Just one month ago I was at an amazing annual event that has truly birthed new levels of brotherhood and friendship for me in the months in between. If you saw my last video on youtube or our Marco Polo video blog, you may remember i was excited. Well it did not disappoint! Last year I went having met only one other man there who lives local to me, but a few others on zoom. It was so fun to meet so many guys. But this year felt like a REUNION.  There were tears and hugs. This community I’ve shared about before is global and it’s called the Husband Material Community. I’ve partnered with the founder, Drew Boa, to lead men through the Husband Material recovery process as well as other work I do with those I serve, locally and overseas via the internet.  

I just wanted to share only a couple of the many highlights for this year’s Husband Material retreat from men who gave me permission to share their stories anonymously: 

A new friend named Alex* I met in a special therapeutic workshop with a small group of men and a trained facilitator. I heard some of his story and was honored to have had the chance even to be a small part of his healing from childhood trauma during the workshop.  He said that he is taking home two powerful messages he heard from God during the retreat: “I am worthy” and “I am Powerful.” He said “I get to take these two new identities home to my wife and apologize for how I’ve treated her like my dad.” What an amazing man he is to face his fears in such a vulnerable way and to even make a plan before going home. We have shared phone numbers and I hope we can stay in touch to encourage one another as we move forward.

Another man named Bill* I met at one of the first meals we all had together in the dining hall. He shared some of his story with me of being sexually abused as a young boy and how that wrecked his life in so many ways with the trauma left behind. He described his experiences of trauma like it’s a “Jet plane that crashed on a beach , with flames and oil, and debris and dead bodies all around the beach.” He said it’s like there are all these “dead bodies all around you [on the beach] and there’s no way out!” In January he somehow clicked on a link to the Husband Material website … and he discovered this amazing authentic vulnerable community.  He said it’s like “You guys just walked out of the woods onto the beach… and I realized I’m not alone!”… and “Just knowing I’m not alone gives me hope!”… “Now we can start figuring out how to get the hell outta here!” It was amazing to meet him and to hear the excitement in his voice for finding hope and beginning to journey with other men who have found freedom from trauma and unwanted behaviors.

Thank you all for your prayers for this event , for these men, and for our family while Ellen was back home with the kids.  Stay tuned for more updates!