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Far from Home with Mabel Ninan

Mabel Ninan

Faith on the Move

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  • 13 episodes
  • fortnightly
  • Avg 28 min
  • English

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  • October 27 · length unknown

    Episode 48 – Trusting God When the Miracle Doesn’t Come with Hadassah Treu

    How can we trust God when the miracle we’ve been waiting for hasn’t happened? Why should we trust God when answers to our prayers seem unclear? In this episode my guest Hadassah Treu and I discuss some answers to these questions. Author of the recently released memoir, Satisfied: Why Getting What We Want Is Not the Answer, Hadassah shares how the struggles in her marriage, including infertility and lack of intimacy, drove her to seek God and find hope and comfort in His Word. The miracle of a child that she had been hoping and waiting for never happened. Yet God answered her prayers in His way, in His time, and according to His good plans for her. Hadassah encourages us to trust God even if we don’t know how God will answer our prayers. Surrendering our will and desires to God is the key to not only experience peace, joy, and freedom but also be fruitful in the waiting. She inspires us to view our hardships and miracles through an eternal perspective, believing that God can use both to accomplish His plans for us. Hadassah Treu is an award-winning bilingual author. She writes both in Bulgarian and English. She’s also a blogger, poet, speaker, spiritual growth coach, a communications specialist and translator, and holds a Master’s in International Relations. She’s won several awards, including the Encouraging Blogger Award for the year 2020. As an author of five books and co-author of 14 devotional and poetry anthologies, Hadassah loves to encourage and motivate people to stand firm in the faith and grow spiritually by applying biblical truths in their lives. Takeaways Infertility issues can make women feel helpless, discouraged, angry, sad, and incomplete, and negatively influence how they see their womanhood. Through the painful journey of infertility, Hadassah learned to build her identity on Christ’s love for her. Women can not only be biological mothers but also spiritual mothers–helping others give birth to their purpose in God’s kingdom. With God’s help, we can fight for our marriages. His Spirit can empower us to be patient and loving toward our spouse, as we take every problem to God in prayer. Join the Facebook Group Links Learn more about Hadassah. Buy Hadassah’s book SATISFIED. Learn more about Mabel. Connect with Mabel on Facebook or Instagram. Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home. Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/YbvWvqsUiFY Subscribe to the Podcast on YouTube Produced by Ian Phillip at Phillip Productions. Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • October 13 · length unknown

    Episode 47 – Finding Comfort in God When We’re Grieving with Lisa Appelo

    If you’re grieving the loss of a loved one, this conversation is for you. In this episode I talk with Lisa Appelo, a speaker, ministry leader, and author of God of Comfort and Life Can Be Good Again. Lisa’s life was overturned when her husband, Dan, died suddenly on the Friday morning of Father’s Day, leaving her a single mom of seven children. She tells us how God met her in her grief, comforting and helping her every step of the way. Lisa talks about how she found it helpful to ask God, “What now?” instead of “Why?” She and I discuss how lament and journaling can help us unburden our hearts, how grief can help gain a heavenly perspective on our struggles, and how powerful it can be to sit with someone in their pain. Lisa also addresses certain common misconceptions about coping with grief. Lisa Appelo is a speaker, ministry leader, and best-selling author of God of Comfort: A Devotional Journal for the Grieving Heart and Life Can Be Good Again. Lisa’s been featured at LIFE Today, Cornerstone Television Network, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and Risen Motherhood. A former litigating attorney, Lisa is a leader with the national organization Never Alone Widows, and serves on the Executive Team of COMPEL, part of Proverbs 31 Ministries. Takeaways Lisa reminds us that the way through grief is not a method but a person. The comfort, strength, and hope found in God amidst our pain cannot be found elsewhere. Lament can become a daily rhythm while we’re mourning the loss of someone or something. We can laying down our concerns and pain and even our honest questions before God, and cling to the promises in Scripture to process our grief. God can use our struggles, including seasons of grief and loss, not only to draw us near to Him but also to reveal idols in our lives. Join the Facebook Group Links Learn more about Lisa. Learn more about Mabel. Connect with Mabel on Facebook or Instagram. Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home. Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/ExRspLGfuiU Subscribe to the Podcast on YouTube Produced by Ian Phillip at Phillip Productions. Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • September 29 · 46 min

