March 28, 2025 • 52 mins
Lauren Burns shares her remarkable journey of being kidnapped at age seven by her Muslim father and taken to Jordan, and the miraculous rescue orchestrated through divine intervention and a team of ex-military operatives.
• Raised between two homes - Christian mother in Texas and Muslim father who had returned from Jordan with changed religious practices
• Lauren's father took her to Jordan under false pretenses during a Halloween weekend visit
• Her mother discovered the abduction when Lauren didn't show up at school and confirmed she was on a flight to Jordan
• Series of divine appointments connected her mother with former military specialists willing to attempt a rescue
• Mother's breakthrough came through three days of fasting and prayer in a motel room
• Rescue team searched Jordan for weeks before miraculously spotting Lauren through a school bus window
• Daring extraction involved hijacking a school bus and escaping across border into Israel
• Lauren discusses healing from father wounds and trauma after rescue
• Testimony demonstrates God's faithfulness and detailed orchestration even in seemingly impossible circumstances
Connect with Lauren on social media and through her podcast to hear more testimonies of God's redemptive work in impossible situations.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenburnsredeemed
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@laurenburnsredeemed
Spotify: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/redeemed-podcast22
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurenBredeemed/
Website: https://www.laurenburns.net/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Nicole Cater, your host, founder and
servant leader of GracevilleCommunity.
I want to thank you for tuningin to Graceville Community
Podcast.
This is a safe space, a placein which we just share stories
of how God has touchedindividuals' lives all across
the world and how they are nowimpacting the kingdom of God.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in.
Blessings to you, hello, hello,hello.
Welcome again, gracefieldcommunity.
I am so excited to have youtuning in.
Whether you're watching orwatching or listening, I just
want to welcome you.
Welcome to Gracefield community.
I am thrilled to have ourguests on today.
(00:45):
I'm excited for the topics thatwe will dive into.
I'm already knowing that theyare so near and dear to my heart
and I'm praying that they arejust as dear to you.
As always, graceville Communityis here to be a place where you
are inspired and encouraged toenter into or continue your walk
and journey with Christ Beforewe get started.
(01:08):
So today, as I was justpreparing, in the sense, for our
podcast, one of the things thatI want to do is, wherever you
are, if you're driving andtuning in, please do not stop
driving, but I'm going to askyou just to take one hand and
place it on your heart and I'mjust going to say a brief prayer
about receiving through thispodcast.
(01:29):
So, abba, father, we thank youfor who you are.
We enter into your throne gatesright now with praise and
thanksgiving.
The fact that we have air inour lungs and a heartbeat going
means that there is somethingthat you have for us today and
(01:50):
there is something that we cangive in the very same way today.
So, lord, I ask that as welisten in to the things that you
have us here, may we not justpay attention to the individual
that's speaking, but may we payattention to the words that come
from Holy Spirit, inspireddirection and guidance.
(02:13):
Thank you for this time.
Thank you for being with us.
We love you and we honor you InJesus name.
Amen, all right, so today I'muber excited.
Now, some people I've said uberexcited before and people are
like Nicole is that a word?
Yes, it's more than just likecalling an uber guys.
(02:35):
It literally is a form ofexcitement, it is an adverb.
Yes, homeschooling mom comingthrough right now, and so,
keeping that in mind, I am very,very excited I will use the
word very excited to have ourguests today, and so, as always,
I do want to share a little bitabout our guests before we dive
(02:57):
in.
So today we have Ms LaurenBurns.
Lauren is a compelling speakerwhose story has been featured in
major media outlets such asPeople Magazine, the Washington
Post and NBC's made-for-TV movie, desperate Rescue.
At seven, lauren was kidnappedby her father and taken to
(03:21):
Jordan, where she spent yearsadapting to a new culture before
her daring escape.
Her journey of faith, familyand freedom inspires readers to
find hope in the darkestcircumstances.
Lauren now speaks at events andpodcasts, sharing her message
of redemption.
So, gracefield community, helpme welcome Lauren Burns.
(03:45):
Hey, lauren.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Hi Nicole.
Thank you for that amazingintroduction.
I appreciate so much being onyour show and being able to
visit with your listeners today.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Absolutely.
I mean, it is my pleasure, butit is an honor to have you on
the show and I am today.
I'm just like our listeners.
I definitely want to tune inand I'm like what, even as I
first read your bio and Iinitially even just went through
a little bit of a recap therey'all that's not all of it, but
a recap there and I'm like I Ihave to hear about this, I have
(04:20):
to hear about it.
So please just share with usyour story.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, first, you know , this happened when I was seven
, in 1987.
And so it's 37 years later,because now I'm 44.
And some people have asked me,lauren, why now?
Why now are you sharing yourstory in such a public way?
The movie came out in 1992,made by NBC, but the movie's not
going to tell you what God didin my life.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I really felt a year ago, god calling me Lauren, it's
your turn to write your story.
So for the person listeningmaybe the entrepreneur that's
like I don't know what I'm doing, this is so out of my comfort
zone.
Y'all that was me.
I'm a full-time physicaltherapist, I am a mom, soccer
mom, like I have no extra time.
But when God calls you to dosomething, number one, you pray
(05:08):
about it and you pray some more,and then you step out in faith
and you're like okay, god, Idon't know what I'm doing, I
don't know how to host a podcast, I don't know how to write a
book, but I am not going to letmy story sit any longer if
you're calling me to share it,because there's power when we
share our testimony.
And so I want to encourage thelistener if you have some fear
(05:29):
or some doubt or that impostersyndrome, pray about it and let
God lead you.
And man will he open some doors?
My, I always tell people my.
My childhood started a hot mess.
My parents met in Dallas, texas.
My father is from Jarrosh,jordan, jordan, is near Israel,
and he's Muslim, and my motheris from Florida and Christian.
(05:53):
So you might already bethinking how is this going to
work out.
You know, christian and someonethat's Muslim like this is not
going to work.
But when you're like 19, 20,you're probably not thinking
those things.
And you know my mom just fellin love and they got married and
and started their family inDallas and I was their first
child.
My mom found herself pregnantafter they were married for
(06:16):
about four years and my fathertold my mom that he needed to go
to Jordan to take care of hissick father Jordan to take care
of his sick father.
And instead of being gone for afew weeks, he was gone for
three months.
My mom thought she had beenabandoned.
I mean, nicole, this was herfirst time to be pregnant, so
you can imagine she was afraidshe was by herself.
(06:37):
Her only people that she had inher life was her good friends,
beverly and Rick Lambert, and ifyou love country music then you
know the name.
Lambert is Miranda Lambert, thecountry singer, songwriter.
She was one of my close friends, grew up.
I've known them my whole life.
They helped raise me.
So for the person listeningthat knows also what it's like
(06:59):
to not have family around, godwill put people in your life.
He will put that support towalk through the things that
you're going to walk through,even when you don't know what
you might be going through, andthat was the Lamberts.
So there was my mom and she wasemotional.
She's a hot mess.
My dad came back from Jordan.
He looked different and he wasdressed in his traditional
(07:22):
clothing.
He was praying on his prayerrug.
He was going to the mosque andmy mom was freaking out.
She was like where have youbeen?
I thought you were never comingback.
And he said well, I went toJordan to make a home for us.
I found a job, I found a home.
And my mom was like what areyou talking about?
We never talked about leavingDallas, let alone the United
(07:44):
States.
No, I don't want to move.
So by the time I was six weeksold, my mom was in the process
of filing for divorce.
So that's how my life began.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Wow, okay, I mean there's so much there already.
I'm like talk about thebeginning of a movie scene which
, as we know it definitelyturned into such right.
But just the thought of like aChristian and a Muslim coming
together, I imagine, andprobably from your mom's account
, that when they first cametogether maybe he was what we
(08:17):
would maybe consider like moreAmerican eyes, was not
necessarily practicing.
Okay, okay, and just thinkabout, I think about the shock,
like all that it takes in ouraspects of being pregnant.
I mean, our listeners know Iendured some very all of my
pregnancies were high risk.
Our listeners know and if youdon't know, you know that I lost
(08:39):
our first child and I carriedpregnancies following, had a
twin pregnancy, and I'm justthinking of all the things that
come along with pregnancy.
I mean, let's just talk abouthormones alone, right?
Yes, already sensitive in somany ways, your hormones are,
we'll just say, not alignedtypically, and so, with that,
(09:01):
how she probably set in theaspect of, like you said,
abandonment, feeling just leftin the hour when you really need
that support.
Okay, so, from there, so hecomes back right and he starts
practicing, she files for adivorce, and then how do we get
to you being in Jordan?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So for seven years.
So my mom, you know, and againGod put the right people.
So my mom was me, was workingwith Miranda's grandmother and
Wanda introduced my mom andBeverly.
And then Wanda also introducedmy mom to a woman by the name of
Joyce.
She was about 10 years olderthan my mom, was never able to
have kids and she asked my momif she wanted to, if we could
(09:47):
move in with her, and she wasgoing to help my mom get, get on
her feet a total stranger right.
So we lived with this sweetlady and she became my aunt,
joyce.
And my mom wasn't like tryingto figure out how do you buy
diapers and formula and all thethings, but god was providing
and my mom could always figureout how to make money.
She's very smart business woman.
(10:07):
So she was able to get out ofthat hole and so for seven years
I went back and forth betweentwo homes.
You know my mom had fullcustody of me, but anytime my
dad wanted to see me he could.
They actually had a goodrelationship.
My dad remarried to a woman.
Her family was from the MiddleEast but she was raised in the
United States and I loved mystepmother.
(10:27):
She was awesome.
They had two other children, soI got to be a big sister.
So on the weekends I'd go spendwith them.
And I got to be a big sisterand I was in a house full of
family and then it was just mymom and I getting our chores
done around the apartment andgetting things done.
So we were like she's like mybest friend, and that's all I
knew.
I didn't know anything elseother than going between two
(10:50):
households.
I call my dad the Disney dad.
He was always taking me to funplaces and the movies, and you
name it.
We had a great relationship.
But everything changed in 1987.
When I was seven years old, myfather asked my mom if I could
stay one extra night with him togo trick or treating with my
(11:10):
siblings.
And my mom said sure, noproblem, just make sure that
Lauren gets to school on Monday.
And he said absolutely, shewill be there, don't worry.
So that weekend he came to pickme up on that Friday and I had
my suitcase ready.
And when I started sharing mystory, you know God provided
(11:31):
every detail.
My mom had given me a box 20years ago and labeled it Jordan
and I just if you've ever beenthrough trauma.
You know what it's like, thatyou don't want to relive it and
you just put that stuffliterally in a box and shove it
away.
And that's what I did.
I never opened it, but when Ifelt God calling me to write my
(11:52):
book, I pulled that box out andopened it, and that was hard to
do, but I found photos of me inmy little cheerleading outfit
that Halloween weekend.
It was a blue and yellowcheerleading outfit, my hair and
pigtails.
My mom gave me some makeup toput on.
