Angry? Frustrated? Lonely? Guilty? Anxious? What about ambivalent? What does that word mean anyway? Well, knowing that might be a key to understanding what is really going on with many of the students, staff, faculty, and administration.

Each campus tragedy and school shooting that we have in our country gives us a little more insight into the angst, frustration, dysfunction, and yes, ambivalence that is seething under the surface in our culture…especially in the lives of our young people.

So, what is ambivalence? Well, it is a kind of defense mechanism that makes decision-making very difficult. And, if a decision is made, ambivalence makes it very hard to stick with that decision. Simply put, it occurs when a person has two or more conflicting emotions at the same time about an issue, person, or thing.  Thoughts and actions end up in contradiction with each other.  The outworking is often confusing for all parties involved.

A faculty member may be happy and relieved to see extra police and security around campus while at the same time have a disdain for and mistrust of those same law enforcement officers because of the failings that are represented in the system from which they come. A student may have intense feelings of fondness and loyalty to their university while concurrently despising it for the way it has seemingly handled a grievous situation. An administrator may love his or her job but fear coming to work. The list goes on…

“I just want it to go away” seems to be the overwhelming sentiment on campus. Many are stuck in various parts of the grief cycle but do not have the energy or are unwilling to move on or get help. They just want it to go away. Many are suffering from post-traumatic stress and are thinking that, maybe with time, their symptoms will just go away. Loss of sleep, appetite, and ability to concentrate are common. Maybe these symptoms will just go away.

Something that enables the ambivalence virus to do its nasty, destructive work in a person is the need to have the appearance of having it all together. We think, “Well, everyone else seems to be doing alright. Maybe I should be over this by now. I don’t want people thinking I’m weak or weird because I’m still struggling. Maybe I should just press on and maybe these thoughts and feelings will just go away.” American culture breeds independence, and with it, a need to feel as if we can solve our problems ourselves. But we weren’t created that way. We were created to need one another! We were created as relational beings, like our Creator. We weren’t meant to always figure it out for ourselves.

It has been shown that soldiers suffering from PTSD best deal with their trauma in groups. Often, a group of people dealing with the same difficult issue or addiction can be far more effective in aiding someone in their pain than a lone counselor can. Sometimes a small church group or Bible study can bring far more care and comfort into a person’s life than that person’s pastor can. However, ambivalence often keeps us from seeking out this help. And our pride and/or shame help us along in our independent loneliness telling us that someday the problem will just go away.

There is a balloon release on the UAH campus this Thursday. There isn’t anything magical about releasing balloons that will make the problem just go away. But, it is a group activity that has shown considerable benefits in helping folks let go of things so that they can begin to move forward. There will be a discussion on “Where Was God In The Midst Of This Tragedy?” before the balloons are released. This is a question being asked all over the campus, the community, and even the country. Will people come to hear the answer to that question, or will their desire for the issue to just go away (along with their need to have the appearance of doing alright) be strong enough to keep them from coming? I guess time will tell…

To anyone that is still reading this that is dealing with feeling of ambivalence, guilt, fear, anger, hurt, or frustration, please know that you are not alone. For anyone that can’t sleep, has lost their appetite, or can’t concentrate on their work or studies, please know that you are dealing with things that many others are dealing with as well. The effects of trauma and grief do not go away over night. But, they can be dealt with very effectively in relationship.

A good start might be to come and release a balloon that you have written on and watch it disappear into the evening sky while talking with others that are doing the same. Maybe calling the counseling office and scheduling an appointment to talk with someone that understands what you are going though would be appropriate. Maybe sitting down with you friends, pastor, or church group and admitting your struggles will be a good starting place. From personal experience, I would suggest approaching Jesus, as He is a great starting place for your journey.

Ambivalence breeds bitterness, depression, and rage – none of which you want as companions. On the other hand, Jesus promises to take our burdens and give us rest. He actually becomes our place of rest. And as we rest in Him, we find a Wellspring of Life coming from within us that is anything but ambivalent.  “Come, follow Me,” He says!

Maybe you can use some reassurance that God is powerful enough to handle anything we encounter in life? As our church (http://www.myrivertree.org) studies through the Gospel of Luke, I had the privilege of speaking on this passage illustrating the power of God in Christ. Follow this link to find the answer to the question: Who is this Man?

WHAT IS PERSONAL SUPPORT?

Grace Link staff members are responsible for raising their own support from individuals and/or churches. This allows our ministry to be unique in that we can offer quality new-covenant discipling using a donation-based fee structure. The following addresses some of the most commonly asked questions about personal support.

HOW MUCH OF OUR PERSONAL INCOME/SALARY COMES FROM SUPPORT?