    Episode 46 – Awaken Your Delight in God with Stephanie Rousselle

    Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” How can we delight ourselves in the Lord? Why is it important to cultivate delight in God? Our guest this week, Stephanie Rousselle, encourages us to rediscover what it means to delight in God. She invites us, through various metaphors and solid biblical teaching, to taste and see that the Lord is good. We can move from simply knowing about God to knowing Him at a deeper level by cultivating a close relationship with Him. Intimacy with God satisfies our souls’ deepest longings because that’s what we were made for. Stephanie and I also discuss the importance of grounding our identity in God’s delight in us and the power of experiencing delight in the midst of suffering. Raised as an atheist in France, Stephanie Rousselle first came to the US as a foreign exchange student. Living with a Christian family challenged her beliefs and turned her life around. Stephanie returned to France as a changed person. Now, more than two decades later, she is a Bible teacher, speaker, founder of Gospel Spice Ministries, and host of the Gospel Spice podcast. Stephanie has lived on three continents and in four countries and five cities. Her diverse immigrant experience has shaped her faith in God, and her story reminds us of God’s incredible power to transform lives. Stephanie is offering a free 5-day email devotional on awakening delight. You can sign up at awakendelight.net to enjoy this gift. Takeaways Delighting in God turns our gaze upwards and helps us live with a heavenly perspective. We must draw our identity from who God is and how He views us. If we anchor our identity in earthly things or lesser delights, we will be unsatisfied and feel lost and hopeless. God has a purpose for our suffering. He uses adversity to gently prune us and draw us closer to Him. Win a copy of Awaken Delight We’re giving away a copy of Stephanie’s book, Awaken Delight: Satisfying Your Soul’s Longing for God, to one lucky listener or viewer who resides in the U.S. Enter the giveaway between September 29, 2026 and October 13, 2026 (midnight Pacific Time). Enter the Giveaway Here Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Connect with Stephanie Website Connect with Mabel Facebook Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch on YouTube https://youtu.be/w_g7ba-IeJg Subscribe to the Podcast on YouTube Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • September 15 · 33 min

    Episode 45 – How Prayer Transforms Your Spiritual Life with Janet McHenry

    Prayer is one of the foundational practices that shapes our faith and our lives. In this episode, my guest, Janet McHenry and I address some important questions about prayer. Why should pray if God is sovereign and knows everything? How can we pray during a hard season? Why should we keep praying if God hasn’t yet answered our prayer? If you’re struggling to cultivate a practice of prayer or need encouragement to persevere in prayer or to strengthen your prayer life, I hope this episode speaks to you. My guest, Janet Holm McHenry is a speaker and an award-winning author of twenty-seven books—eight on prayer, including the bestselling PrayerWalk and Praying Personalities, which was a Christian Book Award finalist. Janet leads the prayer ministries at The Bridge Church in Reno and serves with the California leadership for the National Day of Prayer. A former journalist and educator, she coaches writers, speaks widely at conferences, and hosts the Sierra Valley Writers Retreat. A graduate of UC Berkeley, McHenry lives in the Sierra Valley in northern California, where she and her rancher husband raised four children. Takeaways Prayer is more about access than answers, more about relationship than ritual. Prayer helps us look up and maintain an eternal perspective. There is no single right way to pray. God gave us different personalities and gifts that influence the way we pray. Win a copy of Praying Personalities We’re giving away a copy of Janet’s book, Praying Personalities, to one lucky listener or viewer who resides in the U.S. Enter the giveaway between September 15, 2026 and September 25, 2026 (midnight Pacific Time). Enter the Giveaway Here Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Connect with Janet Website Connect with Mabel Facebook Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/HYESr4AwA2w Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • September 14 · 4 min

    A New Chapter Begins!

    When I first started the Far from Home podcast, I wanted to encourage Christians to think biblically about immigration and immigrants. I’m not doing away with this goal, but I hope to address many other themes about our faith not just our attitude toward immigrants. My vision for this podcast has grown as God has impressed upon my heart to remind Christians of their heavenly citizenship and encourage them to adopt an eternal perspective on faith, life, and culture.