I have all my mom's journalsthat she wrote every single day
that I was gone.
I have cassette tapes hours ofcassette tapes that I listened
(12:16):
to, of my mom calling Jordanevery day, begging to see me,
and so it's been quite thejourney to relive.
So my dad picked me up, I hadthat little outfit on and I was
super excited and I got in hiscar and my stepmom wasn't there,
my siblings were not with himand he said Well, I have a
surprise for you, lauren, we aregoing on a big trip, we're
(12:40):
going to the airport.
And so I was totally confused,nicole.
I'm like what do you mean?
We're going to a treating?
And he said no, actually we'regoing to the airport.
I'm taking you to Jordan so youcan go meet your family.
Well, I started asking all thequestions, you know, as he's
driving.
Mom never told me we were doingthis.
She said that I was supposed togo to school on Monday.
(13:00):
Does she know?
Is it okay?
And he's like it's fine.
She didn't want to ruin thesurprise.
Your stepmom can't go with usbecause she's pregnant and she
might lose the baby if she flies.
Well, I'm seven, I don't know.
I'm trusting him and so themore questions I ask as he's
driving, the more upset he gets,and I just sort of stopped
asking all the questions, havestopped asking all the questions
(13:29):
.
Well, that Monday, that same day, you know God was already
moving my mom.
I told you she's a single mom,she's working nonstop.
You know how hard it is to stopyour day to go have lunch with
your kids.
She never had that opportunity.
She was always hustling, but onthat Monday, it's like the Holy
Spirit was already talking toher.
She decided to go have lunchwith me and so she went to my
(13:49):
school.
She goes to the courtyard when,with all the kids are lining up
to go to the classroom andshe's scanning the line and she
doesn't see me.
And the teacher sees her andwalks over to my mom and she
begins to tell my mom well,kathy, lauren, they've never
came to school today.
And my mom is mad because thelast thing she said to my dad is
(14:11):
make sure Lauren's at school.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
And so she goes, and this is in the 80s, there's no
cell phones.
So she walks over to a payphone and she dials my dad's
house and the phone rings andrings and nobody answers.
Then she calls his restaurantHim and his brother owned a
restaurant, and they told my momthat my dad had never gone to
work that day.
Well, that anger then turned toconcern.
(14:37):
Absolutely, and it's like rightthere at that pay phone.
It's like the Holy Spirit wassort of guiding my mom all over
again at that payphone.
It's like the Holy Spirit wassort of guiding my mom all over
again.
The third phone call she made,nicole, was to the Royal Alia
Airlines, and the headquartersis in New York City.
My mom had gone to Jordan nineyears before this had happened,
so before they got married to gomeet my father's family, and
(14:59):
she remembered the name of theairlines.
So she called and when the ladyanswered she said do you have a
Lauren and an Ollie on yourflight reservations?
And the lady said ma'am, Ican't give out that kind of
information.
Well then my mom's voicechanged and she got desperate.
She said please, I think myex-husband's taken my daughter.
Can you please help me?
The lady came back on the phoneand said yes, ma'am, I have a
(15:23):
Lauren and an Ollie arriving inAmman, jordan, this evening.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
No-transcript oh, my goodness, wow.
You know, I'm gonna say, as amother who has grieved a child
that you lost, I can't evenimagine knowing that this, this
child, like for your mom,knowing that you are alive.
But yes, she lost you.
You know, um, man, man, so yourstepmom didn't come and your
(15:58):
siblings didn't come, yeah,correct.
So, like curiosity is running,just you went.
Have you ever considered, like,why was it just you?
Or maybe you go and tell uslater, um, or where we're like
why the stepmom and yoursiblings didn't go.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I've learned a lot listening to those cassette
tapes.
My oldest son is 14.
And when I started listening tothese tapes, there were times
where I would just play itwithout my headphones in and my
son was like Mom please, I can'thandle hearing Mimi.
My mom, I can't handle hearingMimi's voice like that.
Will you please turn it off,Because it is so emotional and
(16:37):
so hard.
Like you said, she is begging,begging for my dad to bring me
back.
But listening to those cassettetapes I have learned a lot of
the answers.
My father did not want mystepmother to know what he was
doing.
He sent my stepmother away tobe with her family, saying hey,
you're pregnant, why don't yougo on a little vacation?
(16:59):
Take the kids with you, Y'alltake a week off on a trip.
Sounds good, right?
And so that way he could takeme.
And his thought was she willgive in because she didn't have
a career, she didn't really havean education, so she had no way
to make an income.
And he figured that she wasgoing to give in and just go to
(17:19):
Jordan and they were going tohave this life together.
So that's what was in his mind.
But before I get too far ahead.
I want you to hear the Jesus Imean God, is all in this story.
My mom at that payphone.
She called rick, rick andbeverly.
Rick was a police officer forthe dallas county and at this
time he actually him and hiswife, beverly opened a private
(17:43):
investigation company calledlambert and lambert.
She paged rick 9-1-1.
They knew my dad very wellthey're probably the only people
in my life that actually knewmy father and she paged rick.
And I interviewed rick andbever Beverly on my podcast and
they said that they wereactually working together at the
Dallas County Courthouse thatday and they grabbed the phone
(18:05):
at the clerk's office and calledmy mom back and my mom begins
to tell Rick, Ollie has takenLauren, I don't know what to do.
So, Rick and Bev, they jumpedin their car and they drove 100
miles you know as fast as theycould down the Dallas Expressway
to my mom's house in Richardson.
And in that townhouse is whereeverything began to unravel All
(18:27):
that fear, all the emotions.
And the first thing Rick saidis go to Radio Shack, get a
recording device and put it onyour phone so every time you try
to call Jordan or you call thepolice or you call the State
Department.
We can re-listen to those tapesbecause, Kathy, your mind's
going to be everywhere and weneed to be able to get a clue of
where Lauren might be.
Because of that, I have phonecalls.
(18:49):
So day after day, my mom iscalling Jordan and most of the
time people only can speakArabic.
So in broken English they'resaying Ali's not here, Lauren's
not here, and my mom's sayingplease, I am Lauren's mother.
This isn't right.
You have to bring her home.
I you know this is where she'ssupposed to live.
I won't prosecute Ali, I don'tcare about Ali, Just bring
(19:12):
Lauren home.
And day after day, they justkept saying she's not here, we
can't help you.
And then my mom would call thepolice and the police said ma'am
, this is out of ourjurisdiction.
You know he's a Jordaniancitizen.
Yes, you have full custody inthe United States, but there's
nothing we can do.
So day after day, the answer iswe can't help you.
(19:33):
We can't help you.
My mom's not eating, she's notsleeping.
You can imagine the chaos inthat townhouse.
But, Nicole, it's totally God,because Bev and Rick had moved
in with Miranda Miranda's likefour years old.
They moved into my mom'stownhouse and they were with her
day and night helping her, andthis particular day Beverly was
(19:56):
visiting her brother.
I mean, this conversation couldhave happened in person, but I
have it on the on a recording.
She calls and my mom was likeBev, please pray over Lauren, no
matter if she's in the mosqueor she's in the streets of
Jordan and Jerash, that Godwould protect her and God would
bring her home.
And Beverly starts praying thismighty prayer over me of
(20:17):
protection.
And then Beverly stopped andshe said Kathy, you have got to
get away from all of the noiseand the chaos and the confusion
and you have got to be alonewith God and you've got to pray
and put your eyes on Jesus.
And then she said I read a bookthat talks about fasting and
how fasting brings you theclosest to God.
And my mom's crying and she'slike you're right, Beverly, and
(20:42):
I've got to get rid of thesecigarettes.
My mom has smoked for a longtime, but she told me that at
this point she was smoking liketwo cigarettes at a time, all
day long, because she was sostressed out.
And when I share this, I'm notsaying if you smoke cigarettes
that you're going to hell, butjust from my mom, she was
running to that instead ofrunning to Jesus.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And so my mom agreed with her and she said before I
can go, rick had made anappointment for my mom to go to
the grand jury in Dallas tohopefully get a warrant out for
my father's arrest.
So if he came back to theUnited States they could at
least capture him, arrest himand try to find out where I was.
(21:22):
So, as Rick is driving my momto that meeting, he's telling my
mom, kathy, there's noguarantee that they can help us.
This is just checking the box.
We're going through theprocedures.
It's the next step in the rightdirection, but don't get your
hopes up.
So she walks into that grandjury and she stands before them
and begins to tell her storyabout me being taken.
(21:45):
My father is a Jordanian citizen, she has full custody.
And so they tell her Nicole,I'm sorry, there's nothing that
we can do, it's out of ourjurisdiction.
The United States does not havea treaty with Jordan.
And my mom said can I be realwith you right now?
(22:05):
She breaks down.
It's not fair that we spendbillions of dollars in foreign
aid every year and you'retelling me you can do nothing to
get my daughter back.
And so they agree with her.
Every person there shakes theirhead and they agree with her.
And one man stood up and openedhis wallet.
His name is El Zapanta, he'sstill, he's big in the military,
he still works in politicalworld today and he took out his
(22:28):
card.
My mom has no clue who this manis, Right.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Right.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Takes out his card and said my name is El Zapanta.
I work for the State Department.
If you're not happy with theState Department, give me a call
and I'll see what I can do.
She took his card and you know,when you're in the midst of a
dark place of depression andanxiety and fear, you can't even
see.
When God is like that light inthe darkness, you can't even see
(22:52):
it in front of your face.
Yes, she takes the card, shewalks out, she goes back to the
townhouse and Beverly can seehow depressed she is and Bev's
like how did it go?
And she said they can't help me, they can do nothing to help me
.
So she grabbed her Bible andshe grabbed her suitcase and
said I don't know where I'mgoing, but I got to get out of
(23:17):
here, I'm just going to be aloneand pray.
So she got in her car and shedrove towards Fort Worth, had no
clue where she was going.
She found some little motel inFort Worth and she was there for
three days and three nights andshe fasted and prayed.
And on that third day, with heron her knees in the floor of
that motel room, god gave her ascripture verse in Daniel motel
(23:39):
room.
God gave her a scripture versein Daniel.
Daniel was fasting for 21 daysover the Israelites and the
angel Gabriel came to Daniel andin verse 10, 12, the angel said
do not be afraid, daniel.
Since the first day you setyour mind to gain understanding
and to humble yourself beforeGod, your words were heard.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
God was telling my mom Kathy, I see you from the
moment you walked into thismotel room and you took your
eyes off your situation and youput your eyes on me.
I see you.
And then Daniel, the angelGabriel continues to tell Daniel
there is a war in theheavenlies fighting over the
Israelites.
(24:18):
And it's like God was tellingmy mom there is a war in the
heavenlies fighting over yourdaughter.
But do not be afraid, becauseI'm going to go with you.
But there's some things you'regoing to have to deal with first
.
And God began to tell my mom yougot to lay down those
cigarettes.
And my mom said I will notsmoke again if you bring my
daughter back cigarettes.
