Healing the Wounds of Trauma

HOW THIS BOOK CAME ABOUT

H ow can people recover from traumatic experiences? Can the Bible help? These were questions exercising the minds of Harriet Hill, Margaret Hill, Richard Baggé, and Pat Miersma as they witnessed people’s suffering in the aftermath of war in the late 1990s.They were all members of SIL, living and working in Africa serving the cause of Bible translation. At the time there was little Bible-based mental health material that rural church leaders could make use of in their context. One resource was Rhiannon Lloyd’s book, Healing the Wounds of Ethnic Conflict: The Role of the Church in Healing, Forgiveness, and Reconcili- ation. Inspired by that work, and with her permission, the authors set out to develop a curriculum for local churches that was teachable, translatable, and reproducible. In 2001 the first lessons were drafted at a gathering of mental health professionals, Bible translators, Scripture engagement consul- tants, and church leaders fromwar zones across Africa. In 2002, these materials were piloted with church leaders from ten ethnic groups. They had opportunity to translate the materials into their languages, find healing from their own trauma, and develop plans to help oth- ers impacted by trauma in their communities. Feedback from their use of the material led to revisions and the first published edition in 2004 by Paulines Publications in Nairobi. By 2011 the materials had spread into forty-two countries on five continents and had been translated, in whole or in part, into 157 languages. As demand for thematerials and training increased, it became clear to SIL that a broader structure was needed to enable a more adequate response. This recognition coincided with American Bible Society’s interest in trauma healing in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Con- sequently, in 2010, American Bible Society (ABS) agreed to become the authors’ agent and appointed Dr. Harriet Hill as Trauma Healing

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How This Book Came About