All of our income comes from individual support. This support is our salary, which we rely on for all of our monetary needs, i.e., rent/mortgage, insurance premiums, and basic living expenses. Other miscellaneous expenses are cover by the fees we collect from conferences, counseling, speaking engagements and other training events.

HOW ARE SUPPORT SALARIES DETERMINED?

The governing body of Grace Link, comprised of men and women committed to Christ and to this ministry, reviews and agrees upon a specific support salary based on each staff member’s reasonable financial needs and obligations.

WHY DO WE RAISE SUPPORT?

There are three main reasons for raising our own support. 1) We do not want to see those who come to us for discipleship/counseling turned away because of their inability to pay. Quite often they are in difficult circumstances financially. 2) By not having our salary contingent on our counselees giving ability, we are free to speak the truth in love to them and also minister to their needs and help them terminate their dependence on us in a timely manner. 3) We hope to be living examples of lives lived in trust and dependence on God in meeting our every need.

WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE SUPPORT MONEY YOU SEND GOES TO THE STAFF MEMBER?

Something that sets Grace Link apart from some other ministries and/or non-profit organizations is that 100% of your donation goes directly into the specific staff member’s support account. No admin costs are deducted from your tax-deductible gifts to Grace Link.

IF 100% OF SUPPORT MONEY GOES TO INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT, WHAT ABOUT OVERHEAD COSTS?

Revenue needed to cover all office overhead costs for this ministry such as lease expenses, bookkeeping and secretarial time, postage, phones, etc. is generated in two ways:  1) Individuals who come for counseling agree to pay a counseling fee according to their ability, which is used as a means of covering some of these expenses. 2) Revenue is generated by our ministry’s numerous training and teaching
engagements. 3) Funds to pay for international travel and projects are raised as special gifts from individuals and churches.

WHAT HAPPENS IF LESS THAN NEEDED MONTHLY SUPPORT IS DONATED?

In a month in which full support is not received, we receive a “short” check. On such occasions, we watch expectantly to see how God will meet our financial needs.  Actually, we always watch expectantly (as you do, too) to see how our God will meet all our needs!

If you have any further questions about personal support or if you would like to make a tax-deductible gift towards personal or to cover a stated need, please contact us at:

Grace Link International

PO Box 4131

Huntsville, AL 35815

256.682.2216

e-mail: blake.rymer@gmail.com

Weather-wise it was probably the worst time of year to be in Poland. Spring was trying to pry its way into the lock grip that winter had on central Europe and there was a battle going on. Rarely did the sun get it’s due, but the rain and snow slugged it out, each winning its share of the rounds. The team took it all in stride. However I think this battle of the seasons had its effect on the health of everyone at least a little bit.

Planning these trips has its own uncertainties and risks. One is trying to project what it will actually cost to get the team there and back and provide for food and in country transport without pricing everyone out of participating or dumping a shortage on the church! Father was watching out for me this time since I knew early on that I had actually understated the projected cost. But in the weird economic climate where we find ourselves, for some inexplicable reason to me, the exchange rate from Polish zloty to US dollars kept getting better and better! The hotel, transportation and food in Poland kept getting cheaper and cheaper so we decided to prepay as much of it as we could before the rate went back the other way. We had locked in 95 % of our costs by the time we arrived in Katowice!

I should have known it would sort itself out when three of us had the following experience in Target the week before we left. We were buying footballs and other gear to take with us. As we’re paying, the checker asked what we were doing with so many footballs. Our explanation - “we’re taking them to Poland to teach American football to Polish kids” - prompted a lady who was paying at the register next to us to say “I’ll pay for all that.” And she did without ever telling us her name! For these and other reasons, it looks like we’ll even be under budget…whew!

Greg Skrobarczyk, our son-in-law by virtue of being married to our daughter Erin, is our primary contact for Poland. He did his usual great job of planning a busy week for us. In fact we go there to support their ministry, King’s Kids, a ministry of Youth with a Mission. He loves to spread us around as much as possible for maximum exposure since it isn’t too often you get 19 southern protestants congregated in one area in Poland!

Katowice and Ruda Slaska are very near Krakow, which means they are also close to Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi concentration camp of World War II. We see it as a valuable opportunity to remind our team members of how drastically the image of God in man can be distorted and abused. It is a moving and disturbing experience for most people to take in this historic venue. Yet we all need to be reminded of the depths to which we can fall apart from a life giving relationship with Father.

This year offered us a new wrinkle - the chance to teach American football and English IN the schools. So from 8 am to Noon we had team members either using the PE classes to expose kids to American football or teaching conversational English in the classrooms. We got into three different schools that week. In one school we exposed every single student to both football and English.