And my mom said I will notsmoke again if you bring my
(24:38):
daughter back.
And then God told my mom you'vegot to lay down some areas of
unforgiveness and somebitterness and anger, because
when you've got unforgivenessand bitterness in your heart
it's going to block thoseprayers.
The prayers of the righteousare answered.
So my mom had to wrestle withGod in that motel room and
Nicole, she walked out of there,went back to the townhouse.
Beverly opened the door and shelooked at my mom and she said
(25:01):
you don't look the same.
And my mom said I'm not the same, I know I'm going to get Lauren
back.
God told me I'm going to getLauren back and everything
changed in my story after that.
Hey, let's take a quick breakto tell you about Grace Filled
Community.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Grace Filled Community is an organization
that focuses on the primaryprinciples of the Church of Acts
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We do this through three coreextensions.
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(25:46):
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Just like the early church, wefocus not on attendance and
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Our second extension is Projectof the Grace Field, where we
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provide biblical counseling,mentorship, workshops and events
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understanding that all havefallen short and are a working
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Let us help the individuals inyour community grow as they walk
(26:33):
with God and experience thefullness of his love.
Our third extension isGrace-Filled Business.
Grace-filled Business is hereto help small faith-based
business owners develop theirbusiness in a way that honors
God, that brings increase andallows them to pour back into
his kingdom, through marketplaceministry and financing his
(26:54):
kingdom.
We do this through our 15 yearsof experience of virtual
administrative work, digitalmarketing, business development
and consulting.
Welcome back man, you know itmakes me think of.
There's a scripture that saysand some things come out through
prayer and fasting, right?
Yes, I love how like she turnedto that and she sat with him in
(27:22):
it and understood that therewas a sacrifice to be made,
right, sometimes we have to letsomething go Most of us, right.
Let something go that isholding us or blocking us from
receiving what God wants to feelin us or give to us, right.
But I just, first of all, whata Testament.
(27:44):
And I just want to pause and beas individual.
I don't know about you listeners, but I want to pause and honor
your mom.
I want to honor her willingnessto war, spiritually as well as
physically, on behalf of gettingher child back right To war,
(28:04):
even in the war of yourprotection, right To sit in that
and do the thing, do thespiritual thing, when I'm sure
everything in physical said giveup, like you know, everything
said sit in.
You could, you could sit in thestate of depression you could,
you could become angry at God.
You can turn from the verything that you need.
(28:24):
And so I want to pause andhonor her, which I'm sure you
honor her consistently, but justin my heart and my mama's heart
.
I'm like, oh my, taking yourpain before God.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's much easier to be angry at God and turn your
turn.
Your you know, like you know bemad.
But you're right, she, shepressed in and you're exactly
right.
I think it's in Matthew whereGod says some things are fought
through fasting.
There's some demons.
You got to go deeper and my momhad to go deeper and then she
had to let some things go, andthe Bible talks about faith.
(29:07):
You know, for the person thatthe entrepreneur, that's like
stepping out into faith, doingsomething new.
You got to pray but then yougot to act and that was the next
step.
So my mom was in that place ofprayer, but now she had to act.
So she pulled out that cardthat El Zapanta gave her and she
dialed the number and Al beganto tell my mom.
(29:29):
One week before Al was in thatcourtroom that day, he was in
Washington DC with a friend ofhis named Everett Alvarez.
Everett Alvarez is the secondlongest held POW.
He has many awards in themilitary, very well known, and
during this lunch Everett wastelling Al about a group of men
(29:51):
in North Carolina that wereex-military Green Beret Delta
Force Army Ranger, where theywould go into the Middle East
and their job is to rescuehostages Now.
They had never rescued a child.
But, nicole, are you followingwhat I'm saying?
(30:12):
A week before, al was in thejury room, he was talking with
his friend and God placed him inthat jury room that day to hear
my mom ask for help.
God was already ordaining thefootsteps, but my mom had no
clue.
And so if you're listening andyou're fighting some big battles
(30:32):
in your life and some bigcareer moves, god's already
making the path.
You just got to keep your eyeson him and keep walking forward
in faith.
Because we don't know what he'sdoing Right, we don't.
Everything changed with that.
My mom called those men.
Well, my mom was like Al, Idon't care what he's doing,
right, we know.
Everything changed with that.
My mom called those men.
Well, my mom was like Al, Idon't care what it takes or how
much money it costs, I want totalk to those men.
(30:53):
And I was like wait a minute,kathy, it's going to cost a lot
of money.
The United States cannot helpyou if this mission goes south,
that you're going to risk yourlife, and they've never done
anything like this for a child.
And my mom was like I don'tcare.
So she flew Don and Dave intoDallas, met them at a hotel near
the Dallas airport.
(31:13):
They met my mom.
They were blown away by her.
She walked in ready.
She had all these photos of myfather, photos of me.
My dad had like 12 siblings.
She had a.
She had a typed up notebookabout all of the siblings, what
they did for a career, everycharacteristic about them.
She had maps of the city.
She had drawn by memory whatthe house looked like.
(31:34):
She was prepared.
And so, after speaking with herand they said the same thing
Kathy, it's going to cost a lotof money, we cannot guarantee
your safety or Lauren's safety.
And my mom said I don't care,whatever it takes.
And so they agreed.
So they said yes to the missionwithin a few hours of talking
to my mom.
So the next step was Dave.
(31:57):
He was sort of they call him,call him grandpa.
And, by the way, when I startedthis podcast, I had not
reconnected with the men thatrescued me.
Ever since my rescue, when Istarted this journey of doing
the podcast and writing my book,I have reconnected with all of
the people that did my rescueand six months ago my mom and I
(32:19):
went to North Carolina and wedid a reunion in person.
I got to hug their necks and totell them thank you.
That's what God does when yousay yes to things he's calling
you to do.
That's been amazing.
So Dave's job was to go intoJordan to try to find an escape
route, because you can't justput me on a plane and fly me out
of there.
(32:39):
And so he goes into detail onone of my podcast episodes of
all the different escape routesthat he tried to plan and he
researched and the reasons whythey wouldn't work.
And then, while he was doingthat, my mom went to Washington
DC to try to get paperwork forme, to get a passport and visa
and entry stamps, because youneed all of that stuff to get me
out of the country.
(33:00):
Dave was in Jordan for threeweeks and he could not find me
and he could not find myfather's home.
So he called for three weeksand he could not find me and he
could not find my father's home.
So he called Don and JD.
He's like I need help.
I can't.
I can't find this kid.
What if she's not even here?
They started thinking what ifI'm in Lebanon or somewhere else
?
So Dave and JD came in and theywere searching the streets.
They were in the schools, youname it, and they were under
(33:22):
disguise.
They were changing their rentalcars every day to hopefully
that no one would find themsuspicious.
Right, and after days ofsearching for me, dave and JD
are out on.
I'm sorry, don and JD are outon the street and JD just starts
praying.
He's like all right, god, I'vedone everything.
I know how to do.
You know, he's an expert in his, in his career.
And he starts praying.
(33:43):
He's like God, you got to helpme find this, this girl in his
career.
Right, and he starts praying.
He's like god, you got to helpme find this, this girl.
As he's standing on the street,a school bus pulls up right
where JD is standing and heturns and looks through the
window and there I sat and Iturned and locked eyes with him
and he ran over to Don and shookDon by the shoulders and he
said I saw Lauren.
And Don's like what are youtalking about?
(34:04):
How do you know?
And and JD said I saw her eyes.
You see, I have all ofcomplexion skin, I have dark
hair, but my eyes are like abright blue, and so that was
sort of the time they realizedthe bus had already gone off and
they couldn't follow it.
So they call my mom.
(34:28):
At this point she's in Cypruswaiting to find out if they had
spotted me.
And so they said Kathy, we havefound Lauren, she is in Jerash.
But we can't find yourex-husband's home.
We need you.
So my mom got in disguise, sheflew into Amman.
Don and Dave and JD met her inAmman and drove her into Djerash
, and she was so confident thatshe would easily be able to find
(34:52):
my father's home.
But as she began to drive intothe town, everything looked
different.
The dirt roads were paved, thelittle bitty buildings were now
big, because they sort of buildon top of each other.
And that fear started overcomingher again and my mom got down
in the floorboard of that car,in the front seat, while Don was
driving, and she startedpraying out loud, crying God,
(35:16):
you have to help me find Lauren.
You haven't brought us all thisfar to not even find the home.
And with my mom's eyes closed,it's like the Holy Spirit just
started reminding my mom of thestreets and the turns and the
road and she began to say goleft, go straight, turn right.
And all of a sudden she lookedup and out her window there was
a white Mazda with Texas licenseplates sitting on the street
(35:40):
and my mom froze in fear.
And a couple blocks away shewas finally able to say I saw
his car, so don turned the cararound and drove back by.
And as soon as he drove past hesaw my dad walk out of the
building.
So again, nothing happened andstill people started praying jd
(36:01):
praying on the street, my mompraying in that car.
It's like god's saying hey, Iwant you all to know who's in
control here.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Right, right, yeah Every step of the way.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
So the mission once they realized where the house
was in a busy area of town andthere's a police station right
next door and they thought it'stoo dangerous to get me out of
that house.
So they watched the school busand the school bus had one stop
on the outskirts of town at areal farmhouse.
So they decided the best way toget me was to hijack that bus
(36:33):
and get me off that way.
And the plan was to escape overthe Jordan river Like how
symbolic is that into Israel.
So the day of the mission and Ijust learned this recently Don
Feeney's wife is Judy.
She's also in the military.
She was in the military.
She also worked for CTU.
(36:54):
She was in North Carolinarunning things stateside.
And so the mission, the codeword the day of the mission was
the sun is shining.
But Judy said tell Kathy, thesun is S-O-N, not S-U-N.
Was the sun is shining, butjudy said tell kathy, the sun is
s-o-n, not s-u-n, because thesun is jesus.
Even the code word, god was incontrol every step of the way.
(37:16):
So the day of the mission, davewas in one car.
His job was to watch the houseto make sure I actually got on
the bus that day and I wasactually going to go to school
and then the other car was mymom and JD and Dawn.
So after I got on the bus, davedrove to where they were and
(37:36):
said Lauren's on the busMissions to go.
As soon as the bus passed, dawn.
Dawn parked behind the bus asit as it parked at that
farmhouse and they blocked thebus in.
Dawn got out and went over tothe driver's side of the bus and
distracted the bus driverspeaking in English to distract
him.
Jd went over to the passengerside and pried open the doors
(38:02):
and my mom they're all dressedin disguise she went over to the
bus window.
She had spotted me sitting onthat bus and she tapped on the
window.
And there's a lot of things Ihave forgotten because I went
into shock with all of thishappening.
But I'll never forget the day Isaw my mom looking through that
window.
She was knocking on the windowand trying to motion to me, but,
(38:23):
nicole, I froze.
All I could think of is thatlooks just like my mom.
But how can it be?
She's all the way in Texas.
