Stories of Hope

Friendship is almost always underestimated and a diminishing circle of close friends is the first sign of a life in serious trouble. Without tolerance and mercy, all friendships die. David Whyte

Akemi and Kazu Kobyashi have been supportive members of the Salvos at Streetlevel in Brisbane for over ten years. Akemi ran the occupational Health and Safety program that became a regular community event and even made me look organized.

Everyone needs a purpose and a sense of meaning in their lives and loving people, even in seemingly small ways, can fulfill a life in surprisingly satisfying ways.  Three things remain; faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love

Simone and her family from Fire’N’Dough Mobile wood fired Pizzas have supported the salvos by supplying fabulous free pizza to people from the streets of Fortitude valley every month for over 7 years. www.firendough.com.au     This is their story.

I bite my nails and it drives the lovely Sue a bit mental.  However she perseveres with me and still loves me, most of the time.  All lasting friendships and loving relationships require perseverance and a good measure of grace to flourish.

After 12 months of Stories of Hope Podcasts, I wanted to chat with a few friends about it all. Join us for insights into the power of story and the potential for podcasts to communicate and educate.

ANZAC day is a powerful reminder of the cost of greed and war.  Australians gather in amazing numbers to reflect and pause to be thankful for peace and for stability.  Let’s hope we never need the billions of dollars’ worth of guns and bombs we have stored up, just in case.  

At the Salvos Drug and Alcohol recovery center in Brisbane there is a sign on the front office wall which says “There is Hope”. Love always hopes and believes in a person’s potential - especially when they are struggling.

Winsome's great grandfather was a drunk, who once rode a horse though a Salvo open air meeting, however his life was transformed and Winsome is now a key leader in the Salvos in Australia. She also survived Cyclone Tracy and has an inspiring story.

Getting out of bed and doing some exercise can require some complex mental gymnastics.  Believe me, I know!  But it is worth the effort and will make you feel better – body, mind and spirit. 

Professor Mapendere grew up as a street kid in Harare, Zimbabwe. He showed promise at school and ended up being supported by my brother and his wife through a program they helped fund. He wasn't just supported as a student; he was supported as a son.

Maintaining good friendships is a challenge.  But our friends John and Liz have been in our lives for over 20 years and the way we keep it interesting is “Monthly Mayhem” 

Love always protects and so when the lovely Sue finds out that you are having a go at me, she has a raft of strategies to protect me unless of course you have just cause, then she will join in the party and enjoy it as much as the next person. 

A few months ago I watched a guy remove a tree stump by using a Sampson Post.  I’d never seen this before and I thought it was ingenious.  I learn best when someone shows me what to do then gives me a go.  I’m not too flash with books and lectures. 

Schadenfreude is a German word used to describe the pleasure derived from another person’s mishap or misfortune.  It’s how I feel about cats; both the feline variety and the Geelong football club variety.

Sharing coffee or a meal with people seems to produce the environment for good conversation.  So coffee is very important to me.  It even made on my medical chart in a recent visit to hospital!   

People let us down, but if we are wanting to have any sort of decent relationship, we need to leave these mistakes in the past. My friend Lauren told me to run Narrow Neck Plateau, as it was a pleasant track with a few undulating hills. LOL

Spunky Bruiser is a shop in Darlinghurst, Sydney that repurposes second hand clothing into unique sustainable Australian Fashion. I had an encounter with these guys and ended up helping to make a unique one-off Salvo shirt.

It is important to be angry at injustice, as it can fire us up to get involved in important work. But in loving relationships, the anger caused by the petty stupidity and selfishness of the flawed humans we do life with needs a bit of tolerance and grace.

Warren came to the Salvos over 20 years ago, a broken man. Gambling had ravaged his life, but he found a new life of freedom and service that has resulted in a loving marriage and 19 years of service for the salvos in our recovery program at Moonyah.

When people step out of their comfort zone together and share a unique experience, it creates growth and a relational bond.  When the salvos ran an adventure trek along the larapinta trail, we ticked all these boxes.  It was fabulous!

When I can honestly say, its not about me, I am on the right track to finding love and ironically, deep happiness for guess who?... Me!

Every year the Salvos put on a men’s camp and on the Saturday afternoon there is a Billy Cart race.  One year the team at a coastal salvo welfare center build the world’s first ever Salvo Surfboard Billy cart.  It was EPIC!

Love is not rude, but often we are more rude to the people we love than we would ever dream of being to the local butcher or a work colleague.  The lovely Sue and I have had a chat about this and she felt I was on to something important here.                

My mate Andrew Grinsted returned to the UK after a living for a few years in Australia as a teenager and he ended up marrying the lovely Jill.  Jill's story through cancer and working for the NHS in the UK this year is inspiring and delightful.