Each afternoon we offered a basic English class at 4.30 for younger students. Then at 5.30 in the evenings we offered three levels of conversational English classes. Our students were teenaged and older. In all we probably worked with some 50-60 different students during these sessions. Part of the time was given to sipping coffee and tea and enjoying social interaction as we got to know each other better. Erin, our daughter, is very much involved in all this since she has been teaching English formally for three years now, and she offers classes on Wednesday evenings through the school year. This is an easy way for us to connect with people there and to connect them to the King’s Kids ministry.

Another important opportunity was the chance for some of our team members to visit and minister to a group of Chechen refugees who are being housed in Katowice. (If you aren’t familiar with the Chechen situation please Google it and learn about their recent tragic history.) For most of the team, being there, not being able to communicate with these refugees, and bonding with them through face paint, football and fun was a very profound experience they would not soon forget.

On the afternoon of Monday, March 16, we took the team on a prayer walk around the area where the Kings Kids’ club meets. We wanted to pray for our time there and for the needs of the thousands of folks who live in the communist-built high rise “blocks” that serve them as apartments. As we approached the modernistic Catholic cathedral in the midst of this blue-collar parish, we stopped and prayed specifically for collaboration between the young new priest and Greg, and for cooperative ministry to grow here. When we returned to the King’s Kids’ building, Greg was deep in conversation with a man. Later Greg told us he was the assistant to the priest who had approached Greg to ask for his help in trying to combat the graffiti showing up on the exterior walls of the church building!! What a powerful statement by Father in answering our prayers before we even finished our prayer walk.

My impression is that our mission was a great success. We exposed our people to needs and experiences they had not faced before. We gave them the chance to trust God for new things and in new ways. We connected with kids and adults who might very well find Christ through the King’s Kids ministry they discovered that week in the schools and in the English classes we offered. We assisted Greg and Erin in spreading the name of King’s Kids and we modeled Christ to Poles and Chechens. Most importantly we saw God work through us to make a difference for that community by being light and life and grace in the flesh. We made ourselves available.

One day we’ll be able to see what lives were touched and claimed by the Eternal One that week. For now we try to reenter our lives in Alabama, knowing by faith for that week we were right where God wanted us to be. And I want you to know that through your prayers and support, you were there as well. Thank you Father that’s the way the spiritual world works…and thank you for friends and family who make these missions possible for us.

Blessings and thank you very much!
Blake and Sandra Rymer

As Jesus revealed the important relationship between truth and freedom, discipleship counseling seeks to expose the lies and deception which hold individuals captive, and then calls them to exchange the bondage of lies for the freedom of the truth and the resources of God’s grace. (John 8:31, 32; Romans 1:21, 25; 5:17)

Our goal is to encourage and empower believers to have a deeper and abiding experience of Jesus Christ as Lord and Life by laying claim to the birthright which belongs to every believer. The blessing for us is to see those we help become more complete in Christ. (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27, 28)

Counseling Fees
Counseling fees are a “grace-based” $75 per 55 minute session. We ask counselees to give as great a percentage of that amount as they can. We also collaborate with pastors, friends, employees and family to arrange “third party” assistance with fees. In the past we have arranged a retainer-like relationship with churches to provide counseling ministry to anyone from the congregation at a reduced rate.

Since the Summer of 1998, when we moved to Budapest, Hungary to spend two years as missionaries there, our hearts have been captivated by the people and experiences we have encountered in Eastern Europe, especially in Romania. When the opportunity to teach in Colombia, South America presented itself and our when daughter and son-in-law moved to Poland in 2004, our international horizons expanded considerably! The opportunities for ministry and the blessings we have received from our international investments have been overwhelming at times. And we have seen very encouraging fruit from those investments.

At this time there are five cities in Western Romania where our work is yielding further opportunities to build a strong grace-based, indigenous ministry presence - Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Arad, Oradea and Alba Julia. The time we have spent in these cities persuades us that they are ready to move to the next level. We have the privilege of traveling to Eastern Europe 2-3 times each year to continue this training and development.

When our daughter Erin met and married Greg Skrobarczyk in 2004, we didn’t realize how much their ministry with YWAM and King’s Kids in Poland would affect our own lives. Our own church, Rivertree (http://www.myrivertree.org), has now partnered with Erin and Greg to assist them in their ministry to orphaned, foster and street kids in Ruda Slaska and Katowice, Poland. In December 2005 we traveled to Poland for the birth of our first grand daughter, Abigail. And in September 2006 I spent three weeks there doing teaching and preaching in two different churches.

In February 2004 we worked with a group of about 25 pastors, missionaries and their wives in Bogota, Colombia. Their desire is to see a grace-based counseling and training ministry take root in Colombia and South America! This has been a joint project between Grace Link and Grace Ministries International in Marietta, Georgia.