I must be dreaming.
I thought I was dreaming, Ifroze, I would not move.
So my mom pushed past JD and shegot on the bus and she scooped
me up and got my backpack, likeevery mother would do.
And then she's pulling me offthat bus.
(38:44):
There's a lady chaperone.
The lady chaperone jumps on mymom's back because she has no
clue what's happening, and mymom lets me go and she turns
around and she punches the womanin the nose.
So now the woman's bleeding,there's blood coming down this
woman's face.
So I'm super freaked out and JDand Dawn see what's going on so
(39:07):
they come over and help my mom.
They get me into the car.
They took the keys from theignition of the bus and they
threw them into some bushes,hoping that they would go
looking for the keys instead ofgoing straight to the police.
And that's exactly what theydid.
And then we got in our car andwe drove off and a couple of
blocks down the road.
Dave switched cars with us.
He took the car that we justused to hijack the bus and he
(39:27):
drove back towards the city tobe a decoy On the day of the
mission, my mom had bookedflights for us to fly out of
Amman Airport back to the UnitedStates, hoping that the police
would look for us at the airport, dave, and interviewing him and
(39:49):
hearing the details of thestory.
And all of these men areChristian, like it's just you
know, to hear them tell thestory is amazing.
But Dave got pulled over on theside of the road.
They interrogated him for 30minutes.
They're digging through hiswhole car looking for anything
that would resemble us.
They bring the, the bus driver,to him.
The bus driver, speaking inarabic, saying that's the car.
(40:10):
But I don't know who this manis because, remember, he wasn't
at the hijack.
And all of a sudden, on the, onthe radios, the police radios,
dave can hear alia airport, aliaairport.
They all jumped in their carsand they left Dave on the side
of the road.
They all went to the airportlooking for me.
They shut down the wholeairport and Dave was able to
(40:32):
escape, like, just you know, atotal miracle.
So we're driving towards Israeland it's about a 45-minute drive
from where they hijacked thebus to the border and the fog
was so thick that they couldonly see the front of the car
and my mom is holding me andshe's praying and she's trying
(40:55):
to keep calm because any minutewe could get pulled over right.
And all of a sudden she saidwhat is that bright light as
she's looking into the distancethrough the front window.
And Dawn said well, kathy,that's the sun.
The sun is shining over Israel,bright light as she's looking
into the distance through thefront window.
And dawn said well, kathy,that's the sun.
The sun is shining over israeland it's like god is so good.
He's like kathy, I see you, I'mnot gonna leave you.
(41:17):
It's just he just keeps givingyou these little breadcrumbs the
whole way through.
So we get to the border and youcan't back.
Then.
You couldn't just drive over,you had to leave your car, get
out, give them your passportsand your visas and all the
border passes that she worked sohard to get in Washington.
We get on the bus and we'retrying to stay calm.
(41:38):
There's big barbed wire fences,big military shacks with men
with machine guns.
It is a very secure border.
Jd and Don and Dave had searchedthat border.
They knew every inch of it.
But if they realized who wewere, what were we going to do?
Right?
So we're on that bus for like30 minutes, felt like forever
(42:00):
and my mom's trying to keep calm.
And finally the bus cranks up.
We start to drive over theborder.
Well, right at the middle ofthe bridge, you the israeli flag
and there's a little shack andthere's an israeli soldier and
bus driver and they get on thebus to switch because they drive
you on over into israel.
As our bus is about to crossover, there's a big commotion at
(42:23):
the border where we had justleft.
They had just realized that weweren't at the airport but we
were on that bus.
But, nicole, it was too late.
We had already crossed overinto Israel.
We got on the other side, wegot off and all those emotions
my mom had been holding justcame out my mom's crying.
I'm crying I'm speaking mainlyArabic at this point because I'm
(42:44):
in shock.
And there's a group of womenand they go over to JD and JD's
this big, handsome military guy,and they were like sir, what's
wrong with that woman, what'swrong with that little girl, are
they OK?
And JD turns and he's got tearscoming down his face and he
said you see that little girland you see that mom.
That little girl's been gonefor three months and we just
(43:05):
rescued her out of Jordan.
Her father had taken her, butwe just brought her home to
safety and those women began tosing Hallelujah, we've come to
the Holy land and we've seen amiracle.
And it came around us andstarted hugging and praying with
us.
It's like, even on the otherend, god was there with his
welcome party to celebrate withus.
(43:25):
And it's just.
God is so good and we can'tfathom his greatness.
We can't fathom his goodnesswhen we pray.
It's like we can't evenunderstand what all he is
capable of.
And he sees you in your darkestmoments.
You know, nicole, when I sharemy story in the book that I'm
(43:46):
writing, I'm writing it becauseI have a whole nother journey of
father wounds that I had todeal with forgiving my father
and I had to trust my heavenlyfather.
And you might be listeningthinking well, of course it's
easy for you to trust.
At seven, you saw your dad do abig miracle.
Now, guys, I was angry for manyyears because I thought you
(44:06):
know, if you're such a good God,why did you even let this
happen to me?
Because we had to change mylast name.
I had to live in hiding formany years.
I moved like 14 times before Igot to high school.
So I've had a lot of anger anda lot of daddy wounds, but God
can heal all those broken places.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Yes, oh man, lauren, what a testament.
I can't even call it a story,I'm thinking like just
chronicles.
I'm literally like this ischronicles because it is
multiple accounts of how God wasthere.
I always say God is a God ofthe details and I just feel like
(44:46):
this is chronicles of how hewas present.
He had a plan and he was justlike trust me, I'm in this, I'm
in this man, you know, I can, Ican consider what you're saying
in the aspect of like you wouldthink that because you
experienced that at seven,there's just like, oh, I trust
(45:07):
God and I know who God is and Iseen him do miracles, Right, but
I think about so many times inthe Bible, right, we think about
even the Israelites, how manytimes that they see, well, we
don't have food or we don't haveright.
And it's this aspect of it's adaily choice.
And it's this aspect of it's adaily choice.
I'm sure even now for you andfor me too, it is a daily choice
(45:30):
to say I'm going to trust you,as hard as it may be, as much as
there may be those past woundsthat, yes, I'm sure you went
through a process and a healingjourney in it.
I wish we had all this time totalk about it, because I'm all
about healing journeys andprocess and a healing journey in
it.
I wish we had all this time totalk about it because I'm all
about healing journeys andprocess, but it's a daily choice
(45:50):
, I'm sure to say Lord, becausethings still happen.
You're still living a life todaywhich I'm sure carried all
kinds of experiences.
I mean you have children thatnow are hearing this story.
You have your mother who I'msure is giving praises to God,
yet still has to sit in.
This is our story.
You know, there's one thing wetalk about here in Graceville
(46:11):
community is that we can nevergo back and change our story,
and so there's a part of it thatour story has shaped us.
Our story has changed andhelped us be who we are and how
we can be an impact to thekingdom.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
That's right.
That's why we're here sharing.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
Yes, yes, and I am so grateful for you coming on and
sharing.
I mean, I was sitting here likesomebody give me the popcorn,
Like are you serious?
What is this?
I'm like I want the details.
I cannot, so tell me pleasewhere.
Where are you with this book?
I mean, how can we stayconnected?
Cause again, I feel like thereare details that I am missing
(46:54):
and, just like in reading theBible, I'm like what, what,
that's how?
Speaker 2 (46:58):
I feel Like.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
I want to know the chronicles.
I would love to know thedetails.
So the book, tell us about it.
I would love to know thedetails.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
So the book, tell us about it.
I am about 70 percent done withthe manuscript and I am praying
that God show me the next steps.
So you know, do I self publish?
Do I try to find a publishinghouse?
And I just want to hear fromGod and you know that means
fasting and praying and slowingdown because Lauren wants
everything fast, I want to knoweverything quick and God's like
(47:27):
let me show you, don't get aheadof me.
So that's where I'm at in thebook.
I have the Redeemed podcast,which has been amazing, to share
my story, and I have otherpeople on my show to share their
amazing stories and that'sopened some cool avenues.
And I'm on social media.
That's a great easy way to findme no-transcript stories of how
(48:13):
we've overcome.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
yeah, only only with Christ, right?
Uh, for our listeners, I wouldlike to encourage you please
connect with Lauren, follow hersocial pages, connect with her.
I'm going to connect simplybecause not simply because, yeah
, with the thought of the momentshe says that this book is
(48:35):
ready, I'm ready, I am ready toread and really dive into your
story.
Thank you so much for yourvulnerability, your
vulnerability and choosing andbeing obedient to sharing your
story For those of us.
It has encouraged me today.
I pray that it's encouragedthose that are listening and
that are watching in our journeywith Christ.
(48:58):
Thank you Can.
Speaker 2 (49:01):
I leave.
Can I share one scripturethat's just God's really put on
my heart?
It's in Isaiah 43.
But now, this is what the Lord,your creator, says, o Jacob and
he who formed you, o Israel, donot fear, for I have redeemed
you, I have called you by name.
You are mine.
When you pass through thewaters, I will be with you, and
(49:22):
through the rivers, they willnot overwhelm you.
When you you walk through thefire, you will not be scorched,
nor will the flame burn you.
Whatever journey you're walkingthrough if it's marriage,
career, children, diagnosis, youname it god will be with you.
Just keep your eyes on him ah,thank you so much, la.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
I greatly appreciate you being here.
What a good word, what a goodstory and a testament unto the
God that we serve.
What a glorious God we serve,and so thank you again for being
here.
Gracefield community as always,I am honored that you even
tapped in to hear some of thestories of just how God is
(50:10):
forever present and moving.
He is the same God yesterday,today and forevermore.
Therefore, if you are seekingcommunity and you are like I
want to continue hearing whatGod is doing and I would like to
walk through this journey andsee what the Lord can do for me
(50:31):
Please feel free to reach out tous at Graceville Community.
You connect with us via emailat grow at
gracevillecommunitycom.
Or, as always, check the shownotes.
All the links will be there, aswell as links to connect with
Lauren.
All the links will be there, aswell as links to connect with
Lauren.
We just want to ensure that youhave community around you that
(50:51):
can support you in this journeyand this life that we do,
walking alongside Christ here onearth.
As always, blessings to you.
We love you.
We're praying for you.
May God be with you.
Thank you for tuning in totoday's episode of Graceville
Community Podcast, we would liketo invite you to visit
(51:12):
gracevillecommunitycom.
Graceville Community is allabout doing church the way
Church of Acts did, using fivemain principles that we see in
the book of Acts Sharingresources, as believers pooled
their possessions and resourcesto support those in need, as we
(51:33):
see in Acts 2.44.
Through hospitality the earlyChristians practiced hospitality
by opening their homes toothers, as we see in Acts 2 and
46.
By financial aid the church inAntioch sent financial aid to
(51:55):
believers in Judea during a timeof famine, as described in Acts
11 and 29.
Prayer and encouragement theysupported each other through
prayer and encouragement, as wesee in Acts 4 and 24.
