Join Angie Austin and Grace Fox as they delve into touching stories from Grace’s mission trip to Egypt, where faith meets action. Hear about the significant impact they’re making in the lives of Sudanese refugee girls through educational programs and hopeful messages. In this heartwarming discussion, Grace reveals how her work brings warmth, both literally and spiritually, to those in need.
00:08:44 Personal Prayer Concerns and Encouragement
00:15:09 Words of the Week: Hard Work and Audacious
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.
SPEAKER 04 :
Hello, friend, Angie Austin and Grace Fox with The Good News. Today we’re talking about her book, Finding Hope in Crisis, Devotions for Calm and Chaos. And we are talking about page 132, and this devotion is titled, Jesus Prays for You. Hey, Grace, how are you? I’m doing well, thank you, Angie. Oh, hey, I wanted to ask you, we’re talking about Jesus Praise Free, but I wanted to ask you, aren’t you headed to Egypt?
SPEAKER 06 :
I am. I am.
SPEAKER 04 :
Tell me about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Okay. So we are taking off for Egypt to attend our staff conference. They have a staff conference there for our Middle Eastern coworkers every other year. And it’s been a while since we’ve been able to go. So this year, the whole conference will be held in Arabic and there will be translation into English, which is fantastic. which is really going to be fun for us, so to be a part of being on the translation end of it, because usually conferences are held in English, and there are translators for the other languages that are present in the room, but it’s going to be the other way. And then at the end of that conference, we will be, when I say we, I mean Jane and I and another couple from the States, co-workers from our U.S. office, and two of our Egyptian couples are going to co-host a one-day Christmas event for We’re hoping about 80 Sudanese refugee teenage girls and Egyptian girls ages 14 to 18. And we’re very excited about that. So they’ve asked me to present. Let’s do a little presentation on the names of God and show these girls how God is present for them, how he sees them, and how he offers them the gift of peace. So some of these girls have recently placed their faith in Christ. But many of them just have not heard the good news yet. And so it’s going to be quite a wonderful opportunity to bring hope to these kids who have seen way too much in their young years.
SPEAKER 04 :
So how common is it for people to be Christians in Egypt?
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, you know, there’s those that are Islamic, but then there is the Orthodox community. And so there’s two different, I don’t know if you want categories of Christianity, I guess you might want to call it. There’s the Orthodox Church, and then there’s the Evangelical Believers. And the majority of the population would be the Orthodox Church, but they don’t teach about Jesus being our Savior and God wanting a personal relationship with us. It’s more about… Obeying the religious rules and you’ve got to strive to earn God’s favor and don’t be presumptuous about his forgiveness. And so, yeah, definitely the minority population would be evangelical believers.
SPEAKER 04 :
Oh, that is interesting. Okay, that’s good to know. So, you know, you get to travel so many countries and, you know, work with so many people with your ministry. It’s interesting to see, you know, what you get to do. So when you’re speaking to these girls who are like middle school or just under high school age, it’s a pretty influential time for them. And as you mentioned, in a country where, you know, they could use some hope and they’ve seen, you know, more than the average 13, 14 year old girl, that’s quite an opportunity. I’ll bet you’re pretty excited about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
I am. And, you know, when we think about them, as you mentioned, there would be, say, middle school-age girls. It’s easy for us to think of them in comparison to that, but some of these girls have never attended school, and some are illiterate. So they’ve never had the opportunity to go to school because they’ve lived in Sudan. All they’ve known is war. And so for us to be able to have access to them is quite something. Their families have fled to Cairo. This is where they will be when we meet with them. Some of them don’t have families, and they probably got there just with a group of people fleeing for their lives. But we have staff there that have started a school for these refugee children from the Sudan. And so they have found these kids there. and brought them in and are involving them in an educational process because that brings a better future for them as well. So, yeah, it’s quite exciting. It’s way different. You know, these kids’ lives are a universe different than the kids their age on our side of the world are.
