Rosmeli Gahona is one of our newest Stephen Ministers, getting trained and commissioned last year. Rosmeli learned that she should listen to her Care Receiver, patiently and actively, letting her fully express herself. Sometimes it’s hard to sit in the silence as you wait for the Care Receiver to continue, but that helps the Stephen Minister stay away from the “I can fix it” mode!

Rosmeli has years of showing care for others, but being a Stephen Minister has allowed her to understand what it truly means to be there for someone. Stephen Ministers listen and care for their Care Receivers, walking with them as they work on whatever they are going through.

Rosmeli helps lead worship (with her husband, Ramon) for Grace en Español.

Brian Prather’s favorite skill that he learned during Stephen Minister training was learning to not get into the “pit” with the Care Receiver. The well-trained Stephen Minister knows to show more than sympathy but not over-identify with the Care Receiver, which results in getting stuck in the mud, which is not helpful to the Care Receiver. The illustration of the mud hole shows the only helpful emotion by the Stephen Minister is empathy. With empathy the Stephen Minister, anchored by his faith, can help the Care Receiver up out of the pit and move toward healing.

Brian knows that it’s very tempting to want to jump in to help, but the illustration is a great reminder to care for the Care Receiver with help, which is his main responsibility. Brian has also enjoyed learning from his Care Receivers and is grateful that he does not have to “fix” their problems.

We’re excited to have Brian join the Stephen Minister leadership team this Fall after completing the Stephen Leader training in November.

Lyn Sell has been a Stephen Minister for many years, using the many skills she learned in training. With four months of training, it can be hard to choose a favorite learned skill, but Lyn was finally able to choose a favorite. Her favorite skill from training is the vital skill of active listening. With this skill Lyn can listen to her Care Receivers without the impulse of telling them what they should do.

As Stephen Ministers, we are trained and often reminded that the Stephen Minister is a care-giver and God is the Cure-giver! Letting God do His part, as Lyn does her part of listening, she can rejoice in seeing how God answers prayers. This has helped her learn and grow as she relies on God and His plan for herself and her Care Receiver.

When Lyn is not busy worshipping and volunteering at Grace, she enjoys her work in interior design, creating a home environment for people that reflects their tastes and interests and provides for their needs.