And finally, spiritual guidancethe apostles and elders
provided spiritual guidance andteaching to help strengthen and
(52:17):
build the community, as we seein Acts 15 30.
I would like to encourage you.
If any of those areas are areasin which you are in need or can
contribute, please reach out toGraceville Community.
We are working together acrossthe world with ministries and
(52:38):
individuals alike to help bringback the church of Acts.
My name is Nicole Cater, your host, founder and
servant leader of GracevilleCommunity.
I want to thank you for tuningin to Graceville Community
Podcast.
This is a safe space, a placein which we just share stories
of how God has touchedindividuals' lives all across
the world and how they are nowimpacting the kingdom of God.
(00:21):
Thank you for tuning in.
Blessings to you, hello, hello,hello.
Welcome again, gracefieldcommunity.
I am so excited to have youtuning in.
Whether you're watching orwatching or listening, I just
want to welcome you.
Welcome to Gracefield community.
I am thrilled to have ourguests on today.
(00:45):
I'm excited for the topics thatwe will dive into.
I'm already knowing that theyare so near and dear to my heart
and I'm praying that they arejust as dear to you.
As always, graceville Communityis here to be a place where you
are inspired and encouraged toenter into or continue your walk
and journey with Christ Beforewe get started.
(01:08):
So today, as I was justpreparing, in the sense, for our
podcast, one of the things thatI want to do is, wherever you
are, if you're driving andtuning in, please do not stop
driving, but I'm going to askyou just to take one hand and
place it on your heart and I'mjust going to say a brief prayer
about receiving through thispodcast.
(01:29):
So, abba, father, we thank youfor who you are.
We enter into your throne gatesright now with praise and
thanksgiving.
The fact that we have air inour lungs and a heartbeat going
means that there is somethingthat you have for us today and
(01:50):
there is something that we cangive in the very same way today.
So, lord, I ask that as welisten in to the things that you
have us here, may we not justpay attention to the individual
that's speaking, but may we payattention to the words that come
from Holy Spirit, inspireddirection and guidance.
(02:13):
Thank you for this time.
Thank you for being with us.
We love you and we honor you InJesus name.
Amen, all right, so today I'muber excited.
Now, some people I've said uberexcited before and people are
like Nicole is that a word?
Yes, it's more than just likecalling an uber guys.
(02:35):
It literally is a form ofexcitement, it is an adverb.
Yes, homeschooling mom comingthrough right now, and so,
keeping that in mind, I am very,very excited I will use the
word very excited to have ourguests today, and so, as always,
I do want to share a little bitabout our guests before we dive
(02:57):
in.
So today we have Ms LaurenBurns.
Lauren is a compelling speakerwhose story has been featured in
major media outlets such asPeople Magazine, the Washington
Post and NBC's made-for-TV movie, desperate Rescue.
At seven, lauren was kidnappedby her father and taken to
(03:21):
Jordan, where she spent yearsadapting to a new culture before
her daring escape.
Her journey of faith, familyand freedom inspires readers to
find hope in the darkestcircumstances.
Lauren now speaks at events andpodcasts, sharing her message
of redemption.
So, gracefield community, helpme welcome Lauren Burns.
(03:45):
Hey, lauren.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Hi Nicole.
Thank you for that amazingintroduction.
I appreciate so much being onyour show and being able to
visit with your listeners today.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
Absolutely.
I mean, it is my pleasure, butit is an honor to have you on
the show and I am today.
I'm just like our listeners.
I definitely want to tune inand I'm like what, even as I
first read your bio and Iinitially even just went through
a little bit of a recap therey'all that's not all of it, but
a recap there and I'm like I Ihave to hear about this, I have
(04:20):
to hear about it.
So please just share with usyour story.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, first, you know , this happened when I was seven
, in 1987.
And so it's 37 years later,because now I'm 44.
And some people have asked me,lauren, why now?
Why now are you sharing yourstory in such a public way?
The movie came out in 1992,made by NBC, but the movie's not
going to tell you what God didin my life.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
And.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
I really felt a year ago, god calling me Lauren, it's
your turn to write your story.
So for the person listeningmaybe the entrepreneur that's
like I don't know what I'm doing, this is so out of my comfort
zone.
Y'all that was me.
I'm a full-time physicaltherapist, I am a mom, soccer
mom, like I have no extra time.
But when God calls you to dosomething, number one, you pray
(05:08):
about it and you pray some more,and then you step out in faith
and you're like okay, god, Idon't know what I'm doing, I
don't know how to host a podcast, I don't know how to write a
book, but I am not going to letmy story sit any longer if
you're calling me to share it,because there's power when we
share our testimony.
And so I want to encourage thelistener if you have some fear
(05:29):
or some doubt or that impostersyndrome, pray about it and let
God lead you.
And man will he open some doors?
My, I always tell people my.
My childhood started a hot mess.
My parents met in Dallas, texas.
My father is from Jarrosh,jordan, jordan, is near Israel,
and he's Muslim, and my motheris from Florida and Christian.
(05:53):
So you might already bethinking how is this going to
work out.
You know, christian and someonethat's Muslim like this is not
going to work.
But when you're like 19, 20,you're probably not thinking
those things.
And you know my mom just fellin love and they got married and
and started their family inDallas and I was their first
child.
My mom found herself pregnantafter they were married for
(06:16):
about four years and my fathertold my mom that he needed to go
to Jordan to take care of hissick father Jordan to take care
of his sick father.
And instead of being gone for afew weeks, he was gone for
three months.
My mom thought she had beenabandoned.
I mean, nicole, this was herfirst time to be pregnant, so
you can imagine she was afraidshe was by herself.
(06:37):
Her only people that she had inher life was her good friends,
beverly and Rick Lambert, and ifyou love country music then you
know the name.
Lambert is Miranda Lambert, thecountry singer, songwriter.
She was one of my close friends, grew up.
I've known them my whole life.
They helped raise me.
So for the person listeningthat knows also what it's like
(06:59):
to not have family around, godwill put people in your life.
He will put that support towalk through the things that
you're going to walk through,even when you don't know what
you might be going through, andthat was the Lamberts.
So there was my mom and she wasemotional.
She's a hot mess.
My dad came back from Jordan.
He looked different and he wasdressed in his traditional
(07:22):
clothing.
He was praying on his prayerrug.
He was going to the mosque andmy mom was freaking out.
She was like where have youbeen?
I thought you were never comingback.
And he said well, I went toJordan to make a home for us.
I found a job, I found a home.
And my mom was like what areyou talking about?
We never talked about leavingDallas, let alone the United
(07:44):
States.
No, I don't want to move.
So by the time I was six weeksold, my mom was in the process
of filing for divorce.
So that's how my life began.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Wow, okay, I mean there's so much there already.
I'm like talk about thebeginning of a movie scene which
, as we know it definitelyturned into such right.
But just the thought of like aChristian and a Muslim coming
together, I imagine, andprobably from your mom's account
, that when they first cametogether maybe he was what we
(08:17):
would maybe consider like moreAmerican eyes, was not
necessarily practicing.
Okay, okay, and just thinkabout, I think about the shock,
like all that it takes in ouraspects of being pregnant.
I mean, our listeners know Iendured some very all of my
pregnancies were high risk.
Our listeners know and if youdon't know, you know that I lost
(08:39):
our first child and I carriedpregnancies following, had a
twin pregnancy, and I'm justthinking of all the things that
come along with pregnancy.
I mean, let's just talk abouthormones alone, right?
Yes, already sensitive in somany ways, your hormones are,
we'll just say, not alignedtypically, and so, with that,
(09:01):
how she probably set in theaspect of, like you said,
abandonment, feeling just leftin the hour when you really need
that support.
Okay, so, from there, so hecomes back right and he starts
practicing, she files for adivorce, and then how do we get
to you being in Jordan?
Speaker 2 (09:23):
So for seven years.
So my mom, you know, and againGod put the right people.
So my mom was me, was workingwith Miranda's grandmother and
Wanda introduced my mom andBeverly.
And then Wanda also introducedmy mom to a woman by the name of
Joyce.
She was about 10 years olderthan my mom, was never able to
have kids and she asked my momif she wanted to, if we could
(09:47):
move in with her, and she wasgoing to help my mom get, get on
her feet a total stranger right.
So we lived with this sweetlady and she became my aunt,
joyce.
And my mom wasn't like tryingto figure out how do you buy
diapers and formula and all thethings, but god was providing
and my mom could always figureout how to make money.
She's very smart business woman.
(10:07):
So she was able to get out ofthat hole and so for seven years
I went back and forth betweentwo homes.
You know my mom had fullcustody of me, but anytime my
dad wanted to see me he could.
They actually had a goodrelationship.
My dad remarried to a woman.
Her family was from the MiddleEast but she was raised in the
United States and I loved mystepmother.
(10:27):
She was awesome.
They had two other children, soI got to be a big sister.
So on the weekends I'd go spendwith them.
And I got to be a big sisterand I was in a house full of
family and then it was just mymom and I getting our chores
done around the apartment andgetting things done.
So we were like she's like mybest friend, and that's all I
knew.
I didn't know anything elseother than going between two
(10:50):
households.
I call my dad the Disney dad.
He was always taking me to funplaces and the movies, and you
name it.
We had a great relationship.
But everything changed in 1987.
When I was seven years old, myfather asked my mom if I could
stay one extra night with him togo trick or treating with my
(11:10):
siblings.
And my mom said sure, noproblem, just make sure that
Lauren gets to school on Monday.
And he said absolutely, shewill be there, don't worry.
So that weekend he came to pickme up on that Friday and I had
my suitcase ready.
And when I started sharing mystory, you know God provided
(11:31):
every detail.
My mom had given me a box 20years ago and labeled it Jordan
and I just if you've ever beenthrough trauma.
You know what it's like, thatyou don't want to relive it and
you just put that stuffliterally in a box and shove it
away.
And that's what I did.
I never opened it, but when Ifelt God calling me to write my
(11:52):
book, I pulled that box out andopened it, and that was hard to
do, but I found photos of me inmy little cheerleading outfit
that Halloween weekend.
It was a blue and yellowcheerleading outfit, my hair and
pigtails.
My mom gave me some makeup toput on.
I have all my mom's journalsthat she wrote every single day
that I was gone.
I have cassette tapes hours ofcassette tapes that I listened
(12:16):
to, of my mom calling Jordanevery day, begging to see me,
and so it's been quite thejourney to relive.
So my dad picked me up, I hadthat little outfit on and I was
super excited and I got in hiscar and my stepmom wasn't there,
my siblings were not with himand he said Well, I have a
surprise for you, lauren, we aregoing on a big trip, we're
(12:40):
going to the airport.
And so I was totally confused,nicole.
I'm like what do you mean?
We're going to a treating?
And he said no, actually we'regoing to the airport.
I'm taking you to Jordan so youcan go meet your family.
Well, I started asking all thequestions, you know, as he's
driving.
Mom never told me we were doingthis.