SPEAKER 04 :
Wow, that really puts it in perspective that some of them came alone and fled the war in Sudan and are there without any family, illiterate, they’ve never gone to school, and then your ministry setting up a school there to educate them, and then you getting an opportunity to talk to them about the names of God and to give them hope. I mean, that’s super cool.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I’m really excited.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 06 :
We did some fundraising here and so we’re going to be able to supply these kids with warm hats because they’re cold in Egypt now in the winter. They don’t have inside heating like we know here either. So it gets very cold in the buildings at night. And so they’ve come from the Sudan where it’s even hotter than Egypt and they’re cold. So we’ll supply them all with warm hats and scarves, gloves, a shirt, and then some fun things like I’m taking over a little necklace for everybody and we’ll have a little bag of
SPEAKER 04 :
christmas sweets and that type of thing so yeah we just want to bless them so with a whole day a whole day with these kids just loving on them okay so that that part is wonderful and how excited they’re going to be to get you know a warm hat i know how that makes a difference for me because i hate to be cold that i love to wear hats but the um how how do you deal with like do you ever feel overwhelmed with the sadness of what they’ve experienced or does god kind of equip you for that
SPEAKER 06 :
It’s really hard for my mind to comprehend the sadness of what they’ve experienced. And so I could just ask God to help me see them through his eyes. And that is the one thing that I can do to try to understand the specifics. I can’t. I can’t even pretend to. But, yeah, it’s hard. It’s harder for me when I come back because I leave them. I leave them and I come back into my life. comfortable existence but i can’t just fix it for them i thankfully we’ve got our staff on the other end that can do what they can do but uh for every in every situation some of these people are dealing with stuff that our staff as well-meaning as they are they can’t fix it either So, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Now, do some of these kids ever share with you some of their circumstances or, you know, if they’re alone and don’t have family or what they’ve gone through, do some of them have time to speak with some of them? Or is it more you sharing to them about, you know, the hope that’s in the good news?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, we’ll have time for them to share with us if they want.
SPEAKER 04 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. Well, I can’t wait to hear, you know, when you get back, of course, we’ll do our interview when you get back. And I definitely want to just focus on that for a whole segment. All right. Today, we’re let’s say, well, good luck with that. I’ll be praying for you because I know you’re leaving very soon. And again, we’re talking about one of Grace’s books, Finding Hope in Crisis, and we’re talking about the devotion Jesus prays for you. So what are you teaching us today?
SPEAKER 06 :
This one just brings so much hope to me, Angie. In Romans 8, verse 34, it says, Who then will condemn us? No one. For Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us. And he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. And there are times, maybe you have felt this way too, where you are in the middle of a situation where you haven’t got a clue how to pray. All you can mutter is Jesus help, or sometimes just the name of Jesus, repeating it over and over. Because at the name of Jesus, you know, demons will flee. But to know that in those situations where life is so hard and the circumstance is so uncertain that we don’t know how to pray, that Jesus is praying for us. He never takes a hiatus. He’s there. That’s one of his roles, sitting at the Father’s right hand, praying for us. And that should bring us great encouragement.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, it should. I agree. And, you know, especially as you’re going on this big, you know, trip. And I think that sometimes when we don’t know what to pray, you talk in the ponder section about what is your greatest prayer concern today? What is your greatest prayer concern today? And I’ve been praying for two friends who are having surgery today. One just for fun, if you know what I mean. And then the other one for colon cancer, which is obviously not just for fun, but caught early. Thank goodness. And by the way, I’m telling you, those colonoscopies, as much as people don’t like them, if you don’t want to get colon cancer, boy, they can definitely – that’s one that is – you can stop it in its tracks. If you get those on time, you can definitely find the polyps and not have colon cancer, even if it runs in your family. So just a little side note on that. So after your ponder, what is your greatest prayer concern today, you say – and then your pray section says – Jesus, thank you for knowing my greatest prayer concern, even if I don’t voice it. So talk a little bit about that.
SPEAKER 06 :
Well, sometimes I think we don’t. Oh, there may be times when we don’t want to share our prayer concern with anybody else, because one, it may be so, so hard that we don’t even know how to put it into words. Another might be it’s so personal. We’re ashamed. Like there’s shame involved in it. There’s something that’s happened to us or that we’ve done. We don’t want anybody else to know because what would they think of us? And so we don’t voice it to anybody else either. But Jesus knows those things and we don’t have to try to sugarcoat them or wear the false mask because he gets it. He sees it and he prays for us in those things. And again, there’s just such encouragement in knowing that.
SPEAKER 04 :
You usually give us a quote from a book and talk about the one. I’m not familiar with this author. So will you read us that one at the bottom of the next page?
