Stories of Hope

Sugunama was born into a Salvation Army family in Myanmar and has been a faithful and dedicated Salvation Army from an early age. She is married to Kevin who is an Aussie and they now serve as leaders at the Broken Hill Salvos, a remote part of the NSW division of Australia.

In this episode of Rich Tapestries Nuria and Bryce chat with Kevin Amiri who is originally from Iran. Kevin came to Australia as an asylum seeker when he was in his 30s after a radical conversion to Christianity while he was in South Korea. He is now a Salvo leader in a Farsi community at Brunswick Salvos.

Sam escaped from Vietnam when Saigon fell during the Vietnam war. He survived a five day journey on a crowded boat with dreadful conditions to eventually land in Melbourne as a refugee. The Salvos came alongside him and today he is a retired Salvo officer having served for over 30 years. Sam is a matter of fact no nonsense sort of guy and his story will inspire and encourage.

Edward and his wife Beola came to Australia after escaping from a civil war in their homeland in Sierra Leone via Guinea. They were welcomed into Auburn Salvos and have been encouraged and supported ever since. Today they are Salvo leaders based in Cairns.

It is very special that after 4 years of podcasting, the lovely Sue has finally agreed to be my guest.  Her story is wonderful and will inspire and encourage you.  She has a life filled with love, adventure and courage and is indeed genuinely lovely! This is the last episode of Stories Of Hope Podcast and having her as my guest is a fitting end to what has been a terrific season in my life.  Keep...

So the winds of change are blowing and this is the final Monday episode of the Stories of Hope podcast. The lovely Sue will be my guest on the last episode which will be on Friday the 1st of August. I'm thankful for all the support over the years and am looking forward to the next chapter of my ministry within the Salvos at Goodna in Queensland.

Ameet is the Salvo leader in Goodna in Queensland which is a challenging socio economic area with many multicultural communities nearby.  Ameet originates from Mumbai in India and came to Australia via New Zealand.  He has over 20 years experience in Christian leadership and faces the challenges of this current season with wisdom and grace.  

After over a year of unpacking the book of Acts in these Monday podcasts I have come to the end.  There are 2 huge themes flowing through about Church life from these pages.  1 We need to be led by the Spirit and 2 the Love of God and the fellowship of the church is for everyone.  Sounds simple, but the way of genuine Spirit Led loving acceptance of everyone has it's challenges.    

Brad is the Salvo leader in Carindale and shares about his life in this episode. Brad has not had it easy, with challenging family of origin dynamics, a serious health episode in his 20s and struggles to have children with his lovely wife Helen.  Brad now adores his little "miracle daughter" 7 year old Hedy.  But through it all, he remains one of the most encouraging and positive people you could...

Paul spent 6 years in various prisons and not because he put dodgy mushrooms in someones stew, he just had a point of view that upset the religious leaders of his time.  But he never seemed to let it get him down.  He wrote letters and found ways to be useful.  Hope in times like this is rare and worth exploring.  Somehow a combination of purpose, secure identity and faith created the sort of hope...

Robert Donaldson's father was a garbage collector and for a time so was Robert. He then went on to study micro biology and fell in love with Janine. He is a Kiwi and has served in the Salvos all over the world. Its an interesting story!

If it were not for an unnamed nephew of St Paul we would not have half the New Testament, as Paul would certainly have been killed by a murderous mob out to lynch him.  Family can be such a mixed bag, but the potential for loyalty and support often goes deep as the connections are significant.  Often since birth.  It's sometimes challenging to stay close to extended family, but is also often worth...

There are not too many people I know who are as passionate about faith in Jesus and who back it up with decades of effective frontline, earthy Salvation Army ministry like Craig Stephens. Buckle up for a life story that is full throttle from start to finish.

I have been in cahoots with the Pharisees recently and have allowed aggression and arrogance to shape my behaviour.   I wish I had been like Ghandi and taken a more gentle approach.  It would have saved me a lot of embarrassment and reduced the Lovely Sue's frustrations with me significantly.  Luckily, I didn't go as far as forming a vigilante group and arranging an assassination like the religiou...

Nuria came to Australia 19 years ago and managed to find ways to settle into the new culture and lifestyle. She now works for the Salvos assisting us to work with CaLD communities effectively. She is married and has two children. Interestingly her husband Rodney, is named after the famous Australian wicketkeeper Rod Marsh. #Salvos, #SalvationArmy, #StoriesOfHope, #Faith, #Testimonies, #LifeStories...

Peter Garret was a zealot for environmentalism, especially his stance against uranium mining.  However as he got older and more involved in politics he came understand some more of the complexity involved and changed his views.  Many of us start out passionate and sure of ourselves but we do need to eat humble pie sometimes and sit with paradox, complexity and nuance.   Building this chicken in my...

Rich Tapestries is a new series within Stories Of Hope Podcast, celebrating the lives and contributions of Culturally and Linguisticly Diverse (CaLD) folks within the Salvos in Australia. My co host in this series is Nuria Gonsalves who is the Cald Community Engagement National Lead and our first guest is Frank Wang who heads up the Salvos work in Bankstown in Sydney.  Frank originates from China...

Despite hundreds of years of democracy and education, people are still suffering discrimination and injustice depending on what colour their skin is or where they are from.  Riots and wars abound and even in the suburbs where I live there are sometimes cruel and unfair judgments made on people based on very superficial data.  Lets open our eyes and notice what biases we have in our own heart and w...

Rod is the Salvo leader in a Town in New South Wales called Young and he also looks after the surrounding area as a rural Chaplian visiting farms and remote communities.  He loves his big 1100CC Yamaha motorcycle, his cut throat Razors and is an earthy bloke who loves a chat and cares deeply about people and what the Salvos stand for.  I know Rod well, because we have worked shoulder to shoulder t...

It is an absolute delight and honour to share on this podcast about how people have navigated thier lives.  The stories are very often rich and full of courage meaning and inspiration.  The lovely Sue has a great story too and finding love is a powerful part of this.  I am in the mix a little, but Maggie the Toy Cavoodle has also won her heart!

Bindy had a really tough childhood but has found a way to be mindful of the ways this impacts her life today. She works for the salvos in our emergency services department and helps people who have been devastated by things like floods and fires. She is married to Marco and has three children. She is a proud Novacastrian and her story will inspire and delight you.

Some Christians feel guilty because they do not measure up to what they believe the church is wanting from them. Making new converts, deep commitment to spiritual practices like prayer and scripture and consistent service to the poor seem to be the goal posts. However doing what God has placed in our path does not always align with church agendas, so we need to measure by that, more than things li...

Amanda has a rich heritage within the Salvos and yet it took time for her to find her true self, both within the organisation and personally.  I met her on deployment in Townsville and Ingham delivering flood relief - and we got on like a house on fire.  She is great fun and a powerhouse of genuine honesty and warmth.  Her story resonates with me and I'm sure many listeners will relate and learn f...

The lovely Sue works out at a gym and has a program that measures how much weight she lifts in animals.  Sometimes she lifts elephants.  Doing hard things is not always to be avoided.  We sometimes need to ditch our fears and head directly into the suffering if we are to live life to the full.  

Brad trained with me and the lovely Sue at the Salvos college for officers in Melbourne 30 odd years ago and he and his wife Katrina have always been the sort of friends we don't see much of but are close to when we do catch up.  Brad is now based in Perth and has two adult children.  He is a keen cyclist and we have an authentic sort of chat about life, faith and leadership.