She said that I was supposed togo to school on Monday.
(13:00):
Does she know?
Is it okay?
And he's like it's fine.
She didn't want to ruin thesurprise.
Your stepmom can't go with usbecause she's pregnant and she
might lose the baby if she flies.
Well, I'm seven, I don't know.
I'm trusting him and so themore questions I ask as he's
driving, the more upset he gets,and I just sort of stopped
asking all the questions, havestopped asking all the questions
(13:29):
.
Well, that Monday, that same day, you know God was already
moving my mom.
I told you she's a single mom,she's working nonstop.
You know how hard it is to stopyour day to go have lunch with
your kids.
She never had that opportunity.
She was always hustling, but onthat Monday, it's like the Holy
Spirit was already talking toher.
She decided to go have lunchwith me and so she went to my
(13:49):
school.
She goes to the courtyard when,with all the kids are lining up
to go to the classroom andshe's scanning the line and she
doesn't see me.
And the teacher sees her andwalks over to my mom and she
begins to tell my mom well,kathy, lauren, they've never
came to school today.
And my mom is mad because thelast thing she said to my dad is
(14:11):
make sure Lauren's at school.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Right.
Speaker 2 (14:13):
And so she goes, and this is in the 80s, there's no
cell phones.
So she walks over to a payphone and she dials my dad's
house and the phone rings andrings and nobody answers.
Then she calls his restaurantHim and his brother owned a
restaurant, and they told my momthat my dad had never gone to
work that day.
Well, that anger then turned toconcern.
(14:37):
Absolutely, and it's like rightthere at that pay phone.
It's like the Holy Spirit wassort of guiding my mom all over
again at that payphone.
It's like the Holy Spirit wassort of guiding my mom all over
again.
The third phone call she made,nicole, was to the Royal Alia
Airlines, and the headquartersis in New York City.
My mom had gone to Jordan nineyears before this had happened,
so before they got married to gomeet my father's family, and
(14:59):
she remembered the name of theairlines.
So she called and when the ladyanswered she said do you have a
Lauren and an Ollie on yourflight reservations?
And the lady said ma'am, Ican't give out that kind of
information.
Well then my mom's voicechanged and she got desperate.
She said please, I think myex-husband's taken my daughter.
Can you please help me?
The lady came back on the phoneand said yes, ma'am, I have a
(15:23):
Lauren and an Ollie arriving inAmman, jordan, this evening.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
No-transcript oh, my goodness, wow.
You know, I'm gonna say, as amother who has grieved a child
that you lost, I can't evenimagine knowing that this, this
child, like for your mom,knowing that you are alive.
But yes, she lost you.
You know, um, man, man, so yourstepmom didn't come and your
(15:58):
siblings didn't come, yeah,correct.
So, like curiosity is running,just you went.
Have you ever considered, like,why was it just you?
Or maybe you go and tell uslater, um, or where we're like
why the stepmom and yoursiblings didn't go.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I've learned a lot listening to those cassette
tapes.
My oldest son is 14.
And when I started listening tothese tapes, there were times
where I would just play itwithout my headphones in and my
son was like Mom please, I can'thandle hearing Mimi.
My mom, I can't handle hearingMimi's voice like that.
Will you please turn it off,Because it is so emotional and
(16:37):
so hard.
Like you said, she is begging,begging for my dad to bring me
back.
But listening to those cassettetapes I have learned a lot of
the answers.
My father did not want mystepmother to know what he was
doing.
He sent my stepmother away tobe with her family, saying hey,
you're pregnant, why don't yougo on a little vacation?
(16:59):
Take the kids with you, Y'alltake a week off on a trip.
Sounds good, right?
And so that way he could takeme.
And his thought was she willgive in because she didn't have
a career, she didn't really havean education, so she had no way
to make an income.
And he figured that she wasgoing to give in and just go to
(17:19):
Jordan and they were going tohave this life together.
So that's what was in his mind.
But before I get too far ahead.
I want you to hear the Jesus Imean God, is all in this story.
My mom at that payphone.
She called rick, rick andbeverly.
Rick was a police officer forthe dallas county and at this
time he actually him and hiswife, beverly opened a private
(17:43):
investigation company calledlambert and lambert.
She paged rick 9-1-1.
They knew my dad very wellthey're probably the only people
in my life that actually knewmy father and she paged rick.
And I interviewed rick andbever Beverly on my podcast and
they said that they wereactually working together at the
Dallas County Courthouse thatday and they grabbed the phone
(18:05):
at the clerk's office and calledmy mom back and my mom begins
to tell Rick, Ollie has takenLauren, I don't know what to do.
So, Rick and Bev, they jumpedin their car and they drove 100
miles you know as fast as theycould down the Dallas Expressway
to my mom's house in Richardson.
And in that townhouse is whereeverything began to unravel All
(18:27):
that fear, all the emotions.
And the first thing Rick saidis go to Radio Shack, get a
recording device and put it onyour phone so every time you try
to call Jordan or you call thepolice or you call the State
Department.
We can re-listen to those tapesbecause, Kathy, your mind's
going to be everywhere and weneed to be able to get a clue of
where Lauren might be.
Because of that, I have phonecalls.
(18:49):
So day after day, my mom iscalling Jordan and most of the
time people only can speakArabic.
So in broken English they'resaying Ali's not here, Lauren's
not here, and my mom's sayingplease, I am Lauren's mother.
This isn't right.
You have to bring her home.
I you know this is where she'ssupposed to live.
I won't prosecute Ali, I don'tcare about Ali, Just bring
(19:12):
Lauren home.
And day after day, they justkept saying she's not here, we
can't help you.
And then my mom would call thepolice and the police said ma'am
, this is out of ourjurisdiction.
You know he's a Jordaniancitizen.
Yes, you have full custody inthe United States, but there's
nothing we can do.
So day after day, the answer iswe can't help you.
(19:33):
We can't help you.
My mom's not eating, she's notsleeping.
You can imagine the chaos inthat townhouse.
But, Nicole, it's totally God,because Bev and Rick had moved
in with Miranda Miranda's likefour years old.
They moved into my mom'stownhouse and they were with her
day and night helping her, andthis particular day Beverly was
(19:56):
visiting her brother.
I mean, this conversation couldhave happened in person, but I
have it on the on a recording.
She calls and my mom was likeBev, please pray over Lauren, no
matter if she's in the mosqueor she's in the streets of
Jordan and Jerash, that Godwould protect her and God would
bring her home.
And Beverly starts praying thismighty prayer over me of
(20:17):
protection.
And then Beverly stopped andshe said Kathy, you have got to
get away from all of the noiseand the chaos and the confusion
and you have got to be alonewith God and you've got to pray
and put your eyes on Jesus.
And then she said I read a bookthat talks about fasting and
how fasting brings you theclosest to God.
And my mom's crying and she'slike you're right, Beverly, and
(20:42):
I've got to get rid of thesecigarettes.
My mom has smoked for a longtime, but she told me that at
this point she was smoking liketwo cigarettes at a time, all
day long, because she was sostressed out.
And when I share this, I'm notsaying if you smoke cigarettes
that you're going to hell, butjust from my mom, she was
running to that instead ofrunning to Jesus.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And so my mom agreed with her and she said before I
can go, rick had made anappointment for my mom to go to
the grand jury in Dallas tohopefully get a warrant out for
my father's arrest.
So if he came back to theUnited States they could at
least capture him, arrest himand try to find out where I was.
(21:22):
So, as Rick is driving my momto that meeting, he's telling my
mom, kathy, there's noguarantee that they can help us.
This is just checking the box.
We're going through theprocedures.
It's the next step in the rightdirection, but don't get your
hopes up.
So she walks into that grandjury and she stands before them
and begins to tell her storyabout me being taken.
(21:45):
My father is a Jordanian citizen, she has full custody.
And so they tell her Nicole,I'm sorry, there's nothing that
we can do, it's out of ourjurisdiction.
The United States does not havea treaty with Jordan.
And my mom said can I be realwith you right now?
(22:05):
She breaks down.
It's not fair that we spendbillions of dollars in foreign
aid every year and you'retelling me you can do nothing to
get my daughter back.
And so they agree with her.
Every person there shakes theirhead and they agree with her.
And one man stood up and openedhis wallet.
His name is El Zapanta, he'sstill, he's big in the military,
he still works in politicalworld today and he took out his
(22:28):
card.
My mom has no clue who this manis, Right.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Right.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Takes out his card and said my name is El Zapanta.
I work for the State Department.
If you're not happy with theState Department, give me a call
and I'll see what I can do.
She took his card and you know,when you're in the midst of a
dark place of depression andanxiety and fear, you can't even
see.
When God is like that light inthe darkness, you can't even see
(22:52):
it in front of your face.
Yes, she takes the card, shewalks out, she goes back to the
townhouse and Beverly can seehow depressed she is and Bev's
like how did it go?
And she said they can't help me, they can do nothing to help me
.
So she grabbed her Bible andshe grabbed her suitcase and
said I don't know where I'mgoing, but I got to get out of
(23:17):
here, I'm just going to be aloneand pray.
So she got in her car and shedrove towards Fort Worth, had no
clue where she was going.
She found some little motel inFort Worth and she was there for
three days and three nights andshe fasted and prayed.
And on that third day, with heron her knees in the floor of
that motel room, god gave her ascripture verse in Daniel motel
(23:39):
room.
God gave her a scripture versein Daniel.
Daniel was fasting for 21 daysover the Israelites and the
angel Gabriel came to Daniel andin verse 10, 12, the angel said
do not be afraid, daniel.
Since the first day you setyour mind to gain understanding
and to humble yourself beforeGod, your words were heard.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
God was telling my mom Kathy, I see you from the
moment you walked into thismotel room and you took your
eyes off your situation and youput your eyes on me.
I see you.
And then Daniel, the angelGabriel continues to tell Daniel
there is a war in theheavenlies fighting over the
Israelites.
(24:18):
And it's like God was tellingmy mom there is a war in the
heavenlies fighting over yourdaughter.
But do not be afraid, becauseI'm going to go with you.
But there's some things you'regoing to have to deal with first
.
And God began to tell my mom yougot to lay down those
cigarettes.
And my mom said I will notsmoke again if you bring my
daughter back cigarettes.
And my mom said I will notsmoke again if you bring my
(24:38):
daughter back.
And then God told my mom you'vegot to lay down some areas of
unforgiveness and somebitterness and anger, because
when you've got unforgivenessand bitterness in your heart
it's going to block thoseprayers.
The prayers of the righteousare answered.
So my mom had to wrestle withGod in that motel room and
Nicole, she walked out of there,went back to the townhouse.
Beverly opened the door and shelooked at my mom and she said
(25:01):
you don't look the same.
And my mom said I'm not the same, I know I'm going to get Lauren
back.
God told me I'm going to getLauren back and everything
changed in my story after that.
Hey, let's take a quick breakto tell you about Grace Filled
Community.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Grace Filled Community is an organization
that focuses on the primaryprinciples of the Church of Acts
, centered around buildingcommunities that impact the
Kingdom of God.