  • June 9 · length unknown

    Episode 44 – Meet Elizabeth Nandakumar – An Indian American Immigrant, Part 2

    This episode covers the second half of Liz Nandakumar’s journey as an Immigrant from India to the U.S. If you haven’t listened to part one, I highly recommend you listen to it – . In the previous episode, Liz talked about how God provided for her during the initial years of her life in a new country. In the second part of our conversation, Liz describes how mentors helped her husband and her navigate life as new immigrants by providing practical help. They also discipled the young couple as they took on new opportunities as ministry leaders. Liz shares the inspiration behind her nonprofit, A Good CUP International, Inc., and how her work aligns with her passion and calling. Takeaways Mentors can provide practical help to new immigrants as they learn to adjust to a new culture. By showing Christlike love and generosity to immigrants, they bear witness to the power of the gospel. Ministry leaders also need mentors to come alongside them and provide spiritual wisdom, guidance, and encouragement. When God places a particular burden on our hearts and calls us to serve Him, He can trust Him to provide the resources we need and bring the right people into our lives to help us step out in faith. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Connect with Liz Learn more about A Good CUP International, Inc. Connect with Mabel Facebook Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/PZryQ6OhPE0 Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • May 5 · length unknown

    Episode 42 – Migration and the Christian Diaspora (Part 2) with Dr. Sam George

    This episode is the second part of my conversation with Indian American theologian, Dr. Sam George. He’s the director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, Illinois, and has authored and edited twenty books and numerous journal articles. Sam studies and teaches how the movement of people impacts Christianity. In the previous episode (part 1) , Sam talked about his personal immigrant background and shared his insights and wisdom regarding the intersection of theology, global migration, and missiology. In this episode, Sam explains why Christians should welcome and love the foreigner and why it’s important to recognize that God is moving people with a purpose. He helps us understand the meaning of “diaspora” and the impact of diaspora communities on Christianity. Sam also talks about the history and characteristics of the Indian Christian diaspora. Takeaways Welcoming and befriending immigrants expands our understanding of diverse cultures, increases our appreciation of Christians from other parts of the world, and fuels our desire to share Christ with those who don’t know Him. Migration is the work of a sovereign God who’s moving people for His purposes. We have to see God’s fingerprints in the movement of people. The U.S. is home to Christians from all over the world making American Christianity unique in its diversity of Christian traditions and denominations. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Learn more about the Global Diaspora Institute, Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Learn more about Parivar International Buy Sam’s books: Sharing Jesus with Hindus by Sam George and Ashok Kumar – Desi Diaspora by Sam George Journeys of Asian Diaspora: Mapping Originations and Destinations by Sam George Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia, edited by Sam George, Bulus Galadima, and Jeanne Wu Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/v2UWYm_066E Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • April 22 · length unknown

    Episode 41 – Migration and Missiology (Part 1) with Dr. Sam George

    This episode is part one of a two-part conversation with Indian American theologian, Dr. Sam George. He’s the director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, Illinois, and has authored and edited twenty books and numerous journal articles. Sam studies and teaches how the movement of people impacts Christianity. In this episode, Sam talks about how his background as an immigrant from the Andaman Islands of India shaped his faith and why he left a successful career in the corporate world to pursue seminary studies. Sam served on the leadership of the Lausanne movement from 2016 to 2025. He witnessed hundreds of refugees come to Christ while he traveled to Europe, Asia, and Africa to study the refugee crisis. Sam explains the important connection between migration and theology, pointing out that the Bible is a story of migrants or displaced people and that Christianity is a moving, missionary faith. Takeaways No matter where we go or how far we travel, we can find a community of believers. The church is the most active global entity. Migration is the mega theme of the Bible. Almost all major characters of the Bible were migrants who were displaced. Human mobility and migration is an important aspect of the spread and transformation of Christianity. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Learn more about the Global Diaspora Institute, Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Learn more about Parivar International Buy Sam’s books: Sharing Jesus with Hindus by Sam George and Ashok Kumar – Desi Diaspora by Sam George Journeys of Asian Diaspora: Mapping Originations and Destinations by Sam George Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia, edited by Sam George, Bulus Galadima, and Jeanne Wu Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/xCo7eL02Hog Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • April 13 · length unknown