SPEAKER 06 :
Yeah, I just love this. It’s by Robert Murray McShane. And he said, if I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me. So isn’t that neat? Like I’m sitting here in my boat. My husband is in another room. I’ve just got the door shut between us. And I could say, if I knew that my husband or if I could hear him praying out loud for me just on the other side of that door, that would give me great courage and great confidence and assurance that he’s got my back. And the same is what this Robert Murray McShane is saying. If I could hear Jesus praying for me in the next room, I wouldn’t fear a million enemies. But the truth is, you know, we can’t hear Jesus praying for us. But he is still. He’s in heaven praying for us in distance. Doesn’t make a difference. So. We can have that same kind of assurance, that same kind of courage and confidence and not fear a million enemies when we know that Jesus is in heaven praying for us right now, this very minute, no matter what that greatest prayer concern is or what caused it. It doesn’t matter. He’s got it.
SPEAKER 04 :
And, you know, it’s interesting to me, you know, you talk about in the devotion, you know, you mentioned that it was a couple months into the pandemic lockdown. And in your newsletter, you asked your subscribers, you know, you were really passionate. honest about your sadness. Um, and you asked them, um, basically we’re honest with them. And then they wrote to you and they’re praying for you. They emailed you and you were really touched by that. And I think so many of us don’t reach out to others and don’t, like you said, voice our prayer needs. And, you know, speaking of this, um, friend, I say friend of mine that today I just learned about her colon cancer surgery, um, over, um, uh, Facebook. And, um, And I say friend, but this is someone that I met just like you through my radio show. She and her husband came into studio and we were talking about the loss of their nine-year-old son. It was in an accident. And we did this interview. This was several years after he passed. And we did this interview probably 12 or 13 years ago. And they’ve come in studio twice. And here… She voiced this today. I haven’t seen her in person in over a decade, and I’m praying for her today. And you reached out as well to people that you may have never met or haven’t seen in a very long time. And their story touched me so much about their son, Quinton. I still remember his name. And they’d stop because of a flat tire or something. And he was in between the trailer and their vehicle and the girl that hit them. She was like 19. She fell asleep and he basically got hit in between the two and died immediately. And just the way that they’ve lived, you know, with their faith and to honor their son was so touching to me that he or she reached out as well. So I guess our lesson today is when you do need prayer, don’t also be afraid to ask others. And we’ll be praying for you, Grace, as you head out. to Egypt, gracebox.com. God bless you, Brandon. Good luck on your trip.
SPEAKER 06 :
Thank you, Angie.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
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SPEAKER 04 :
Hey there, friend. Angie Austin with the Good News along with Beatrice Bruno and Michelle Rahn. And every week Michelle has a word, but I thought Michelle and Beatrice, I’d throw out the words I think apply to you two, and it’s two words, hard work. Beatrice, you’ve been busting your behind, haven’t you?
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. You know, when God has called you to do stuff, you got to get stuff done. You really do. And sometimes it takes a little bit more than what we’re used to. But in the end, it’s God’s plan. And so we have to get it done.
SPEAKER 04 :
I have to tell you, I’ve got a lot of cousins that are hard workers like you two. And I spent time with this this weekend and I didn’t feel like 100 percent. We were at a wedding and we had to do a big brunch and I helped run errands and stuff. But I’m looking at my other cousins and they’re like setting up tables and spraying off chairs and moving things and chopping for hours. And then I was conversing during a lot of the time. So I felt like the lazy cousin. But but I was just like. I come from a family of like hardy stock, like really hard workers. My dad’s siblings, there’s six of them. And they came out of the Depression and they all got educated, which, you know, coming out of the Depression from such a torn up family that they came from, it was amazing how well they all did for themselves. And then I see the female cousins in particular, they’re just like the mothers and the aunts in the family. And it really did get passed down through the generations. And Michelle, I know your mom was a hard worker. Do you feel that that just kind of trickled down from her?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, I think we learned from example, for sure. We can say one thing, but if we do something else, what we say doesn’t count. So, yes, I watched her work a 60-hour week my entire life, and it was an example. And she didn’t do it begrudgingly. She did it with joy and with a great attitude. Wow. And that is passed on. That is passed on. So I’m thankful.