We do this through three coreextensions.
One, graceville Church Network,where we empower churches and
nonprofits for God's success andgrowth.
(25:46):
We offer tailored growthstrategies rooted in biblical
principles that will help youexpand your reach and impact
your communities.
Just like the early church, wefocus not on attendance and
numbers, but on discipleship,providing leadership teachings
and trainings to today'sministry leaders.
Our second extension is Projectof the Grace Field, where we
(26:11):
provide biblical counseling,mentorship, workshops and events
that are dedicated toencouraging individuals to live
a life filled with grace andpurpose, rooted in the
understanding that all havefallen short and are a working
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Let us help the individuals inyour community grow as they walk
(26:33):
with God and experience thefullness of his love.
Our third extension isGrace-Filled Business.
Grace-filled Business is hereto help small faith-based
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(26:54):
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We do this through our 15 yearsof experience of virtual
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and consulting.
Welcome back man, you know itmakes me think of.
There's a scripture that saysand some things come out through
prayer and fasting, right?
Yes, I love how like she turnedto that and she sat with him in
(27:22):
it and understood that therewas a sacrifice to be made,
right, sometimes we have to letsomething go Most of us, right.
Let something go that isholding us or blocking us from
receiving what God wants to feelin us or give to us, right.
But I just, first of all, whata Testament.
(27:44):
And I just want to pause and beas individual.
I don't know about you listeners, but I want to pause and honor
your mom.
I want to honor her willingnessto war, spiritually as well as
physically, on behalf of gettingher child back right To war,
(28:04):
even in the war of yourprotection, right To sit in that
and do the thing, do thespiritual thing, when I'm sure
everything in physical said giveup, like you know, everything
said sit in.
You could, you could sit in thestate of depression you could,
you could become angry at God.
You can turn from the verything that you need.
(28:24):
And so I want to pause andhonor her, which I'm sure you
honor her consistently, but justin my heart and my mama's heart
.
I'm like, oh my, taking yourpain before God.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's much easier to be angry at God and turn your
turn.
Your you know, like you know bemad.
But you're right, she, shepressed in and you're exactly
right.
I think it's in Matthew whereGod says some things are fought
through fasting.
There's some demons.
You got to go deeper and my momhad to go deeper and then she
had to let some things go, andthe Bible talks about faith.
(29:07):
You know, for the person thatthe entrepreneur, that's like
stepping out into faith, doingsomething new.
You got to pray but then yougot to act and that was the next
step.
So my mom was in that place ofprayer, but now she had to act.
So she pulled out that cardthat El Zapanta gave her and she
dialed the number and Al beganto tell my mom.
(29:29):
One week before Al was in thatcourtroom that day, he was in
Washington DC with a friend ofhis named Everett Alvarez.
Everett Alvarez is the secondlongest held POW.
He has many awards in themilitary, very well known, and
during this lunch Everett wastelling Al about a group of men
(29:51):
in North Carolina that wereex-military Green Beret Delta
Force Army Ranger, where theywould go into the Middle East
and their job is to rescuehostages Now.
They had never rescued a child.
But, nicole, are you followingwhat I'm saying?
(30:12):
A week before, al was in thejury room, he was talking with
his friend and God placed him inthat jury room that day to hear
my mom ask for help.
God was already ordaining thefootsteps, but my mom had no
clue.
And so if you're listening andyou're fighting some big battles
(30:32):
in your life and some bigcareer moves, god's already
making the path.
You just got to keep your eyeson him and keep walking forward
in faith.
Because we don't know what he'sdoing Right, we don't.
Everything changed with that.
My mom called those men.
Well, my mom was like Al, Idon't care what he's doing,
right, we know.
Everything changed with that.
My mom called those men.
Well, my mom was like Al, Idon't care what it takes or how
much money it costs, I want totalk to those men.
(30:53):
And I was like wait a minute,kathy, it's going to cost a lot
of money.
The United States cannot helpyou if this mission goes south,
that you're going to risk yourlife, and they've never done
anything like this for a child.
And my mom was like I don'tcare.
So she flew Don and Dave intoDallas, met them at a hotel near
the Dallas airport.
(31:13):
They met my mom.
They were blown away by her.
She walked in ready.
She had all these photos of myfather, photos of me.
My dad had like 12 siblings.
She had a.
She had a typed up notebookabout all of the siblings, what
they did for a career, everycharacteristic about them.
She had maps of the city.
She had drawn by memory whatthe house looked like.
(31:34):
She was prepared.
And so, after speaking with herand they said the same thing
Kathy, it's going to cost a lotof money, we cannot guarantee
your safety or Lauren's safety.
And my mom said I don't care,whatever it takes.
And so they agreed.
So they said yes to the missionwithin a few hours of talking
to my mom.
So the next step was Dave.
(31:57):
He was sort of they call him,call him grandpa.
And, by the way, when I startedthis podcast, I had not
reconnected with the men thatrescued me.
Ever since my rescue, when Istarted this journey of doing
the podcast and writing my book,I have reconnected with all of
the people that did my rescueand six months ago my mom and I
(32:19):
went to North Carolina and wedid a reunion in person.
I got to hug their necks and totell them thank you.
That's what God does when yousay yes to things he's calling
you to do.
That's been amazing.
So Dave's job was to go intoJordan to try to find an escape
route, because you can't justput me on a plane and fly me out
of there.
(32:39):
And so he goes into detail onone of my podcast episodes of
all the different escape routesthat he tried to plan and he
researched and the reasons whythey wouldn't work.
And then, while he was doingthat, my mom went to Washington
DC to try to get paperwork forme, to get a passport and visa
and entry stamps, because youneed all of that stuff to get me
out of the country.
(33:00):
Dave was in Jordan for threeweeks and he could not find me
and he could not find myfather's home.
So he called for three weeksand he could not find me and he
could not find my father's home.
So he called Don and JD.
He's like I need help.
I can't.
I can't find this kid.
What if she's not even here?
They started thinking what ifI'm in Lebanon or somewhere else
?
So Dave and JD came in and theywere searching the streets.
They were in the schools, youname it, and they were under
(33:22):
disguise.
They were changing their rentalcars every day to hopefully
that no one would find themsuspicious.
Right, and after days ofsearching for me, dave and JD
are out on.
I'm sorry, don and JD are outon the street and JD just starts
praying.
He's like all right, god, I'vedone everything.
I know how to do.
You know, he's an expert in his, in his career.
And he starts praying.
(33:43):
He's like God, you got to helpme find this, this girl in his
career.
Right, and he starts praying.
He's like god, you got to helpme find this, this girl.
As he's standing on the street,a school bus pulls up right
where JD is standing and heturns and looks through the
window and there I sat and Iturned and locked eyes with him
and he ran over to Don and shookDon by the shoulders and he
said I saw Lauren.
And Don's like what are youtalking about?
(34:04):
How do you know?
And and JD said I saw her eyes.
You see, I have all ofcomplexion skin, I have dark
hair, but my eyes are like abright blue, and so that was
sort of the time they realizedthe bus had already gone off and
they couldn't follow it.
So they call my mom.
(34:28):
At this point she's in Cypruswaiting to find out if they had
spotted me.
And so they said Kathy, we havefound Lauren, she is in Jerash.
But we can't find yourex-husband's home.
We need you.
So my mom got in disguise, sheflew into Amman.
Don and Dave and JD met her inAmman and drove her into Djerash
, and she was so confident thatshe would easily be able to find
(34:52):
my father's home.
But as she began to drive intothe town, everything looked
different.
The dirt roads were paved, thelittle bitty buildings were now
big, because they sort of buildon top of each other.
And that fear started overcomingher again and my mom got down
in the floorboard of that car,in the front seat, while Don was
driving, and she startedpraying out loud, crying God,
(35:16):
you have to help me find Lauren.
You haven't brought us all thisfar to not even find the home.
And with my mom's eyes closed,it's like the Holy Spirit just
started reminding my mom of thestreets and the turns and the
road and she began to say goleft, go straight, turn right.
And all of a sudden she lookedup and out her window there was
a white Mazda with Texas licenseplates sitting on the street
(35:40):
and my mom froze in fear.
And a couple blocks away shewas finally able to say I saw
his car, so don turned the cararound and drove back by.
And as soon as he drove past hesaw my dad walk out of the
building.
So again, nothing happened andstill people started praying jd
(36:01):
praying on the street, my mompraying in that car.
It's like god's saying hey, Iwant you all to know who's in
control here.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
Right, right, yeah Every step of the way.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
So the mission once they realized where the house
was in a busy area of town andthere's a police station right
next door and they thought it'stoo dangerous to get me out of
that house.
So they watched the school busand the school bus had one stop
on the outskirts of town at areal farmhouse.
So they decided the best way toget me was to hijack that bus
(36:33):
and get me off that way.
And the plan was to escape overthe Jordan river Like how
symbolic is that into Israel.
So the day of the mission and Ijust learned this recently Don
Feeney's wife is Judy.
She's also in the military.
She was in the military.
She also worked for CTU.
(36:54):
She was in North Carolinarunning things stateside.
And so the mission, the codeword the day of the mission was
the sun is shining.
But Judy said tell Kathy, thesun is S-O-N, not S-U-N.
Was the sun is shining, butjudy said tell kathy, the sun is
s-o-n, not s-u-n, because thesun is jesus.
Even the code word, god was incontrol every step of the way.
(37:16):
So the day of the mission, davewas in one car.
His job was to watch the houseto make sure I actually got on
the bus that day and I wasactually going to go to school
and then the other car was mymom and JD and Dawn.
So after I got on the bus, davedrove to where they were and
(37:36):
said Lauren's on the busMissions to go.
As soon as the bus passed, dawn.
Dawn parked behind the bus asit as it parked at that
farmhouse and they blocked thebus in.
Dawn got out and went over tothe driver's side of the bus and
distracted the bus driverspeaking in English to distract
him.
Jd went over to the passengerside and pried open the doors
(38:02):
and my mom they're all dressedin disguise she went over to the
bus window.
She had spotted me sitting onthat bus and she tapped on the
window.
And there's a lot of things Ihave forgotten because I went
into shock with all of thishappening.
But I'll never forget the day Isaw my mom looking through that
window.
She was knocking on the windowand trying to motion to me, but,
(38:23):
nicole, I froze.
All I could think of is thatlooks just like my mom.
But how can it be?
She's all the way in Texas.
I must be dreaming.
I thought I was dreaming, Ifroze, I would not move.
So my mom pushed past JD and shegot on the bus and she scooped
me up and got my backpack, likeevery mother would do.
And then she's pulling me offthat bus.
(38:44):
There's a lady chaperone.
The lady chaperone jumps on mymom's back because she has no
clue what's happening, and mymom lets me go and she turns
around and she punches the womanin the nose.
So now the woman's bleeding,there's blood coming down this
woman's face.
