways to enable ownership of painful experiences and inner turmoil. The new sense of joy from experiencing the healing effects of compassionate group support helped liberate them from their personal burdens of uncertainty. They were inspired to serve their people because they were now better prepared for the people they would be serving. Their faith was strengthened – they personally witnessed excellent results.
The first trauma healing seminar is complete in Rivne and our spiritual team is energized! Praises to our Lord, Jesus, for sustaining MMK. A total of 25 representatives from that single church alone attended the training. Other churches in Rivne are now showing interest to also provide spiritual trauma care seminars. MMK, together with the Ukrainian Bible Society, is preparing for the next healing project for a larger group. In the summer, the plan is to sponsor a large multidenominational training, including a concert by the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. The director of the local concert hall, who is also a representative of the Baptist Church in Rivne, is so excited about this possible concert and training seminar, he has already included the events in the city's summer schedule.
This great news of the spiritual trauma care seminars MMK provides cannot be shared without giving thanks to our many American partners who help us deliver this type of training and healing to the beautiful people of Ukraine. We are eager and excited about further expanding our services. Thank you and may God bless you tenfold for your generosity and healing prayers!