Stories of Hope

Naty Keung came to Australia from Hong Kong by herself when she was just 17, as a student. She found friendship and support at the local Box Hill Salvos where she eventually met her husband Kenny. She has worked for the Salvos for over 10 years now, specialising in children's work. Her personality is just as wonderful as her smile!

Every organisation is susceptible to the danger of bad people being like a wolf in sheep's clothing. So risk management and safeguarding is critical. The early church had a guy named Simon the Sorcerer who was like this, (not to be confused with Monty Pythons, Tim the Enchanter) but thankfully, Peter saw through his trickery and dealt with him early.

Danni has a beautiful Salvo ministry where she helps troubled kids through equine therapy. Her story to get her to this place is just wonderful and her gentle but courageous attitude to life and faith is inspirational. She is married to Craig and is a mum to three children.

In Acts Ch 8 Philip heals the lame. Hard to get my head around. But I do believe in inner healing as the lovely Sue is almost perfect and lives a very happy life even though she is still lame. She is often grateful she has this affliction and not the raft of incompetencies I have to cope with.

Greig Whittaker was born into a Salvo family and had a Godly grandmother who reflected the way of Jesus beautifully. His life in business and Christian ministry within the Salvos and the wider body of Christ has always been filled with passion and creativity. His story reveals the ups and down of this sort of life and the lessons learned along the way.

The early church was persecuted and scattered throughout the world. They got involved wherever they ended up and were of influence amongst everyday people. I recently ran 60k for my 60th birthday and lots of my buddies from all sorts of places joined me for the day. It was a wonderful celebration of community.

Judi works for the Salvos in Melbourne in the fundraising area and with Salvo officer parents, has a richness of Salvo DNA in her blood. Her story includes some time in Argentina and the dream job for any child's mum - Sales and Marketing with Lego.

When Stephen was stoned as a consequence for standing up for grace and the way of Jesus, it sparked the early church to life. We do well to discover what is worth dying for, so that we can determine what is worth living for. My newborn great niece is worth living well for, I reckon. I'll try to be a good uncle!

Cynthia works for the Salvos as the refugee and people seeking asylum national lead, based in Brisbane. She was born in Indonesia and needed to escape her home country herself to remain safe, so has lived experience, relevant to her Job. She is married to Josh and that is quite a story too. Like so many of the people she works with, her story is one of courage and resilience. It will do you good t...

Throughout History Laws have developed and improved to be more fair. The Napoleonic code is one such example. However Law can never deal with a selfish heart and so grace and love always need to be in the mix.

Claire is a Salvo leader with a heart for the transforming power of the love of God and a deep respect the many viewpoints and experiences of the staff and participants of our many social programs. Her life story is rich and she shares it beautifully.

Change is inevitable, but when Stephen suggested to the Jews that Jesus introduced a new way of understanding God's love, it cost him his life. You are listening to a podcast right now but just 20 years ago we only had newspapers, TV and the Radio. A lot has changed since then.

Pooja led a team of Salvos on a trip to Chicago in 2017 and the Lovely Sue and I went along and found her to be a delightful person to work with and then to travel with as a friend. Originally from Mumbai, she is now a community fundraising specialist with the Salvos based in Melbourne. It's hard not to smile along with this interview as Pooja's personality and goodness is a beautiful thing to exp...

It's useful to carve out time to reflect and assess what we do and the ways we have before us to innovate and change, but it can be confronting, as we are often comfortable and set in our ways. Kodak didn't do this and lost an opportunity to go digital, but the early church leaders considered carefully how the ways of Jesus met the Jewish scriptures in the Torah.

Annie Stonehouse is the wonderful president of my local Rotary club and has an inspiring story with amazing achievements and contributions along with significant heartache and struggle. She shares with delightful candour and vulnerability and it will do your heart good to know there are people like Annie in the world making it a better place for everyone!  * Please note; Annie's story does touch o...

Old man Shanindar had healed broken bones indicating he was cared for by his community - the first ever record of social work. The early followers of Jesus also set aside resources and manpower to care for widows, care like this is a hallmark of Christian faith.

Mark Everitt came to Salvo leadership in his late thirties. He wanted to be a pilot - ended up in pathology work and now heads up the Salvos in Queensland. He is married to Fran and has two children and now lives in a house with a view of the hospital in which he was born!

When we do good, it almost always makes someone else look bad and so we sometimes find ourselves being persecuted in some way. Collingwood's Nick Daicos is constantly harassed and tagged because he is such a brilliant player. It's no fun, but it is a mark of respect too! 

Terri has loved church and been devoted to her faith even as a small child. Her journey is marked by courage, love and an unexpected appreciation of donkeys. 

In 100 years, 2124, very few people will remember me or anything I have done. The only things that truly last are the seeds of God's eternal love we sow into the lives of others. Oh, and the repair I did on my compost tumbler!

Terri Estreich has been a store manager with the Salvos for over ten years. Her association with Bryce and the Brisbane Streetlevel Mission has been a wonderful part of that journey. The life story that got her to this place is filled with adventure, heartache and a surprising sort of destiny. #Salvos, #SalvationArmy, #StoriesOfHope

My family has been influenced recently by Taylor Swift. People are desperate to be in her physical presence. Who influences you and how do you influence others?

I used to babysit Rachael when she was just a toddler and so have known and loved her like family for many years. She and her husband Phil are Salvo officers in Kempsey, but in many ways their defining ministry was in a challenging suburb of Mt Druitt in Western Sydney Called Bidwill. It's hard to measure how the love of a salvo officer impacts a life, but Rachael's ministry exemplifies this and h...

The apostle Peter said this: "We must obey God rather than man". What seems best to the authorities or even to our families and friends, is not always the path we should take. My path has had all sorts of illogical twists and turns, but they have all made me the sort of Bryce I am today.

Nathan lives in one of the Salvos houses of hope.  It has been a game changer, as for the first time he has exited one of his many attempts at recovery through residential rehab into safety and stability.