Walk with a Widow/er Support

05/03/2026

Henri Nouwen (Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian) wrote, “The great spiritual call of the Beloved Children of God is to pull their brokenness away from the shadow of the curse and put it under the light of the blessing.”

We all experience woundedness and brokenness in life: death, grief, material loss, marital discord, domestic violence, parenting challenges, abuse – these are all sources of our wounds and brokenness. Nobody escapes being wounded. What then shall we do with these emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual wounds?

The Trauma of Death
Grief from loss – the death of a loved one – is yet another source of trauma. The ripping away of one half of you, the person who made you whole, is profoundly traumatic. It is so much more than just sadness. It is almost as tangible as the phantom pains of an amputated limb. The TRAUMA OF DEATH leaves behind a darkness that is beyond description. For those who have not experienced it, it is pointless us trying to explain or you trying to understand. Just be present; wherever the grieving person is, that’s where you should stay. It is not your job to move her/him along in their journey but rather to love them in their woundedness and brokenness. That’s when they will move along in their journey. Don’t throw your psychology book at them and don’t throw the Bible at them; grief is not reasonable or rational. But it is valid. Many will get this wrong because we all want to “fix” situations and people. Not everything can be fixed. Sometimes, our brokenness barely allows us to hold things together.

As you heal, you will become a mighty beacon to others who have endured similar woundedness and brokenness. When you find yourself surrounded by people who reach out to you just to be there for you – you heal. When friends choose not to be prescriptive in their suggestions, but rather receptive in their attitude and compassionate in their disposition – you heal.

Henri Nouwen states, “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”

This is when the most assuring words one can ever hear are reminders that you are loved and held together by a God who is near the broken-hearted.

Just knowing that somehow you are loved and the favor of God rests upon you will carry you through many a season of trauma. It is the constant that carries you through the many vicissitudes of trauma. As you relive your trauma in the conscious and subconscious, pray, No! Beg for a peace that is unassailable, unbreakable, and transcendent. It may come and go, but once you have tasted it even momentarily you will understand that you must fight to repeatedly inhabit that place of peace.

04/29/2026

TNT is closing its doors, but our hearts will continue to remain open in ministry to widows. By the end of 2026, TNT will close operations as a non-profit.
We request you to stop all donations by June 2026 to facilitate this process. Cynthia will continue to serve the global widows and local widows for years to come; however she will do this in her individual capacity.

Thank you for partnering with us in ministry to widows around the world. Over the last 4 years, you have been an integral part of saving the lives of many widows who faced starvation, homelessness, and an inability to support their fatherless children.

In India 🇮🇳, we started pig farms, goat farms, and a tailoring school which have helped about 125 widows (including a group of widows with leprosy).

In Brazil 🇧🇷, we were able to add a Bakery to an existing community center which employed and served at least 15 widows.

In Kenya 🇰🇪, we helped 14 widows start their own pig farms.

In Cameroon 🇨🇲, we helped 10 widows start their own small businesses. We have also launched a micro-finance initiative which has successfully educated and funded 11 widows with the start up of their small businesses. They learned stewardship and integrity, faithfully repaying their loans and participating in a Save & Share program. This initiative will now continue to help more widows start and sustain their businesses with loans managed by Pastor Kang.

In Kampala, Uganda 🇺🇬, we have started a vocational school teaching widows and battered women the skills of baking, hairdressing, and manufacturing school supplies and basic household products. We have also started a street-side cafe which provides meals to local workers. All this is done under “Treasured Women Enterprises” which is run by Pastor Kato.
Approximately 125 women are currently served by this enterprise, including 60 widows who are HIV positive.

The 2 projects in Cameroon and Uganda will continue to be supported through this year to bring them to a place of self-sustainability.

We have started a Widows are Warriors scholarship fund which will grow and allow the legacy of your generosity to continue to support and encourage widows for years to come via an annual award to a qualifying widow and/or organization supporting widows.

We could not do this without you. Your generosity has already served approximately 300 widows in 4 years and will continue to provide life-giving resources to many more for years to come. We are eternally grateful to you for believing in us and stepping up to serve these widows.

We ask for your continued prayers as Cynthia serves these widows while immersing herself wholeheartedly into a new season of nurturing her grand children. Pray for continued strength and healing in the years ahead and an undeniable confidence in this calling. As the sun begins to set on this season, we look forward to it rising on the next.

We pray a blessing upon you as we move into this new season: May God bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. May He turn His face unto you and give you peace. 🙏

With much love,
Cynthia

04/20/2026

This explains why some widows never stop grieving. It’s not about moving on or moving forward. You can even be remarried to a perfectly wonderful man and both of you complete each other. You were ripped apart from your spouse at his death; this new version of you goes on with the business of living but there’s no denying that the original version of you is lost forever. It’s almost physiological amputation; it’s most certainly emotional, spiritual, and psychological amputation. You learn to live with phantom pain. Be kind to a widow who just doesn’t seem “able” to move on. She quite possibly never will. Embrace the new version of her wherein grief occupies a BIG portion of her heart ♥️

04/06/2026

Great news 🤩. Our resources have now been made available FREE to you so you can minister to widows in your community, workplace. and church.

Widows are Warriors AND Walk with a Widow are available on Amazon.
Links here:
https://a.co/d/084eIpnb
https://a.co/d/0cjmEFSV

We now have accompanying videos, PowerPoint, and study guides for each book. Please share these with widows, deacons, and friends of widows so we can build a community of support around them.