SPEAKER 04 :
And I know, I mean, we won’t get into all the particulars of it, but I know she worked harder than your father. So you obviously followed your mom’s example because I know how joyful you are even when you’re exhausted. And Beatrice, you just flew to Florida, helped someone drive back because they were moving. And now you’re moving yourself because you’re moving to Georgia. Yeah. You’re in your 60s and you are a workhorse former drill sergeant. So was that kind of a survival mode for you to get out of because you didn’t have the great the best circumstances growing up? Did that help you get out of your situation, your work ethic?
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, I think it’s because I want to be an example to everyone around me, especially young people. I keep hearing the 60s and 50s and 70s thing. And, you know, and I’m at the point I’m like, OK, wait a minute. What does it really mean for me to be turning 65? I’ll turn 65 in January. What does that really mean? Well, it means that I’ve spent over six and a half decades on the earth. But it also means that I’ve learned a lot that I still need to impart to especially younger people. So that means that I will have to continue to do things because that’s what I’ve always done. And I don’t see, you know, just because I’m turning 65. Well, you need to take things a little bit slowly. Why? Why? What does it say that in the rule books? I’m trying. I’m still trying to figure that out. What does it say in the rule books that because you turn a certain age, you have to slow down? I didn’t see Abraham slowing down because at 75, God said for him to move, to leave his family. And then at 85, he and he had a child. And then at 90, 99. He’s still having children. I didn’t see him slowing down. So I don’t see why I have to slow down just because I’m getting ready to turn 65.
SPEAKER 04 :
And Michelle, like even if she’s having a day where she feels a little creakier, let’s say, than other days, she refuses to slow down. She goes, well, I’ll just take more time to get there.
SPEAKER 05 :
Amen. Well, God is good to bring what whatever he has in mind. And our job is to follow it. And Miss B, you are a mere youngster. You do know that, don’t you? Exactly. You both.
SPEAKER 04 :
You both kill me. All right. So I’ve given my two words of the week that I came up with hard work, which, by the way, my husband is quite possibly the hardest worker I have ever met in my life. While I was at this wedding, I left town for Portland. And not only did he get all the kids to homecoming and track them all night long on the tracker, but he also almost finished the brick walkway that he’s been making. And each brick has to be cut. And he’s doing a design. And it’s like a piece of art, this walkway. It is so beautiful. And so, yeah, he does that after work and on the weekend. So he also gets my hard work trophy of the week. All right. What’s your word of the week, Michelle?
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, before I bring out this fun-sounding word, you are a hard worker, Ms.
SPEAKER 04 :
Nancy.
SPEAKER 05 :
Good grief, the schedule you’re keeping with kids and everything else. So back at you, and you take a pat on your back, too, my dear.
SPEAKER 04 :
Thanks, honey. Thank you.
SPEAKER 05 :
You bet. Okay, the word is audacious. Isn’t that a great-sounding word, audacious? Yes, yes. And it means showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks. So I feel that we are living in a time when people are nearly afraid to express what they really want to say because they’re so concerned about how the emotions of the person receiving it are going to happen and they’re fearful to express a personal opinion. So it used to be that different opinions were a great way to learn from each other, even if we don’t believe the same way. What a concept is that? And many, many years ago, I heard Rick Warren say, in a presentation, and the very first words out of his mouth were, be bold about Christ. Christ will take care of the other end. I’m going to repeat that. Be bold about Christ. Christ will take care of the other end. Now, you and I know that it’s very easy to just say to a person, well, this is what you need to do, or you never do this correct, or it has to be done with tact. And it has to be done with love. And it also, I would argue, that it has to come from my belief. For example, when I’m in a conversation with another about Christ, my answer or my statement to them is, all I can tell you is that this is what happened to me. And I believe it was a God incident. It wasn’t a coincidence. And there’s just a matter of tact, which means that we are sensitive to others when it comes to a difficulty of different opinions. And many, many times do I pray inside of me, Lord, put the words in my mouth or don’t put the words in my mouth. That audacious means that we are to show that we’re willing to take a bold risk. And that is talking about Christ. Christians are in a very, very… tough time right now and satan is having a heyday with with the the hesitance of we as christians to talk about our lord and savior so we need to be audacious and we need to be surprisingly bold risk because christ will take care of the other end amen that’s good that’s real good that is good go ahead b
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, God showed me what audaciousness and audacity meant after my husband passed when he told me to consider an RV ministry. And I purchased an RV and I traveled around the country for a little bit with that RV, you know, driving it by myself with the truck, you know, and going to places that I’d never been before. to do things I’d never done before. But it took audacity because I was living the life that Christ had given me after my husband passed. And it was not a path or a time of, you know, yes, being in the grieving mode, but just putting myself in a place where I wasn’t going out doing the things that he said for me to do. If anything, he gave me that boldness to go out there, fearlessness to go out there and to do this RV ministry. And I did it. Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. I would say this word applies to you very well. I mean, really, I feel you’re very bold with your faith and very out there. And, Michelle, I think I told you recently – When Beatrice came over for like a gathering, it was like my family, my brother was visiting and my mom, who she knows quite well through many visits to the home. And then Jennifer Bishop, who you know, and her boyfriend. And so anyway, we’re gathered around and I asked Beatrice to lead the prayer because you two get chosen a lot to lead the prayer because you’re both so good at it. So when she’s done, Hope was like, whoo, I’ve never heard one like that before. Whoo. So now sometimes I’ll ask Beatrice to call Hope’s phone and leave her a prayer when she’s having a tough day. And oh my gosh, she said, I just went up when she got picked up one day and we were still praying on the porch and her friend had to wait a minute. She got in the car with her friends and she was like, wow, you should hear Beatrice pray.
