Bringing Hope to the Broken: Trauma Healing in South Asia
Ellie does trauma healing with SIM USA in South Asia, where the needs are significant. Partnering with the SIM Trauma Healing Institute, she is also helping translate the materials into the local language to make this vital resource more accessible.
“It’s very intense and very deep,” Ellie said. “I’m focused on trauma healing work—on giving people a safe space for them to heal deeply.”
Trauma healing ministry beautifully reflects God’s deep compassion for the brokenhearted. He longs to bring restoration, lifting the weight of their pain onto His strong shoulders and offering them refuge, comfort, and lasting peace in His presence.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
How God Brought Healing to a Widow in South Asia: Maya’s Story
During her five-month stay with a local host family in South Asia, God worked through Ellie’s trauma healing ministry in a powerful and personal way. As she built relationships and shared the principles of healing and restoration, one member of the host family began to open up about her pain and past wounds.
“The woman that I lived with, her husband passed away,” Ellie said. “As a widow, she’s been so oppressed in a society with a caste system. In the caste system, widows are at the bottom. People look down on them because they believe widows are bad luck. If you look at a widow in the morning, they believe you’ll have bad luck for the rest of the day.”
The woman’s name is Maya. She is a Christian, having embraced Jesus alongside her husband. Although the rest of the family is Hindu, her husband had become a believer during his lifetime and faithfully attended church, with Maya joining him. Over time, Maya also came to faith, finding hope and strength in her new relationship with Christ.
But Maya’s story was complicated by the fact that the rest of her family remained Hindu. This divide only deepened the isolation and oppression she faced as a Christian widow. After her husband’s passing, her family rejected her completely, leaving her marginalized within her community.
Yet, despite the pain and rejection, Maya stood firm in her faith. She displayed remarkable grace and resilience, opening her home to Ellie. Throughout Ellie’s stay, Maya became more than just a host. She became a partner in Ellie’s ministry, translating trauma healing materials into the local language. Her translation work bridged the linguistic gap to make the ministry more accessible to others.
“As she was going through the trauma healing materials, it was really cool to see that she was being impacted by the stories. They showed her that it’s okay for her to step back and take care of herself,” Ellie said. “I saw God working in her heart a lot.”
Through her role in assisting with translation and sharing these healing stories, Maya began to experience God’s restoration in her own life. The very messages she helped communicate to others were speaking directly to the deep wounds within her, bringing hope where despair had once prevailed.
Maya’s journey stands as a vivid reminder that through faith and community, healing can break through the darkest places and transform lives.
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Psalm 68:5
How God Brought Healing to a Widow in South Asia: Maya’s Story
During her five-month stay with a local host family in South Asia, God worked through Ellie’s trauma healing ministry in a powerful and personal way. As she built relationships and shared the principles of healing and restoration, one member of the host family began to open up about her pain and past wounds.
“The woman that I lived with, her husband passed away,” Ellie said. “As a widow, she’s been so oppressed in a society with a caste system. In the caste system, widows are at the bottom. People look down on them because they believe widows are bad luck. If you look at a widow in the morning, they believe you’ll have bad luck for the rest of the day.”
The woman’s name is Maya. She is a Christian, having embraced Jesus alongside her husband. Although the rest of the family is Hindu, her husband had become a believer during his lifetime and faithfully attended church, with Maya joining him. Over time, Maya also came to faith, finding hope and strength in her new relationship with Christ.
But Maya’s story was complicated by the fact that the rest of her family remained Hindu. This divide only deepened the isolation and oppression she faced as a Christian widow. After her husband’s passing, her family rejected her completely, leaving her marginalized within her community.
Yet, despite the pain and rejection, Maya stood firm in her faith. She displayed remarkable grace and resilience, opening her home to Ellie. Throughout Ellie’s stay, Maya became more than just a host. She became a partner in Ellie’s ministry, translating trauma healing materials into the local language. Her translation work bridged the linguistic gap to make the ministry more accessible to others.
“As she was going through the trauma healing materials, it was really cool to see that she was being impacted by the stories. They showed her that it’s okay for her to step back and take care of herself,” Ellie said. “I saw God working in her heart a lot.”
Through her role in assisting with translation and sharing these healing stories, Maya began to experience God’s restoration in her own life. The very messages she helped communicate to others were speaking directly to the deep wounds within her, bringing hope where despair had once prevailed.
Maya’s journey stands as a vivid reminder that through faith and community, healing can break through the darkest places and transform lives.
“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” Psalm 68:5
When Caregivers Need Care: Veda’s Story of Hope and Healing
Veda joined Ellie’s trauma healing group not just as a participant, but as a quiet caretaker. From the beginning, she took it upon herself to prepare food for each gathering, ensuring every member had what they needed and felt welcome. Her presence brought comfort and stability to the group, always serving and attentive. But while she was meeting the needs of others, her own heart remained guarded.
As the trauma healing sessions unfolded, something began to shift in Veda. Session by session, she began to realize that this space was not just for her to serve, but also to receive.
In time, Veda shared a painful childhood memory that had shaped her entire life. When she was just five years old, her world was shattered by a landslide that killed her mother and two siblings. The sudden loss forced her to grow up quickly, stepping into the role of caretaker for her grieving father and the siblings who remained. That traumatic moment marked a turning point—one that shaped her identity for decades. Taking care of others became second nature to her, not just out of love, but out of survival. It was the role she knew best, and one she carried with her into adulthood, even into the trauma healing group.
Now, for perhaps the first time in years, Veda was being invited to step out of her caregiving role and look inward. Here, she was safe enough to let go and be vulnerable.
“I could see that she’s become such a caretaker, trying to do all these things,” Ellie said. “But as she went through the program, she was able to open up and share all the heavy pain in her heart from her mom’s passing.”
Ellie explained that in Veda’s culture, people are often discouraged from expressing emotions. Grief is something many feel they must bear alone.
“A lot of people in this culture want to hold onto their emotions. But she was able to open up and let go of her emotions… it was very impactful,” Ellie said.
In sharing her story and allowing herself to be ministered to, Veda discovered that even caregivers need care. She began to experience deep, personal restoration.
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22
You Can Bring Healing to the Hurting: Connect with SIM USA Today
Maya and Veda’s stories are just two powerful examples of how God’s healing hand moves deeply and personally through SIM USA’s trauma healing ministry. In cultures where grief is often hidden and where the caste system can oppress the vulnerable, the invitation to bring pain into the light and receive God’s comfort is transformative.
Across the globe, countless individuals carry invisible wounds—burdens of grief, loss, abuse, war, and displacement. SIM USA missionaries are offering biblically based trauma healing groups where people can process their pain, encounter Christ’s comfort, and begin the journey toward restoration. Participants discover they are not alone, and Jesus meets them in their deepest wounds.
Is God stirring your heart to walk alongside the brokenhearted? Has God given you a passion for emotional and spiritual healing? SIM USA’s Trauma Healing ministry is looking for people like you. If you’ve experienced God’s healing in your own life, maybe now is the time to share that hope with others.
We’d love to talk with you about serving with SIM USA. Click here to connect with a SIM USA mission coach and learn more!
*Names have been changed for the privacy and safety of our workers, ministry partners and those we serve.
Maggie Watts
Content Creator
I am a Content Creator with SIM USA. It is a joy to use writing and multimedia to glorify God and tell stories about how He is working around the world.