Today on the podcast I’m sitting down with Steve Stirling. In this episode, you’ll learn how Steve, who was stricken by polio and orphaned at a young age, has been able to live a thriving life in America and ultimately serve those with needs that are similar to the needs of his own as a young boy in Korea so many years ago. 

Today, Steve is President and CEO of MAP International, a kingdom assignment God has so evidently and uniquely prepared him for through his own life experiences.

Episode topics:

• Hear Steve’s very inspiring story of how God lead him on a blessed journey beginning as an orphan stricken with Polio in Korea to becoming President and CEO of MAP International.

• Hear his personal adoption story and how he ended up living in the United States.

• Learn how God equipped Steve for His kingdom work through his corporate and nonprofit experiences.

• Understand MAP International’s unique model of distributing medical supplies and life saving medicines worldwide.

I met Steve multiple years ago already, and have had the chance to interact with him and others from MAP on multiple occasions, including vision summits, galas, donor meetings, and more. You’ll learn why MAP is one of my absolute favorite organizations as you listen in!

MAP.org Grab Steve’s book, The Crutch of Success!

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Today on the podcast I’m welcoming Kurt Kandler. He is the co-founder and Executive Director of The 410 Bridge. Founded in 2006, and deriving its name from 1st Peter 4:10, The 410 Bridge is a Christ-centered, community-initiated development organization.

From time to time, I like to bring guests on in a thought-leader capacity to help us think about issues of humanity in a new way. This is one of those episodes where Kurt helps us understand that if we really want to help the poor, a perspective-shift and change is necessary. In this episode, he will challenge your worldview and help you come to understand a new way of looking at poverty and community development!

Episode topics:

• Hear Kurt’s personal story of how his well-meaning intentions to help the poor became a catalyst to finding a better way that actually helps, and how that lead to the founding The 410 Bridge.

• Dig into the model of The 410 Bridge and understand how they truly empower communities to lead their own community development.

• Learn why they dive deep into each community, focusing on long-term, holistic community development.

• Understand how building faith as a strong foundation and focusing on shifting their worldview of themselves, empowers the community to sustain their own development long after The 410 Bridge leaves.

• Hear why Kurt believes our worldview in the west needs to shift just as much as the worldview of those we’re trying to help.

• Hear inspiring personal stories of empowerment and how The 410 Bridge has been able to walk alongside community members in bettering their own lives!

In this episode, you’ll come to understand how The 410 Bridge’s unique community development model allows for a shift in worldview - aka how the materially poor sees themselves, serving as a catalyst for true development and poverty alleviation!

Grab Kurt’s book, If You Really Want to Help: Redefining the war on poverty, and learn more at 410bridge.org. Also, follow The 410 Bridge on Instagram and Facebook!

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Meet Patricia Jones! In this episode we’re sitting down to understand Patricia’s experience living as a black woman in America. You’ll also gain a new perspective as you hear her story of walking through multiple divorces (due to some pretty surprising circumstances), raising black children, enduring racial tension, and serving as a therapist in her day job.

Patricia is one of my favorite people both for her lightheartedness and ability to speak the truth from deep wisdom stemming from her own life experiences. As she shares her story in the first half of this episode, you’ll come to understand the immense difficulties she’s endured, which in large part lead her to first going to therapy herself! 

In the second half of this episode and without getting too political, we get into a deep discussion around the insurrection at the capital and her experiences living as a black woman in America. You’ll find her perspective here very interesting, as she vulnerably shares her lived experiences while balancing them with a therapist mindset. 

Don’t get lost in this story, listen until the end and you’ll be glad you stuck around for such an eye-opening episode. Patricia is SO wise, and I just can’t wait for you to meet her!

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In this episode, you’ll have the chance to meet Tracy Alin. She founded Amistad Worldwide in 2010, and she has served as a social worker and chaplain in long-term care facilities for 25 years. Tracy’s also currently an online professor teaching in Bible colleges in both India and Nepal. Before this episode is over, she may just encourage you to begin following your heart too!

Today you’ll hear Tracy’s testimony story and how God is at work in India saving orphaned children, supporting widows, loving lepers, and more. Through this episode, you’ll come to better understand the caste system and how it effects various people groups, making them some of the most vulnerable in the world.

Topics discussed in this episode: 

• Tracy’s testimony story and what lead her to India and to the founding of Amistad Worldwide

• Understand how Amistad began and the purpose behind this it!

• Better understand the caste system and corruption in India and how that effects various people groups: trafficked children, orphans, widows, unreached people groups, and more.

• Sweet stories of the children raised in the orphanages of India - come to understand their hearts and how they’ve been able to flourish!

• How and why Amistad is unique from other charities or nonprofits

As you listen, it won’t take you long to see how pure and intentional Tracy’s heart is for helping the most vulnerable around the world. I’m really excited for you to listen-in and come to understand not only her heart, but that of RK and the children he is raising in the orphanages. It paints a beautiful picture of what can happen when people across cultures, around the world, all say “yes” to the same calling God has placed inside them. Are you ready to begin following your heart too?

Get in-touch with Tracy or learn more about Amistad Worldwide at Amistadworldwide.org.

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Well hello there, Lovely! Welcome back to the LS Podcast, where we create space for real personal stories to be seen, heard, and understood. 

After a very unexpected 2-month hiatus from this show, I’m so happy to be back!  (Before we dive into today’s topic, I’ll fill-you-in on what’s been happening here the last 2 months and why we took such a sudden break on this show.) 

