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Debriefing 101 AB - A post-event report
The MORE Network hosted Debriefing 101 in Alberta on October 20th. This one-day workshop, part of a series titled “Stronger Together”: Missionary Care Training Series, was hosted at Samaritan’s Purse in Calgary, and welcomed a group of 40 representing 10+ organizations and churches. The facilitators of the Calgary workshop, Becky Matchullis and Marion Dicke, both experts in coaching and member care, led a day of practical and informative training on debriefing missionaries and their families. The focus of this workshop was on helping organizations involved in missionary work and support in the specific area of debriefing from their experiences. Missionaries and their families often return from the mission field with complex emotions and feelings. There is a need for members of supporting organizations to receive training in effective debriefing skills with which to debrief and help missionaries during the transition back home.
The MORE Network seeks to connect Christ-centred organizations through workshops, sharing resources and skills through collaborative partnership, ultimately building up a stronger and healthier mission community both in Canada and beyond. Debriefing 101 proved to be a positive step forward in training those interested and involved in working with missionaries and their transition journey to and from Canada. Those involved in missionary & MK member care often feel unprepared and overwhelmed due to the lack of resources and training. It is our desire to provide a greater basis of support and resources to help these individuals, by providing practical and relevant training with appropriate resources to be applied in practice.
Like any successful day of training, the workshop included all-day refreshments and a well-catered lunch. The participants came from diverse backgrounds organizations and churches, including those new to member care, as well as those who have years of experience and knowledge. The mix of attendees contributed greatly to a rich pool of experience and expertise. There was a combined focus on debriefing long-term and short-term workers and teams. The day involved lecture-style teaching, live demonstrations, and hands-on practice through various debriefing scenarios. Each component contributed to a basic overview of the necessary skills of debriefing.
The feedback was positive, reaffirming the workshop experience as “resourceful”, “specific”, and that it surpassed participants’ expectations. It is our prayer and hope that God will continue to bring like-minded organizations together to share in workshops like this one and that what was gained from Debriefing 101 will prove to be valuable in the lives of missionaries and their families who are on the receiving end of this effort. God willing, we will see a continuation of this course with Debriefing 201 focusing on Crisis Incident Stress Debriefing.
Our heartfelt thanks to Becky & Marion for sharing their expertise and to Samaritan’s Purse for their kindness and generosity in hosting this event.
Debriefing 101 BC - A post-event report
On September 27th the MORE Network hosted a one-day workshop titled “Debriefing 101”, in (Abbotsford, BC) which was offered to anyone involved in and interested in member care of missionaries and their families. The intention of this training day was to provide member care personnel with resources with which to support their missionaries. This is a needy area, and we are aware of a general desire coming from member care workers across organisations, that they want to be more equipped for the role they play in supporting missionaries. Many of the comments received from participants who attended the training reflected a desire for “confidence” in provision of care, knowledge of how to provide the right care and how to connect with missionaries coming from very difficult situations, with complex needs and struggles. This led us to develop a training day that would bring leadership from a vast network of agencies together in order to collaboratively focus on debriefing and the types of debriefing that can be used with missionaries and their families. We also included a short practice time for skills and personal debriefing.
Debriefing 101 hosted twenty-six participants, from a total of thirteen different mission agencies Most did not travel far, and were provided with meals, coffee and snacks for the duration of the day. Our four key presenters (pictured from left to right) were Anna Marie Graham, Ruth Maxwell, Lori Nickel and Julie Simeon.
These dedicated women communicated and planned from a distance, coming together on the day to provide an excellent and thorough training course well suited to the participants and their member-care needs. Participants who attended the training appeared engaged and eager to learn, sharing in valuable conversations and fellowship throughout the day as they discussed this shared passion, shared common questions, struggles, frustrations and needs. We received positive and affirming feedback from the participants on the workshop, stating that the session was informative, practical, and relevant, all of which were targets we hoped to achieve through Debriefing 101. Some participants expressed a desire to know more about other resources we offer for missionaries and MK’s.
With the central goal of uniting like-minded Canadian Christ-centred organisations in training, support and resourcing of missionaries and all who work alongside them, the MORE Network offers year-round training and retreats for both missionaries and their families, as well as the support personnel. Some of the upcoming events offered this year and into the New Year include:
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18-20 January: Missions Fest (BC)
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3-8 February: Re-VIEW retreat (ON)
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May: Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills (AB) (date to be confirmed)
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June: Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills (ON) (date to be confirmed)
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30 June-6 July: Wilderness Reboot (AB)
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13-20 July: Classic Reboot (ON)
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14-19 July: Re-VIEW retreat (ON)
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2-9 August: Classic Reboot (AB)
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August: Re-VIEW retreat (AB) (date to be confirmed)
Please refer to the MORE Network, Outreach Canada homepage for contact information and details. We thank you for your prayer and support of the MORE Network, and are grateful for a fruitful outcome of Debriefing 101.