Serving the Servers

By Dave Ebert

As missionaries, our primary focus is to minister to survivors of sex and human trafficking. This is a ministry I've been blessed to do since 2018, and then God opened the door to expand to full-time ministry once I was laid off in 2022.

A vast majority of our work is directly with the survivors at amazing organizations like Salt and Light Coalition in Chicago and Naomi's House in Chicago and the suburbs. Seeing survivors, who have been through literal hell on earth, find freedom, if only for a few moments, to laugh unreservedly, has been among my greatest joys in life. To have my years of depression masked by comedy and humor used by God to help these amazing women remove their masks is incredible.

However, one of the less-talked about missions we have is to serve those who serve. We are blessed in many ways to be sort of the fun aunt and uncle or grandparents who sweep in, have fun, and leave. But, there are those in a more parental role...there for the ups and the downs, the battles, the struggles, the moments of frustration and even failures. They're on the frontlines. They're in the thick of it. They're there for the joys and heartaches They're carrying the burdens of those they serve. It's a mantle that is sometimes-well, often-hard to remove.

So, one of the aspects of our ministry is to provide laughter, camaraderie, team-building, and decompression through our improv exercises. If that's the only way we're able to partner with an organization, we're still ministering to the survivors. With a refreshed, lighter-feeling staff, these survivors are better served. When the staff and volunteers are able to shed some of the spiritual weight of what they see, hear, and battle, they are able to re-engage in the fight for their clients.

This week, the primary focus of my trip to Dallas was to serve at Rescue Her to give their staff an afternoon to decompress, create, and laugh freely. As I led the workshop, I also shared the concepts we teach the survivors, which are very much universally applicable. Some of the take-aways the ladies at Rescue Her garnered were:

•  We’re in this together! We’re not meant to do this alone.

•  It’s okay to release control when you’re in a safe setting. There is freedom in releasing control and letting other people help you carry burdens.

•  There is always something to be joyful about!

•  Everyone has a story to tell, you don’t have to compare it to one another.

•  It’s okay to fail!

•  There can sometimes be fun in the failure.

These comments are quoted from Rescue Her's Facebook Page post on April 19th, 2024. These are concepts I love to share with survivors and their advocates. It means so much for them to have gained so much from a couple hours of laughter and creativity.

If you know of an organization that serves survivors of trafficking or similar trauma, and we can help those survivors or their advocates and staff that serve them, please connect us!

WE CAN'T DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!

If you love these stories and want to help us make sure we can continue our work, please consider joining our support team. Click on Partner on our website to find out how you can join our support team, or you can go to partner.improvmissionaries.com and give your one-time or monthly Faith Promise gifts to keep us going!