I could share anecdotes for hours from our experiences in these interesting venues but our international work always generates further opportunities for training. Everywhere the message of grace has been received with open hearts. The two things that tend to hold us back from following up on these opportunities are manpower and money. If we can find the money we can continue to invest in these exciting opportunities.

TO: Pastors and Congregational Care Ministers

FROM: Blake Rymer

How do you respond to congregational needs?

In a speech presented at the 1995 Moody Founders Week Celebration, Dr. Larry Crabb, noted Christian psychologist and author, made the following points:

The issues which professional counseling addresses - guilt, anger, self- hatred, hopelessness, the unwillingness to love - are issues which the Bible addresses and which God has designed the local church to handle. 


The problems which people in our culture typically take to professional counselors and therapists are really expressions of a troubled soul, not symptoms of an underlying psychological disorder, except when they have an organic basis. They are spiritual problems. Therefore: (1) The only trustworthy source of understanding the soul is the Bible.  Therefore, biblical wisdom becomes the foundation, the framework and the substance of all our helping efforts. (2) The community of God’s people - the local church - is the proper setting for the problems of the soul to be addressed.  The local church is more vital to the work of healing and helping than the counseling center. (3) The people most powerful in influencing lives, no matter how troubled they may be, are those who have suffered and struggled well.

That Is Our Purpose

For several years we at Grace Link have been in the ministry of equipping godly laymen/women in the local church with a biblical based helping model. We have been sharing it with pastors and their people since 1985. Our ultimate goal isn’t merely to disciple individuals through counseling and training, but to equip the body of Christ to provide the biblical caring and encouragement which is the mark of the New Testament church. We have attempted to do the very thing Dr. Crabb suggests is possible.

A Proven Model

Since 1986 I have been giving myself full time to these goals. Over the years we have developed a training series which has empowered countless individuals and numerous churches to walk in grace and to lead others into this abundant life as well. I have also had the privilege of doing this training in Eastern Europe and South America. It is training which has been proven effective both nationally and internationally.

Called to Care

We have organized this training into a series which, if integrated into the ongoing life of your church, would equip your people to live in freedom and to effectively minister abundant life to others. The series is named “Called to Care” and is designed to equip the believer to be an effective agent of reconciliation and an ambassador for Christ. Think of it - an increasing infrastructure of laymen in the church who can significantly multiple your efforts.

I have enclosed an overview of ”Called to Care” for your information. Will you please take a few minutes to look it over? If you find it meaningful and would like more information, please contact us right away. I will be glad to furnish you with references.

If the ministry to which God has called us is to impact our world for Christ, we must reproduce ourselves. One-to-one discipleship-counseling will be an ongoing need, but we must find a way to multiply our number. I pray that you will consider “Called to Care” as a resource which can be a vital part of the healing and multiplication ministry for your congregation.

Thank you,

Blake Rymer

Director, Grace Link International

256/682.2216

GRACE-LINK INTERNATIONAL STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe that God’s Word teaches:

1. Verbal inspiration of the Bible.

We believe the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, to be verbally inspired of God in the original manuscripts: infallible, inerrant and God-breathed, a perfect rule of faith and practice.

2. The Trinity

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ

We believe that God, the Son, who had always existed, became a man (without diminishing his deity) by virgin birth through Mary. He lived a sinless life as an infinite God-Man took upon Himself the sins of all men, died in their place and satisfied God concerning their sins.

We further believe in the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He was then ascended and exalted to the right hand of God as the Great High Priest of all believers.

4. The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, empowering, teaching, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption and leads believers into all truth.

5. Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin, the race fell and became alienated from God; that man is totally depraved in his adamic spiritual identity and, of himself, is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

6. Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (apart from any works by man) whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. Upon receiving salvation, the person receives eternal life, becomes a partaker of Christ’s life and is saved. He becomes a new creation and now has a new identity as a child of God.

7. Eternal Security

We believe that all who have come to reliance upon the work of Christ for their salvation will never lose this relationship.

8. Devil and Demons

We believe that Satan is person who is aided by a host of evil spirit beings called demons. Their design is to destroy believers, their homes and their churches, blinding the lost to the Gospel. Every believer is subject to their attack but may be made victorious through Jesus Christ.

9. Sanctification

Each believer partaking of eternal life (Christ’s life) was united with Christ, thus crucified, buried, raised and enthroned with Christ. The old man died at that point in time. The result of co-crucifixion must become an experiential reality to each believer as he chooses to walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh if he is to walk in victory. Sanctification, then, is Christ living His life out through the believer. This is not teaching passivity, sinless perfection or the deification of man.