This Congolese woman and many like her are being helped through ABS's Restoration Ministry.

ABS has just launched a new ministry called Restoration, an initiative that seeks to stop trauma in its tracks around the world, in all of its expressions, using Scripture-based trauma healing programs tailored to specific ages and situations.

This past spring, ABS's Restoration Ministry hosted an inaugural “Community of Practice” gathering in Philadelphia to begin the task of mobilizing a global trauma response corps. Represented were five continents, 23 organizations

and 43 people, many of whom have been at work in Bible-based trauma care for more than a decade. The gathering included participants from Wycliffe, The Seed

Company, Mercy Ships, ALARM, Crisis Care Training International, eXile International and several Bible Societies and translation agencies.

Restoration has also just launched a pilot program among children in Kenya and Uganda, using a modified Scripture-based trauma healing curriculum. Rev. Dr. Bagudekia (Bagu) Alobeyo, program director for She's My Sister™, who helped launch the program in person, commented on the effectiveness of these trauma healing training programs: “It was amazing to see that after training only three people from Goma [DRC], they then trained 170 more to take trauma healing programs to their community.”

Peggy Rathbun is an advocate for She's My Sister and can personally attest to the life change women in Africa are seeing from the trauma healing program.

“Our experiences [in Africa] provided us with evidence that God is at work in Africa, and he has graciously asked us at ABS to be a part of it,” Peggy says. “In the midst of their struggles is a glimmer of hope from God's Word, which has the power to transform lives.”

How Restoration Works

American Bible Society is seeking to bring restoration to places and among people who have experienced a traumatic event. Using the proven methods of a Scripture-based trauma healing curriculum, local leaders are trained to help care for those in their community who have experienced trauma. They, in turn, train others. In this way, the impact in a community spreads quickly. Through Scripture, people learn to express, like the Psalmists, their deepest feelings in times of pain and suffering. They receive comfort as they encounter passages that speak to the suffering of God's people. It is the knowledge of God, his character and his relationship to people that implementers have found are the foundation for healing.