My hat goes off to humanitarian aid workers serving in the world’s neediest places as they face the very threats that call for their help: war, terrorism, poverty, disease, natural disasters, and the list goes on.

My heart goes out to them, too, as they face not only those dangers, but mental and emotional stresses, as well.

Outer Turmoil

In their latest “Aid Worker Security Report,” Humanitarian Outcomes announced that 2013 marked an all-time high for the number of civilian aid workers who were victims of violence. The 460, an increase of 66% over the previous year, were the targets of 251 separate attacks, including shootings, kidnappings, bodily assaults, and explosives.

Those working in their own countries accounted for the vast majority, 87%, of the victims, but the 13% who were expats represented a greater rate of attack, as they made up less than 8% of workers in the field.

A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, looking at 18 humanitarian organizations…

This week I was invited to speak at what was a reasonably unique event in my experience. Itwas not the theme that was unusual – I often get asked to speak about bereavement. It was not even the group – volunteer chaplains. It was that the training session on bereavement for volunteer chaplains was being run by a local church as a part of a wider training programme.

It is the vision of Renewal Church in Solihull to develop their members to reach out in their
local community. Chaplaincy is perceived as an effective way to serve the local community and is part of the mission strategy of the church. Church members care, listen, serve people where they are to be found in places they have gone to willingly or unwillingly – GP surgeries, playing sports, hospitals and hospices, schools… The training is helping them to be intentional and purposeful…

The modifications to the room for our new office are underway. A solid wall with door and window are pretty much complete. After that, an accordion wall will be added, followed by painting, furniture and then other books and furnishings.

“Every time there’s transition, there is loss. So when people are feeling strange about their situation I ask them, ‘What did you lose?’ Because where there’s loss, there’s grief.” —Ruth Van Reken, author of Third Culture Kids

The losses involved with cross-cultural transitions are many, and not all will be voiced as simple answers to the question “What do you miss the most?” They include relationships, dreams, purpose, status, identity, and some things that defy labels.

When someone is grieving a loss—whether of a loved one or of opportunities or of “home”—we tend to search for something to say rather than for a chance to listen. And when we speak, we too often don’t invite the person to express her sadness. Instead, we say what we hope will make the grief go away.

Why are we so uncomfortable with grief? Of course, we don’t like for our friends to be sad, but how often does our discomfort also come from not wanting…