Weave & Cleave

At the age of eleven, Deenbo Kidane immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopa, giving her an unique understanding of the challenges immigrants face, as well as the struggles their children face. Her father was a ministry leader, so she also witnessed firsthand the difficulty immigrant ministry leaders encounter when trying to find a supportive, encouraging community. Little did she know, these life experiences would be put to good use one day.

Today, Deenbo is the Co-Director of the Daniel Initiative, a network of pastors and church leaders from all over the world. She is also the Director of Children's and Youth Ministry at El-Bethel Ethiopian Missionary Church. As she likes to say, she's a 'bridge', encouraging youth not to assimilate or to isolate, but to thrive. Being the bridge is hard work, and Deenbo is honest about that, but she knows she's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing - and she loves it.

Listen in and be encouraged.

For more about the Daniel Initiative.

For more about El-Bethel Ethiopian Missionary Church.

Lauren Broderick began her trauma-informed journey with Sanghoon and Michelle in 2019 when she worked for Hope Women's Center, a Phoenix-based, multi-site crisis center for women. Now she's the Executive Director of CASA of Floyd County, Indiana, where she's applying the trauma-informed lens as an advocate for foster children. 

When applying the trauma-informed lens in a service setting for childen rather than women, what's different? Lauren answers this question, but more intriguing is her observations of what is the same when applying the trauma-informed lens in different contexts. 1. Understand how trauma has affected you personally. 2. Be prepared for long-term ministry with those you serve. 3. Look for the small wins along the way, and make the time to celebrate them.

As a bonus, Lauren shares her own self-care strategies as a busy mom and executive director. For those who have a tendency to over-function when stressed, you're going to want to give this episode a listen!

For more about CASA of Floyd County, Indiana.

To contact Lauren by email: [email protected].

Dr. Bob Rhoton is a therapist and professor, as well as the founder of the Arizona Trauma Institute and President of Trauma Institute International - an impressive resume for a man who admits he didn't intend to take the mental health path over four decades ago. What kept Rhoton in the field? As he says, "The more I learned, the more dissatisfied I was with what was out there." 

In a time when neuroscience wasn't a household word, Rhoton found the ACEs study. He learned the salutogenic model of treatment. He tried things, collected research, helped people regulate, and taught them how to be accountable to themselves. He started seeing sustainable growth in his clients. He started to see change. Today, he's still on a mission to create change - all over the world.

With a passion for relationship and connection, Rhoton's view of trauma-informed care is simple: it is the intentional application of compassion - without force, control, manipulation, regimentation, or the pursuit of efficiency. You master it for yourself first, THEN you begin applying it to others. This episode is the heart of trauma-informed care. Listen and enjoy.

For more about AZ Trauma Institute.

To contact Dr. Rhoton by email: [email protected]

**Looking for Season 1 of Weave & Cleave? You'll find it under 'Journey On: Faith Communities, Resilience, and Agents of Change'. Don't miss these 11 interviews!**

Jake and Keely Embleton began their trauma-informed care journey in the mission field of Northern Africa. The people they served needed trauma-infomed care, but as newlyweds and new parents in a new country, they needed trauma-informed care, too. 

Since learning how to vulnerably ask for help, Jake and Keely have dedicated themselves to the work of building encouraging communities where people can grow, learn, and heal. Where they can ask for help, pray, hear the truth, and find their God-given identity.  

This special episode looks at trauma and healing through the male and female lenses, tackling the big questions: 'How do we keep hold of our TRUE identity and how do we help others do the same?' 

Please note, this episode discusses PTSD, post-partum depression, and suicidal ideation.

For more about Mission Connexion.

For more about School Connect.

