Getting Unstuck

I’m so grateful for the ministry of MRI/MRAP. I had a doozy of a year. First, I was diagnosed with breast cancer, then nearly four months later my father died unexpectedly.  

I serve overseas as an international church pastor, and though I attempted to approach my somewhat complicated grief with grace, I essentially gave myself two months, to grieve as I saw fit, in a healthy way as I could, and though I told other loved ones “no one gets to tell you how to grieve, or how long to grieve,” internally, I put pressure on myself to move on and do my job.

However, I still found myself not wanting to engage with people, or preach, and I had many unanswered and unsettling questions in my mind. I felt stuck, with no sense of improvement in sight, which put even more self-imposed pressure on me.

I had several friends who had used MRI/MRAP’s counseling services, and had given great “reviews.”  I had also attended a couple of training sessions that MRI/MRAP offered while I was stateside. I felt their counselors understood me.

The approach they took, two-week counseling intensive, was different than I expected, but it was what I needed to “turn a corner” emotionally, and helped me “ground” the myriad of questions that had been keeping me so unsettled, allowing me to rest, and get unstuck in my grief process, and continue moving forward. 

I’m so grateful for this ministry and those that serve in this ministry, and wholeheartedly recommend them to others who find themselves in an emotional or mental health crisis. I appreciate that they make their resources readily available to those in need, and I’m grateful I’ll be able to check in with them from time to time.

Missionary from Eurasia