Iaomai Farms
Pastoral Counseling and Spiritual Direction
A central Texas sanctuary to pause, breathe, and encounter God. Offering professional spiritual direction, pastoral care, and space to rest and heal amidst the quiet rhythms of creation.
Welcome!
Welcome to Iaomai Farms! We (Aimee and Brian) are Pastoral Care Chaplains offering Christian-based pastoral counseling and spiritual direction. We are both ordained ministers with doctoral- or graduate-level theological education, professional chaplaincy training in hospital and military settings, experience with a variety of helping models, and more than 20 years of experience each as ministry leaders and caring for people.
That speaks a little to our education and training. But what about who we are at Iaomai Farms? Aimee and Brian are a married couple who met in seminary, have shared some crazy ups and downs in life, and experienced the joys and struggles of it all. Each person has their own stories, though there are points where yours and ours may intersect and relate with one another. Our story includes many of the normal married and Army challenges: multiple deployments (combat and operational), long field exercises, foreign moves, PTSD and difficulty finding helpful help, occupational burnout, and significant physical injuries. We also have experienced child loss, ranging from Aimee nearly dying from an ectopic pregnancy, multiple miscarriages, and the unexpected death of our infant son. In these struggles and others, we have experienced God’s kindness and goodness. They have been hard, and our theological education and ministry titles did not exempt us from that grief and difficulty. But we pressed into God, each other, and meaningful relationships (friends, mentors, helping professionals, and others), and we have found deep comfort and healing. It is from this place of training and competency on one hand, and lived experience and hard roads on the other, that we get to come alongside and journey with others.
So, whether through pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, or another of the services we offer, we hope to partner with you in your journey with God and His continued healing and wholeness in your life.
-
Are you in a situation where you want help, want to believe God can be at work in your life, but you keep hitting a wall? Deeply rooted in Scripture and prayer, and trained in a variety of therapeutic models, we integrate these in our pastoral counseling as we engage with life challenges. Some of the areas we support include pre-marital and marital counseling; anxiety, depression, and loneliness; grief and trauma; life, relationship, and career transitions; church hurt and broken trust with faith communities; feeling stagnant, stuck, or derailed in your Christian journey; and discerning God’s plan and leading in your life. If there’s a situation weighing heavily on you, we are happy to come alongside you in your journey of healing and wholeness.
-
Have you been walking with God for some time, but feel like there’s something you’re missing? Maybe you have been faithfully serving but feel alone, burned out, and unseen. Spiritual direction is a part of self-care that attends to your soul. It is a relationship in which someone comes alongside, sits with you in your experience, and listens deeply. A spiritual director does not have all the answers, but joins and helps as you discern where God is in all this. This is a relationship of being seen and heard, and of abiding with God and one another.
-
Pastor, so often you and your family are surrounded by people you love and care for, but have few people truly caring for you. We are happy to come alongside you, giving space for you to be human, wrestle with God and life, and be in a place to receive care rather than expected to care for all others. This support might be relationship counseling; compassion fatigue, burnout, depression, loneliness, or anxiety; grief support; continued spiritual and personal growth coaching; sabbatical planning and support; or other needs you might be unsure of where you can honestly, safely go for support.
-
Are you wishing to grow as a leader? Perhaps you are in industry and engaging complex organizational challenges, navigating personalities, and trying to better serve your teams. Maybe you are a ministry leader working to increase cohesion among your pastors, directors, and volunteers in this next season of ministry. Or perhaps you’re looking for someone outside your normal circles who can provide feedback and challenge to help identify your blind spots and target growth areas for your continued character formation and leadership development. We bring decades of experience in ministry and military leadership; a multitude of education and certifications in leadership, personal growth, and communication; and countless encounters advising leaders of organizations to support their wellness and growth, navigate challenging and high-stakes situations, and improve organizational health.
-
Central Texas Pastor, do you need someone for a weekend or two while you travel, fulfill other responsibilities, or take some time for your own rest? We are both proven preachers and teachers who share Spirit-led, Biblically sound messages. We tend towards exegetical and narrative delivery styles and can accommodate a variety of church liturgies and cultures. Please contact us, and we are happy to see how we might be of support.
Two special emphases we share…
While we offer support to people of all walks of life, we have a special emphasis on caring for clergy and their family members. So many ministers throughout our society devote their lives to caring for others…but few are truly cared for. There are exceptions to the rule, but many ministers work longer hours, have lower wages and benefits, live with high and unreasonable societal expectations on them and their families daily, and face many other stressors that most people do not routinely experience. We have experienced this loneliness and hurt in some seasons. We have also been blessed with fellow ministers’ kindness and compassion in other seasons of our own lives. We love coming alongside fellow workers in God’s kingdom and being a small slice of God’s loving-kindness in their lives.
Having walked through traumatic loss, we also care deeply for those walking roads of grief and deep hurt. People seldom walk the exact same road as someone else, but we often have experiences that leave us with similar wounds and pain. While someone does not have to have experienced something to help another person, there is a special connection and encouragement from someone who has walked a similar road. In our own journey, we have been uniquely comforted by others who have also lost children to unexpected deaths and miscarriages. We have wrestled with grief and encountered God in those dark places, and especially have a heart for walking with others on that same hard road.
Clergy & Clergy Spouse Rate
- Pastoral Counseling: $40/session
- Spiritual Direction: $40/session
Standard Professional Rates
Pastoral Counseling (1-hour):
- Individuals or Couples - $120
- 4 sessions - $400
Spiritual Direction (1-hour)
- Individuals only - $70
- 4 sessions - $250
We are deeply committed to the health of ministers and their families. Iaomai Farms intentionally subsidizes care for ministers (pastors, missionaries, etc) and their spouses.
*If you have need and require further financial assistance for care, please reach out to us. We try to work with people, churches, and organizations to help resource support. Organizations may also purchase sessions for clergy or their members, whether to invest in their own ministers or to support others. We can also discuss group rates if you wish to provide a number of sessions for a team or organization.
Free Consult
Have questions? Not sure if this is right for you? We can do a free consult (normally 15-20 minutes) to discuss what care options best fit your situation and needs.
Meeting Location Options
We primarily meet virtually, though that is largely due to the locations and preferences of many of the people we have journeyed with. For those wishing to meet in person, we can meet on the farm or locally. If locally, we can meet at a public location of your choice in the greater Killeen-Georgetown area. For those who wish to enjoy the quiet of the country setting, we offer the option to meet at our farm, where they can enjoy porch sitting, wooded trails, and the company of miniature cows and miniature goats—surrounded by God’s creation as we work with Him to navigate life’s challenges.
Book an Appointment
Scheduling is as easy as clicking the link below. Interested but not sure if what we offer is the right fit? Feel free to call or email us to discuss your questions, or schedule a free consult to discuss your situation and what to expect working with us.