So I'm super freaked out and JDand Dawn see what's going on so
(39:07):
they come over and help my mom.
They get me into the car.
They took the keys from theignition of the bus and they
threw them into some bushes,hoping that they would go
looking for the keys instead ofgoing straight to the police.
And that's exactly what theydid.
And then we got in our car andwe drove off and a couple of
blocks down the road.
Dave switched cars with us.
He took the car that we justused to hijack the bus and he
(39:27):
drove back towards the city tobe a decoy On the day of the
mission, my mom had bookedflights for us to fly out of
Amman Airport back to the UnitedStates, hoping that the police
would look for us at the airport, dave, and interviewing him and
(39:49):
hearing the details of thestory.
And all of these men areChristian, like it's just you
know, to hear them tell thestory is amazing.
But Dave got pulled over on theside of the road.
They interrogated him for 30minutes.
They're digging through hiswhole car looking for anything
that would resemble us.
They bring the, the bus driver,to him.
The bus driver, speaking inarabic, saying that's the car.
(40:10):
But I don't know who this manis because, remember, he wasn't
at the hijack.
And all of a sudden, on the, onthe radios, the police radios,
dave can hear alia airport, aliaairport.
They all jumped in their carsand they left Dave on the side
of the road.
They all went to the airportlooking for me.
They shut down the wholeairport and Dave was able to
(40:32):
escape, like, just you know, atotal miracle.
So we're driving towards Israeland it's about a 45-minute drive
from where they hijacked thebus to the border and the fog
was so thick that they couldonly see the front of the car
and my mom is holding me andshe's praying and she's trying
(40:55):
to keep calm because any minutewe could get pulled over right.
And all of a sudden she saidwhat is that bright light as
she's looking into the distancethrough the front window.
And Dawn said well, kathy,that's the sun.
The sun is shining over Israel,bright light as she's looking
into the distance through thefront window.
And dawn said well, kathy,that's the sun.
The sun is shining over israeland it's like god is so good.
He's like kathy, I see you, I'mnot gonna leave you.
(41:17):
It's just he just keeps givingyou these little breadcrumbs the
whole way through.
So we get to the border and youcan't back.
Then.
You couldn't just drive over,you had to leave your car, get
out, give them your passportsand your visas and all the
border passes that she worked sohard to get in Washington.
We get on the bus and we'retrying to stay calm.
(41:38):
There's big barbed wire fences,big military shacks with men
with machine guns.
It is a very secure border.
Jd and Don and Dave had searchedthat border.
They knew every inch of it.
But if they realized who wewere, what were we going to do?
Right?
So we're on that bus for like30 minutes, felt like forever
(42:00):
and my mom's trying to keep calm.
And finally the bus cranks up.
We start to drive over theborder.
Well, right at the middle ofthe bridge, you the israeli flag
and there's a little shack andthere's an israeli soldier and
bus driver and they get on thebus to switch because they drive
you on over into israel.
As our bus is about to crossover, there's a big commotion at
(42:23):
the border where we had justleft.
They had just realized that weweren't at the airport but we
were on that bus.
But, nicole, it was too late.
We had already crossed overinto Israel.
We got on the other side, wegot off and all those emotions
my mom had been holding justcame out my mom's crying.
I'm crying I'm speaking mainlyArabic at this point because I'm
(42:44):
in shock.
And there's a group of womenand they go over to JD and JD's
this big, handsome military guy,and they were like sir, what's
wrong with that woman, what'swrong with that little girl, are
they OK?
And JD turns and he's got tearscoming down his face and he
said you see that little girland you see that mom.
That little girl's been gonefor three months and we just
(43:05):
rescued her out of Jordan.
Her father had taken her, butwe just brought her home to
safety and those women began tosing Hallelujah, we've come to
the Holy land and we've seen amiracle.
And it came around us andstarted hugging and praying with
us.
It's like, even on the otherend, god was there with his
welcome party to celebrate withus.
(43:25):
And it's just.
God is so good and we can'tfathom his greatness.
We can't fathom his goodnesswhen we pray.
It's like we can't evenunderstand what all he is
capable of.
And he sees you in your darkestmoments.
You know, nicole, when I sharemy story in the book that I'm
(43:46):
writing, I'm writing it becauseI have a whole nother journey of
father wounds that I had todeal with forgiving my father
and I had to trust my heavenlyfather.
And you might be listeningthinking well, of course it's
easy for you to trust.
At seven, you saw your dad do abig miracle.
Now, guys, I was angry for manyyears because I thought you
(44:06):
know, if you're such a good God,why did you even let this
happen to me?
Because we had to change mylast name.
I had to live in hiding formany years.
I moved like 14 times before Igot to high school.
So I've had a lot of anger anda lot of daddy wounds, but God
can heal all those broken places.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
Yes, oh man, lauren, what a testament.
I can't even call it a story,I'm thinking like just
chronicles.
I'm literally like this ischronicles because it is
multiple accounts of how God wasthere.
I always say God is a God ofthe details and I just feel like
(44:46):
this is chronicles of how hewas present.
He had a plan and he was justlike trust me, I'm in this, I'm
in this man, you know, I can, Ican consider what you're saying
in the aspect of like you wouldthink that because you
experienced that at seven,there's just like, oh, I trust
(45:07):
God and I know who God is and Iseen him do miracles, Right, but
I think about so many times inthe Bible, right, we think about
even the Israelites, how manytimes that they see, well, we
don't have food or we don't haveright.
And it's this aspect of it's adaily choice.
And it's this aspect of it's adaily choice.
I'm sure even now for you andfor me too, it is a daily choice
(45:30):
to say I'm going to trust you,as hard as it may be, as much as
there may be those past woundsthat, yes, I'm sure you went
through a process and a healingjourney in it.
I wish we had all this time totalk about it, because I'm all
about healing journeys andprocess and a healing journey in
it.
I wish we had all this time totalk about it because I'm all
about healing journeys andprocess, but it's a daily choice
(45:50):
, I'm sure to say Lord, becausethings still happen.
You're still living a life todaywhich I'm sure carried all
kinds of experiences.
I mean you have children thatnow are hearing this story.
You have your mother who I'msure is giving praises to God,
yet still has to sit in.
This is our story.
You know, there's one thing wetalk about here in Graceville
(46:11):
community is that we can nevergo back and change our story,
and so there's a part of it thatour story has shaped us.
Our story has changed andhelped us be who we are and how
we can be an impact to thekingdom.
Speaker 2 (46:29):
That's right.
That's why we're here sharing.
Speaker 1 (46:31):
Yes, yes, and I am so grateful for you coming on and
sharing.
I mean, I was sitting here likesomebody give me the popcorn,
Like are you serious?
What is this?
I'm like I want the details.
I cannot, so tell me pleasewhere.
Where are you with this book?
I mean, how can we stayconnected?
Cause again, I feel like thereare details that I am missing
(46:54):
and, just like in reading theBible, I'm like what, what,
that's how?
Speaker 2 (46:58):
I feel Like.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
I want to know the chronicles.
I would love to know thedetails.
So the book, tell us about it.
I would love to know thedetails.
Speaker 2 (47:05):
So the book, tell us about it.
I am about 70 percent done withthe manuscript and I am praying
that God show me the next steps.
So you know, do I self publish?
Do I try to find a publishinghouse?
And I just want to hear fromGod and you know that means
fasting and praying and slowingdown because Lauren wants
everything fast, I want to knoweverything quick and God's like
(47:27):
let me show you, don't get aheadof me.
So that's where I'm at in thebook.
I have the Redeemed podcast,which has been amazing, to share
my story, and I have otherpeople on my show to share their
amazing stories and that'sopened some cool avenues.
And I'm on social media.
That's a great easy way to findme no-transcript stories of how
(48:13):
we've overcome.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
yeah, only only with Christ, right?
Uh, for our listeners, I wouldlike to encourage you please
connect with Lauren, follow hersocial pages, connect with her.
I'm going to connect simplybecause not simply because, yeah
, with the thought of the momentshe says that this book is
(48:35):
ready, I'm ready, I am ready toread and really dive into your
story.
Thank you so much for yourvulnerability, your
vulnerability and choosing andbeing obedient to sharing your
story For those of us.
It has encouraged me today.
I pray that it's encouragedthose that are listening and
that are watching in our journeywith Christ.
(48:58):
Thank you Can.
Speaker 2 (49:01):
I leave.
Can I share one scripturethat's just God's really put on
my heart?
It's in Isaiah 43.
But now, this is what the Lord,your creator, says, o Jacob and
he who formed you, o Israel, donot fear, for I have redeemed
you, I have called you by name.
You are mine.
When you pass through thewaters, I will be with you, and
(49:22):
through the rivers, they willnot overwhelm you.
When you you walk through thefire, you will not be scorched,
nor will the flame burn you.
Whatever journey you're walkingthrough if it's marriage,
career, children, diagnosis, youname it god will be with you.
Just keep your eyes on him ah,thank you so much, la.
Speaker 1 (49:46):
I greatly appreciate you being here.
What a good word, what a goodstory and a testament unto the
God that we serve.
What a glorious God we serve,and so thank you again for being
here.
Gracefield community as always,I am honored that you even
tapped in to hear some of thestories of just how God is
(50:10):
forever present and moving.
He is the same God yesterday,today and forevermore.
Therefore, if you are seekingcommunity and you are like I
want to continue hearing whatGod is doing and I would like to
walk through this journey andsee what the Lord can do for me
(50:31):
Please feel free to reach out tous at Graceville Community.
You connect with us via emailat grow at
gracevillecommunitycom.
Or, as always, check the shownotes.
All the links will be there, aswell as links to connect with
Lauren.
All the links will be there, aswell as links to connect with
Lauren.
We just want to ensure that youhave community around you that
(50:51):
can support you in this journeyand this life that we do,
walking alongside Christ here onearth.
As always, blessings to you.
We love you.
We're praying for you.
May God be with you.
Thank you for tuning in totoday's episode of Graceville
Community Podcast, we would liketo invite you to visit
(51:12):
gracevillecommunitycom.
Graceville Community is allabout doing church the way
Church of Acts did, using fivemain principles that we see in
the book of Acts Sharingresources, as believers pooled
their possessions and resourcesto support those in need, as we
(51:33):
see in Acts 2.44.
Through hospitality the earlyChristians practiced hospitality
by opening their homes toothers, as we see in Acts 2 and
46.
By financial aid the church inAntioch sent financial aid to
(51:55):
believers in Judea during a timeof famine, as described in Acts
11 and 29.
Prayer and encouragement theysupported each other through
prayer and encouragement, as wesee in Acts 4 and 24.
And finally, spiritual guidancethe apostles and elders
provided spiritual guidance andteaching to help strengthen and
(52:17):
build the community, as we seein Acts 15 30.
I would like to encourage you.
If any of those areas are areasin which you are in need or can
contribute, please reach out toGraceville Community.
We are working together acrossthe world with ministries and
(52:38):
individuals alike to help bringback the church of Acts.
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