    Episode 40 – Sharing Immigrant Stories with Heidy De La Cruz

    In this episode, I talk with Heidy De La Cruz, who is the host of the two-time award-winning podcast, The American Dream in the Eyes of Immigrants, where immigrants share their journey of coming to the United States. Heidy shares the inspiration behind starting her podcast and the impact of podcasting on her spiritual life. Through podcasting and mentoring other podcasters, she believes she’s fulfilling her God-given purpose. She and I talk about the powerful effect of storytelling both on the person sharing the story as well as those listening to immigrant stories. Takeaways Storytelling is powerful because it humanizes people’s experiences and can help others adopt a compassionate and empathetic view of immigrants and refugees. We must make an effort to listen to immigrant stories so that we can understand the complex nature of their immigrant journeys. It is important for immigrants and refugees to tell their stories in a safe space. It can be therapeutic for them and also help them see God’s fingerprints throughout their journey. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Learn more about Heidy Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/k3cviQ0pGCw Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • March 24 · length unknown

    Episode 39 – Trusting God’s Plan on the Journey with Simon Ninan

    In this special episode, my husband, Simon Ninan joins me in sharing our story as immigrants from India to the U.S. He works as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategy for Hitachi Vantara in Silicon Valley. Like me, he was born and raised in a Christian family in India. Simon and I have been married for almost eighteen years and that’s also how long we’ve been immigrants. We discuss the culture shocks and challenges we experienced during our initial years as immigrants. We reflect on how trusting in God’s plan and character helped us endure hard times and constant change. Takeaways Most immigrants are not prepared to cope with the changes they encounter in a foreign country, and the transition can affect them emotionally as well as spiritually. When we go through hard times or face any kind of unexpected adversity, we can remember that God is with us through it all. Sometimes, He helps and comforts us through people or community. Truths we can rehearse to anchor our trust in God: God has a good plan for us, He is in control, and He never changes. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/lXq4ykO2ofI Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • March 10 · length unknown

    Episode 38 – Raising Justice-Minded Kids with Elisa Johnston

    Our guest, Elisa Johnston, is a fellow Redbud writer, a writers’ coach, a nonprofit consultant, and author of two books, Justice-Minded Kids and The Life Mapping Workbook. She explains why she views herself as a “hidden immigrant.” Elisa discusses how to instill values of compassion, empathy, and justice in kids of all ages. She suggests practical ways parents can encourage their children to care for immigrants and refugees, build relationships with diverse groups of people, and use their voice to advocate for them. Takeaways Parents must be intentional about raising kids to be justice-minded, inculcating activities and conversations in their day-to-day lives meant to teach values of compassion and justice. Parents can depend on God to provide opportunities to interact with immigrants and refugees and organically build relationships with them. Since each child is unique, he or she can be encouraged to use his or her voice to advocate for the immigrant community in a way that best suits him or her. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Learn more about Elisa Elisa’s free resource of Bible verses Connect with Elisa on Facebook Connect with Elisa on Instagram Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home https://youtu.be/1Vyg9qFgtKo Watch & Subscribe on YouTube Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

  • February 24 · length unknown

    Episode 37 – Navigating Transitions with Carolyn Grant

    Our guest, writer and transition coach, Carolyn Grant, is no stranger to change. Born and raised in South Africa, she moved to the U.K. and then to the U.S. In this episode, she and I discuss both the challenges and blessings we experience as immigrants. Carolyn reflects on how her immigrant journey strengthened her faith in God and what inspired her to become a transition coach. She shares tips on navigating seasons of change with purpose and hope. Takeaways Transition is ongoing for many immigrants, who’re constantly learning new things and living in between cultures. God is the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore. He can be our anchor during times of transition. Our identity and sense of belonging are rooted in Christ. Remembering that we are children of God who belong to Him can help us cope with difficult changes. Join our online community to share your thoughts on this episode. Links Learn more about Carolyn Connect with Mabel on Facebook Connect with Mabel on Instagram Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home Watch & Subscribe on YouTube https://youtu.be/1pCcxvo4RXs Subscribe to Mabel’s Emails

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