Links to Resources:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh57JLAZKCq0BLC4tMxyHK3oXu5qwaBmo&si=tdK4513FbascY9MV

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh57JLAZKCq2Qux7EtqEuwB1K6K98MTSV&si=NN3VgS2z0qWRGTT7

Widowhood is a life-changing experience that can bring you to your knees, no matter whether your loss was sudden or anticipated. Each day is filled with chal...

04/04/2026

The darkest night in history is in reality the greatest promise for humanity. Yesterday we grieved. Today we wait. Tomorrow we celebrate He is Risen 🙏

04/03/2026

The Hope of Easter is only truly understood by those who have the Hope of eternity. It is Christ who has set us free. Nobody else has broken the chains of death. Through Christ and Christ alone is the Hope of eternal life.

As we commemorate His death, we are thankful that He willingly paid the price for us. As we celebrate His resurrection, we are thankful for the Hope of seeing our beloved in eternity. This HOPE we have only because He died for our sins.

Thank you Jesus that I dream of eternity in YOUR presence worshipping right alongside my husband. Because of your death on the cross I hold the promise of “death where is your sting?”

This Easter, we thank you for partnering with us in prayer, for loving us as individuals, and as a ministry. We pray that as we continue to unite our hands and our hearts, that we will grow in wisdom and love. We pray peace upon each of your households this Easter.

We wish you and your loved ones a blessed Easter! He is Risen!

03/27/2026

We have made our online resources available to you for FREE!! If you are a widow or know a widow you can purchase our devotional book
“Widows are Warriors: a Walk Through the Wilderness of Widowhood” (Amazon link in comments)

You could also follow the playlist on our YouTube channel with videos, discussion questions, and PowerPoint to help you navigate the grief journey as you read the book and process your grief.

Please note the comments in the YouTube playlist will give you the necessary links to the resources.

Widowhood is a life-changing experience that can bring you to your knees, no matter whether your loss was sudden or anticipated. Each day is filled with chal...

03/25/2026

As we’ve taken time to walk through both of our resource books, “Walk With A Widow” & “Widows Are Warriors”, we pray that your heart has been touched and that you are encouraged to either provide a widow with the community she needs OR encouraged to look to God to help walk through your grief journey.

“Realizing that other people KNOW what you are going through, and that you are not alone is a big part of your healing journey. You don’t have to walk this road alone because others have walked this road before you.”💜

03/23/2026

A widow’s biggest challenge is a “loss of identity”. As she navigates her grief, she is also trying to determine who she is in this new life she was thrust into.

She needs community, not isolation. She needs to be surrounded by widows who validate her. She also needs to be among non-widows so that she can develop a sense of self apart from being a widow.

The journey is tough. But, oh what sweet a promise God gives us in Romans 8:37; “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” 💜

03/22/2026

Green Pastures:
God’s Provision as a Cure to Despair
By Megan Mascarenhas

When you hear “green pastures” in Psalm 23, what image comes to mind? Most of us in the western world likely picture a lush meadow – a flourishing field with an endless supply of grass. With this preconception, it’s easy to assume Psalm 23, “He makes me lie down in green pastures (v.2),” is merely describing God’s overabundance of blessings and provisions.
But this is not the case. The Jerusalem hillsides are arid, rocky, and particularly lacking in foliage. The writer of this Psalm was fully aware that in order for sheep to receive their daily sustenance, they were completely dependent upon the shepherd, who would guide them from one tiny sprig of grass to the next. During the dry season, there was no overabundance. In fact, it was often the bare minimum. But the sheep could rest in the knowledge that their loving shepherd would work to ensure they had just enough for each day

What a beautiful picture of how God shepherds us, especially through the dry seasons of life! Each day, He leads us along the right paths (v.3) to supply our daily needs. We must only surrender and trust that He will guide and provide. Some days or seasons may have more grass than others, but God will always give us what we need FOR EACH DAY.
How does this apply to seasons of despair? You may be facing despair due to health challenges, financial problems, the death of a loved one, loss of a job – anything that causes upheaval and pushes you into unknown territory. When navigating such a season, it’s far too easy to fixate on the worst case scenario. Your mind easily spins out of control as you anxiously mull over what the next week, month, or even year might hold. But God commands us to not be anxious!

He is Jehovah Jireh, the One who sees ahead and provides. He knows your every need. He knows your every fear. And He knows exactly what you need for each day. In a season of despair, like in the dry season for the sheep, you may receive only what you need for that day. That’s why Jesus modeled for us in the Lord’s prayer, “give us today our DAILY bread” (Matthew 6:11). And that’s why He said, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).
What is the cure for anxiety and despair? Seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Fix your eyes on the things above, not on your circumstances, not on the myriad possibilities of what your life may look like in the future, not on the source of your despair. Humble yourself every day and lay your requests at His feet. Seek Him first and rest in His presence. Only then will His peace reside in your heart. It’s a DAILY act of surrender! That’s why the Psalmist could say, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are with me” (v.4). God’s presence is what sustains us even in the darkest valley, even in the face of impending death, financial ruin, or whatever you may be facing today.

Verse 4 of Psalm 23 also references the rod and staff of the shepherd. The rod and staff offer both protection and guidance. They are a source of both discipline and comfort. Under the watchful eye and mighty rod of our Shepherd, we find comfort, peace, and restoration for our souls. He may poke and prod us with His staff to keep us on the straight and narrow. It may hurt in the moment. But He is ultimately refining us to be the people He designed us to be.
Why? For HIS name’s sake (v.3). God doesn’t provide for us and direct us for our sake, but rather that He might be glorified in view of all creation. Allow yourself to rest in Him, in the assurance that He will restore and provide for you each day, according to your needs. And let all creation marvel at the goodness and faithfulness of our Shepherd and Heavenly Father.