Today’s episode is a solo episode discussing a very difficult topic…I’m finally opening up and sharing about the miscarriage and loss my husband, Sam, and I experienced earlier this year. In this episode, you’ll hear our personal experience of walking through an unexpected miscarriage to gain an understanding of those with a similar story, and feel seen in yours. I hope to honor each and every story of miscarriage and infant loss with this episode, whether it’s similar or drastically different. If you do find yourself walking a similar path, my heart is with you. 💗

Topics covered in this episode: - The story of how it all happened - The hardest parts of our lived experience - Helpful ideas of things that helped us heal

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In this episode, Pamela is sharing her own personal story of experiencing sexual abuse 3 different times beginning at age 5, the addiction to drugs that ensued to numb the pain by age 9, and the 35 years of addiction that ultimately landed her in prison for 18 months in 2010. Learn how God saved her life with His redemptive love while she was still in prison, and how He’s equipped her to grow an organization focused on mentoring inside prisons!

She helps us better understand those who are incarcerated and the often underlying factors that lead them to prison.

Today Pamela is happily married to her husband, Os, and is founding President and CEO of LifeChangers Legacy, which exists to empower and equip “returning citizens” through her mentor-led programs to eliminate recidivism, reduce homelessness, and restore families.

Lifechangerslegacy.org

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Amilcar Valencia is a founding member and Executive Director of El Refugio, an organization accompanying immigrants detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GA. The topic of immigration is very complex. It’s a difficult topic to discuss, because there’s so much to consider from both sides of the issue. This episode provides a glimpse into the “other side” of this issue we hear less about. In fact, you’ll likely learn things in this episode leaving you in disbelief that such inhumane treatment is taking place in our country…

This conversation will help you better understand the topic of immigration in the U.S. from the perspective of the immigrant, while also seeing a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in our detention centers. 

Join us as we discuss:

• How El Refugio helps immigrants living inside detention centers, the hospitality they provide their families, and the advocacy they do on behalf of immigrants
• Why people migrate, why they leave their home country, and why there are so many people immigrating to the U.S. right now.
• Understanding the immigrant experience, and what it’s like along their journey
• Understanding the for-profit detention system in the U.S., how detention centers operate, and who owns them
• The inhume treatment of migrants, and what they experience in detention
• Stories of progress and advocacy for immigrants in Georgia, and more!

Follow El Refugio for more:

elrefugiostewart.org

Instagram @elrefugiostewart

Facebook @elrefugiostewart

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Missy Williams co-founded Seed Effect with her husband after a mission trip to South Sudan where they witnessed the need for displaced families to be supported in creating opportunity as they rebuild their lives. Since then, they have built a thriving organization with human dignity and the value of work at the heart of what they do.

In this episode, you’ll gain a better understanding of the refugee experience. You’ll begin to understand what she’s witnessed in working with people in South Sudan and Uganda, as well as how specific finance solutions are helping refugees rebuild their lives through creating opportunity.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Understanding the refugee experience and the unstable political landscape of South Sudan
• Reframing what it means to be a refugee
• Understanding the surprising reality of where most refugees end-up when they leave their home country
• Understanding the difference between micro-finance institutions and savings groups
• The power of micro finances and savings groups, and why they are necessary

This is a story that helps us better understand the topic of refugee migration internationally, and the successful tools available to help them in creating opportunity in their new home countries. The reality of where most refugees end-up when they leave their home country may surprise you!

Follow Seed Effect on Instagram @seedeffect and online at seedeffect.org.

Join their prayer team to receive their monthly prayer newsletter at seedeffect.org/pray.

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When Manda Carpenter stepped outside her marriage in unfaithfulness to her husband, the guilt and secrecy around what she had done spiraled into suicidal ideations. She didn’t see a way out, and thought it would be better that she weren’t alive…Until she confessed her greatest mistake and began to heal what was broken. Through her intentional soul care practices and a lot of grace, she was able to climb out of darkness and find the light once again!

In this episode, we discuss how to transform your life through tending to your soul in a way that requires vulnerability and grace. We also discuss relevant cultural topics for engaging in today’s world in a healthy and productive way.

Topics covered in this episode: - Manda’s personal story and the root-cause of her infidelity

• Soul care practices to transform your own life and live the life you long for
• Shame and it’s power over us
• The power of grace and love
• The power of vulnerability and sharing our story
• How to decide what to share, and how to share it
• Manda’s view on cancel culture, the toxicity it brings to our society, and how to engage positively to move constructive conversations forward instead
• The concept of “white savior complex”, how to identify it, and how to dismantle it
• What it means to have privilege and identifying it within ourselves

These topics and more (much more!) are included in Manda’s newest book, Soul Care to Save Your Life. Inside, she shares 15 soul care practices to move past your mistakes and transform your life — ultimately leading to a life well lived!

*If you or someone you know experiences a mental health emergency or suicidal ideation: call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.*

Find Manda on Instagram @mandacarpenter or go to www.mandacarpenter.com.

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In this episode we’re flipping the mic! James Barnett, founder of Neighborly, is back on the podcast, this time to interview ME! I thought that while I’m asking others to share their story, it only makes sense to share mine too! In this episode, I’m sharing part of my personal story with you. It’s my best attempt at sharing who I am, why this podcast exists, and all the ins-and-outs of what it took to get here. 

While I still consider myself very blessed, I’ve had to navigate difficult seasons in my own life, just as we all do…After all, it’s part of being human, living in a fallen (yet beautiful) world, right? In this episode, I’m sharing some of those more difficult parts of my life too.

Topics covered in this episode: - How Lovelight Stories began with God’s calling on my heart - Why I’m doing this work and the journey it took to get here - How my brother Jesse became a big part of my own personal story - Dealing with anxiety and mental health

This episode is all about helping you get to know me better! I want to get to know you too, so don’t forget to join The Lovelight Stories Community where we dig into our stories and social topics on a deeper level. I just can’t wait to meet you, Lovely! 💗

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