SPEAKER 01 :
Good, good, good, good. Hey, we have to be bold in the Lord. Okay. And everything that we do. And I, I think that he’s given us that so that we will be fearless and not fearful and do the things of the Lord and do the work of the Lord like we’re supposed to do. Because the synonyms, and I think Mimi already said, some of the synonyms of audacious are adventurous, bold, brash, courageous, foolhardy, resolute, risky, all this. And I’m sure there’s many, many more. But, you know, we have to choose the synonym that we want to exercise in as we walk this earth, because God is looking at us. And when we stand before him, he’s going to say, well done, good and bold servant, enter into the joy of your Lord. And that’s what I’m looking for, because he knows I’ll go out and do stuff just because he said. Just because. Yep.
SPEAKER 04 :
I know. I know. And you guys do both inspire me because, you know, you go for it every day. And with Beatrice moving again within the next month or so back east to Georgia for we don’t quite know how long, but we assume a year ish. Just these moves like. I wanted to move. And to be honest with you guys, like I’m tired, like moving, especially with my family and all of our, you know, we try to get rid of things, but there’s definitely a lot of stuff. And it’s exhausting. And the idea of moving like so since your husband passed, you’ve been to you’ve lived in Texas. You lived in the Pacific Northwest. You lived in Virginia Beach. You’ve come back to Colorado a couple of times during that time. And now you’re moving back to Georgia and then maybe back to Colorado.
SPEAKER 01 :
Five years. He’s been gone five years now.
SPEAKER 04 :
I can’t believe it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. Yeah. And I’m enjoying it because I get to meet a lot of people and I get to see a lot of different things and have different experiences. And it’s just interesting how God does stuff. And I’m learning a lot. I’m learning a lot about being a Christian and this walk with God because it’s not as simple as As some of us make it seem, it takes as a matter of fact, I saw a sign on this Baptist church on Airport Boulevard. The sign said it takes courage to be obedient to God. And when I read that, that thing just stuck in my spirit. I said, yeah, you’re right. It does. It takes courage to be obedient to God because some of the stuff God tells us to do, it’s like, God, is that you? Are you sure? You sure you want me to do that? You know, and it’s just it takes courage. Mimi, you know that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Right. It truly does. And being a Christian is not easy. It is a matter of faith, and it is a matter of simply—simply, see, I used that word. I’m sorry. It is a matter of ourselves focusing on our God and listening and being aware and responding to what He has, and that is not easy. Right. Amen.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, it’s not easy, especially in Beatrice’s case with all these, you know, moves, et cetera. And, you know, and answering the call takes so much effort and really, you know, upheaval, you know, in her life with her granddaughter being here and one of her daughters, you know, being here. And she’s so active in her one-year-old granddaughter’s life. So a lot of up and friends, you know, like Virginia Beach. I mean, you didn’t have anyone when you moved there. So, yeah. Yeah, it’s definitely inspiring to see how much effort you’ll put into making God’s wishes for you come true. And his when he speaks to you, how, you know, obedient you are to the calling. Michelle A. Ron dot com and drill sergeant of life dot com. Love you both. A real blessing to have you both on every week. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
Love y’all. God bless y’all.
SPEAKER 05 :
Love you. Bye-bye.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.
