Jenny Salt speaks to Emily Maurits about her sister's life-threatening condition that first left her helpless, then led her - despite all her questions - to a greater trust in the goodness of God.

Emily grew up in a Christian home, loving to read and with a passion to write. What she ended up writing about, though, was something she would never have wished on anyone.

Her first book became an endearing story about two sisters and a brain tumour.

If you are interested in reading more about Emily and Jasmine's story, you can purchase a copy of Two Sisters And A Brain Tumour here.

You can also read Emily's chronic illness caring blog, Called To Watch.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Jenny's guest in this episode is Kathy Notley, who shares what it is like to go searching for the family you've lost and find a stronger connection than you ever thought possible.

Kathy's childhood was idyllic - a close family with loving parents and so many memories of family holidays, playing with neighbours, and a home that everyone wanted to visit.

Then, at 17 years of age, her world fell apart. Her family, once close, was shattered and scattered.

And so the search began for Kathy to somehow fill the void and recreate what she had lost.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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In this episode, Jenny Salt takes us into the life of Sharon Hall, a self-effacing woman whose life is a testimony to what God can do with a willing pair of hands.

Sharon grew up with an open-air preacher for a dad and a piano-accordion-playing mum, and God was always a big part of her childhood.

She dreamt of going to Africa as a missionary teacher, but God had other plans and took her to green hills on the other side of the world.

And when she finally came home, it was to receive the family she never expected.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Jenny Salt introduces us to Geoff Harper, a self-effacing Irishman with a love for the last book of the Bible most Christians get around to reading.

Geoff grew up an evangelical in a country steeped in Roman Catholicism. One thing he was certain of, his life would not be one spent in ministry.

But God had other ideas, and when Geoff found his true path it was a journey into the heart of the Old Testament.

There, Geoff would discover a life-long love for the book of Leviticus - a passion that would literally save his life.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Jenny Salt is joined by Alison Chambers, a mother to three adult children, a wife to a cardiac specialist, and a trained physiotherapist. But just those details wouldn't be enough to know her. Alison is an actor with a capital 'A'.

As a child, Alison dreamed of acting and it became a driving motivation for most of her life. It's taken her on to the stage on countless occasions and into the storylines of many well-known Australian television dramas.

But the acting profession is a challenging one and Alison has had to constantly ask herself, “What does God want from my performance?”

LINKS

You can find out more about Alison's theatre company, Joining The Dots, here.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenny Salt meets Linda Chan, whose parents grew up under the turbulent and cruel regime of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge.

They came to Australia hoping for a better life, but for Linda, turbulent and cruel is how she describes the childhood that followed.

A troubled home life, school bullying, and third-degree burns to 90% of her body combined to make her life a complete misery.

But when Linda discovered the love of Jesus as a teenager, she found an answer for her brokenness.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Jenny meets Michael Duckett, an indigenous man who has given his word to follow God and sees no reason to take it back.

Michael’s life could be summed up in a word: reconciliation.

Moving in and out of a foster home as a baby and toddler he was adopted by his white foster family who raised him and cared for him as their own. 

But it took hearing a “boring” sermon at the age of 17 for Michael to truly understand his identity and what it means to be reconciled to God.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Jenny Salt talks to Dr. Justine Toh, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity, where she speaks and writes about deciphering contemporary culture.

Justine shares how she grew up in an immigrant culture that made an idol out of education and measured success in terms of career benchmarks.

Her book, Achievement Addiction, examines our need to succeed, and her own struggles in setting this mindset aside. As a Christian, she now draws her identity from what God has done, rather than anything she can add to the ledger.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Ed Grudier tells Jenny Salt he did not expect God to lead him to more than a decade of ministry in Turkey, testing the tempers of the police as he sought to plant a church.

Ed started his life in the middle-class suburbs of Cleveland, the so-called Bible-belt of the US.  But despite growing up in a culturally catholic household, he still managed to hold on to a secular outlook.

Yet, a single sermon at the age of 18 set him on a path that has taken him all around the world, powered by the conviction that all people need to hear the gospel.

Salt is proudly brought to you by Sydney Missionary and Bible College. Click here for more information on the wide range of courses available.

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Tune in to hear Jenny Salt interview Janet Riley - a city girl with a country heart.  

As a vet, Janet loved the big animals, and as a Christian, she knew the love of an even bigger God. 

And it was this love that took her from regional NSW to Africa and on as she journeyed through cancer. 

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