Faith Stories with Naomi Reed

“My parents were in Christian ministry (in India) from the time I was about three. We were financially stretched at times, but they made sure I was sent to a good private school. Once a week, we would have mufti day. Most kids would turn up wearing shoes, but I didn’t have shoes, so I […]

“I don’t think I was a particularly nice child. If someone said or did something mean to me, I’d react, and try to get them back, usually with my words. If they said something that I found offensive (which was quite often), I’d say something to get revenge or cut them to shreds. Then I […]

“I was adamant that I would never become a pastor. I grew up as a pastor’s kid. My dad was a Uniting Church minister in Queensland and I saw what it was like for him. I saw the challenges and the toll it took on him and our family. After school I moved to Cooma, […]

“We lived in the Middle East for 22 years, with our son and daughter. I was working in Arabic adult literacy and teacher training. Then, in 2007, we came home to Melbourne and I began teaching cultural anthropology at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) training college, as well as in other Bible colleges. What I […]

“When I was 31, I found out that I was adopted. My birth mother had 12 children and I was her ninth. She kept all the others, but she gave me away to her younger sister. My aunt (who became my adoptive mother) had no children, so I became their only child. But I always […]

“I was an academic at the University of Sydney, researching plant pathology in barley and wheat. During that time we discovered that the disease-resistant wheats we were breeding were actually useful to study pathogen variation around the world. So my wife (Sue) and I started travelling. I was fortunate to attract some international project money […]

“I grew up in a devout Maltese Australian Roman Catholic home, which meant we went to mass three times a week. To be Maltese was to be Catholic. No matter how tired my parents were at the end of the week, we always went to mass. I have lots of fond memories of my upbringing. […]

“I feel like I’ve been ‘persevering’ in my faith since 1982. That was when our four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with significant life issues. We moved to the city to get help for her. We received help, but it was often hard. Years later, another one of our children became involved with drugs, and had life-controlling […]

“I was born in Singapore in 1975. My mother was a staunch Buddhist-Taoist. We had an altar in the living room and I’d walk past it and burn incense there. I respected the deity and I believed in the spirit world. It was part of our family tradition. “In Singapore, there’s a feeling of uncertainty […]

“My father became a Christian five days before he died. He was in hospital and was visited by the Padre. I was six years old at the time and that’s when it began for our family. We became part of a church and we were well cared for by the people. They all became lifelong […]

“I grew up in a village in Kenya. When I was seven years old, I had an encounter with God. I was in a room by myself, singing a song that I’d learned at Sunday school. Suddenly the room was filled with the awesome presence of God. I started crying. It was so peaceful.” “I […]

“My wife, Charlene, and I moved to Sydney in 1992. We didn’t know anyone, so we both joined local community groups to meet people. Charlene took our daughter to a dance group, and I joined the local cricket club. Weirdly, we both met people who were part of the same small church plant, with only […]

“To be honest, I’m pretty simple. I left school at 16 and I got an apprenticeship as an electrician with Prospect County Council [part of the Electricity Commission of NSW]. My dad was working there and I thought it’d work for me. It was a plan. I threw myself into it. There were 30 other […]

“My big conversion was in Tanzania. Before that, I knew all the facts. I’d gone to a Billy Graham crusade in 1961. I went to Tanzania in 1974 as a missionary with CMS, and that’s where I understood grace for the first time. I worked as a secretary for two different bishops. But just before […]

“I’ve always liked this verse: ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.’ (Philippians 4:8)” “As a social worker, I’ve been trained in ‘strength-based’ theories. It’s not that different. […]

“My dad was a Presbyterian minister from Scotland. He and Eric Liddell were in the same Bible classes. They were friends. Dad and a few others came out to Australia in 1930 to help the Presbyterian Church in Queensland. He had a very simple faith, but it had a profound impact on me.” “He met […]