**Looking for Season 1 of Weave & Cleave? You'll find it under 'Journey On: Faith Communities, Resilience, and Agents of Change'. Don't miss these 11 interviews!**

Phil Monroe knows trauma. He's been a psychologist for decades, he leads a therapy practice with Diane Langberg (another prominent leader in the trauma space), and he writes curriculum for the Trauma Healing Institute, an arm of the American Bible Society. But because of his faith and his relationship with Christ, Phil also knows trauma healing. He knows it takes time and he willingly recognizes that much of his work in helping others heal is maintaining a level of hope his clients can't yet realize. In this episode, Phil speaks candidly about lament, church hurt, and trauma's role as both a block to God and a door to God. He also shares the one question church leaders can consider if their church experiences scandal. This episode is too good to miss. Keep a pen and notebook handy because you're going to want to take notes!

Phil's closing remarks: "Things are going to be made right." If you're on a healing journey, may you take those words with you.

For more about Phil Monroe.

For more about Langberg Monroe & Associates.

For more about the Trauma Healing Institute.

Sybil Kolbert has always had a role in helping people create change, but its looked different over the years. She spent the first two decades of her career as a school psychologist, then she stepped into nonprofit work to help survivors rebuild after trauma. This is where she learned about trauma-informed care, and most importantly, about being trauma-informed - knowledge she wishes she'd had when she was working in education. Over eight years, she's learned how to steward the trauma she hears from the survivors she coaches. She's learned how to disciple with a fierce love and a loose grip. She's learned about the importance of teams and the human need for lament. She's learned how to rebuild, and how to help others rebuild.

Now Sybil is taking her knowledge and passion into churches, training them in the sometimes heavy work of helping others rebuild. Her dream? That churches in her central California community would be equipped to love others the way Jesus does.

Join us as we chat with Sybil - coach, writer, author (Finding Home is available here), seminary student, wife, and mother of three young adults. To learn more about Sybil's work, or to contact her, go to her website.

When Jessica Knight entered chaplaincy school, she had no plans to work with survivors of sex trafficking. God had other plans. 

Chaplain Jessica Knight is the Founder and Executive Director of Fire Revolution Advocacy for Women, an organization that offers programs and resources to sex trafficking survivors to encourage, empower, and support their recovery. Having her own traumatic history, Jessica had questions when she entered advocacy work. As she helped women work toward restoration, she found God was restoring her story, too, giving her a new definition of family, a passion for discipleship, and a deeper commitment in her relationship with Jesus. In other words, she found out what it truly meant to be loved.

This episode talks about solitude and risk, passion and personhood, safe people and community, listening to the Spirit and experiencing God. Oh, and Krav Maga (Jessica is working toward her blue belt!). This episode is sure to encourage you to live in confidence and purpose.

Learn more about Fire Revolution Advocacy.

Read Jessica's personal testimony.

Much is going on in our world. Much is happening in our own lives. Busyness pulls us. Opinions divide us. Trouble unsettles us. We need Jesus, but what does it look like to pull closer to Him? In this episdoe, Sanghoon and Michelle discuss 5 Rs that will help you focus on 'less of me, more of God' - perfect for an election year! These simple focuses are easy to remember, easy to apply, and guaranteed to help you reclaim your peace as you journey in a trauma-informed lifestyle.

Brooke Weimar, elementary school teacher in Thailand, reflects on the steps God was laying out for her long before she had a true desire to follow Him. Her story is genuine and warm, a reminder that God uses even the most mundane realities of our lives to draw us into His plan. This episode is for those with an adventurous spirit, for those with a heart for international travel, for those who wonder what God is up to as He leads step by step rather than leading with a full road map. Enjoy this story of faithfulness.

In May 2023, hundreds of individuals from various sectors and organizations gathered for a day of trauma-informed speakers, workshops, and connections. Guess what they found. Unity. The work of trauma healing and hope is always unifying. That's why the heart of the Weave & Cleave movement is unity across sectors, across organizations, across ethnicities and backgrounds.

This episode discusses preparations for the 2nd Annual Weave & Cleave conference to be held on May 2, 2024, and the exciting launch of affinity groups - interest groups to keep you connected to others in a similar field. This is a movement that mobilizes and empowers its people, so get connected by listening in and then registering for the free conference (thanks to funding from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health) here.