Amazing People with Sam and Duncan

When Duncan from the Amazing People podcast first came to faith in Grade 9, it was largely thanks to a book someone gave him to read: 'More Than a Carpenter' by Josh McDowell. McDowell was a law student who, for a college assignment, set off on a quest to disprove Christianity once and for all. His mission didn’t go well, and he was instead compelled to become a follower of Jesus.   Today, more than 40 years since More Than A Carpenter was first published, it has sold more than 27 million copies, and McDowell has authored or co-authored more than 151 books in 128 different languages. There's also a movie about his life, called 'Undaunted', which delves into his childhood in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic and violent father, suffering sexual abuse by a worker on the family farm. Now an international speaker and evangelist, Josh McDowell was due to come to Australia - before the COVID-19 travel bans came in. So, instead of interviewing him face to face, Sam and Duncan caught up with him over the phone. In their chat, McDowell shares about how his faith has shifted and grown since first writing More than a Carpenter – most importantly, that he is more patient and willing to listen more. He also talks about how his life plans are radically different to what they once were. In the past, he had dreams of becoming a US Senator; now he instead spends his time travelling and speaking as a Christian apologist.

Yvette Wynne had only held her motorcycle licence less than 5 years before she took a 20,000km trip around Australia with her husband, to have a break from the cocoon of city life. Never could she have imagined the adventures and interesting characters she and hubby would encounter as they circumnavigated the nation over three months in 2017.

Lifeguard Maxi started life guarding at Bondi Beach over 11 years ago as a 16-year-old trainee and his inspiring Lifeguard career has been well documented on Channel 10’s Bondi Rescue. But being a firefighter is in his blood and was his childhood dream.

In 2019, Emily Miers and her father made history as the first father-and-daughter combination to ever achieve a successful solo English Channel crossing, from England to France. Departing in the dead of night, Emily managed to cross the Channel in ten hours and fifty-one minutes, in support of the Children’s Cancer Institute, raising awareness and funds after losing her sister to a brain tumour. You can support the Children’s Cancer Institute at ccia.org.au.

Every year a call goes out for people to go and work in Antarctica. Imagine answering that call out of curiosity, only to find yourself leading an expedition of people to work for six months at the South Pole. How would you rally 18 strangers? What if they don’t get along? Does everyone eat bacon the same way? Rachael Roberston has just finished a book based around this experience, as well as 10 years of industry study. It’s not just about leading a team into the Icy Beyond, but it's a useful guide into how to best deal with everyday conflict 'in the office' or at home. Rachael is now a successful keynote speaker, but her journey there is pretty amazing, that’s why she joined Sam and Duncan for a chat on the podcast.

When former teacher and 2020 QLD Australian of the Year Rachel Downie lost a year 9 student to suicide, she decided to find a way to support young people to speak up when things aren't right. She discovered students often felt too frightened to come forward with possible life-saving information because of peer expectations. This led Rachel to develop and self-fund Stymie – an old-fashioned word for stop – to allow students to anonymously report harm without fear.

Wendy Robinson's daughter Victoria Grace was diagnosed with a brain tumour at age three, and lives with the tumour and a resulting physical disability. Wendy decided to write a book called Victoria Grace – Living with Victory through Childhood Cancer which recounts her family's shattering yet faith-filled journey, and the practical strategies that helped them navigate the challenging circumstances.

Sue Lennox was awarded the NSW Senior Australian of the Year 2020 for her work as an environmental educator and she shared with Sam & Duncan what led her to quit her job, sell her home and found OzGREEN, which educates people around the world - enabling them to take action to improve their environment. OzGREEN engages and equips people to become leaders of positive social change.

Imagine this kind of adventure: 1600kms of mountainous ranges, frozen rivers, dense forest, winds that can cause a complete loss of visibility, long hours of darkness and temperatures below zero. And on top of all that--it's a race! Troy Szczurkowski is a Brisbane bike mechanic, and is the only Australian to have completed the 30-day the Iditarod race - the world’s longest winter ultra-marathon on bicycle, foot or skis.

City slicker Grace Brennan fell in love with her country boyfriend and moved to Warren, NSW. Aware of the disconnect between the city and the country, she set up the #buyfromthebush campaign, so that local rural businesses can feature their goods on social media to a much wider audience. Through the two social media pages, city folk can buy goods from small businesses in drought-affected areas - businesses that are usually owned and operated by wives and children of farmers doing it tough. The social media hashtag #buyfromthebush has already amassed over 25,000 followers on Facebook and Instagram who are keen to support rural communities.

Darrin Batchelor is a policeman from Wollongong, who is encouraging his colleagues to jump out of planes in the name of cancer research fundraising. The Detective Inspector's daughter was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Leukaemia when she was four years old. Darrin chats about how his whole perspective on what's important in life has completely changed.

For Michelle, a life of no hope is all she knew living in the slums of Manila in the Philippines. But her Compassion sponsorship enabled her access to education, and being introduced through her local church to the knowledge of hope that comes in Jesus. Now an adult, and a Compassion sponsor herself, Michelle has started Made In Hope which works to free young women and children living in Manila from human trafficking.

Dr Dana Bradford is developing technology for a more connected health system, which could aid preventative care. She chats with Sam & Duncan about a trial they recently ran at an aged care facility, and what she learnt from the life and death of a woman called Mrs L.

Amanda Bowles knew that she was always destined for leadership and helping others. However, it wasn’t until she gave birth to her stillborn son, Jesse, that she realised her true calling. Following Jesse’s death, Amanda received a stuffed bear from Toni Watson, a mum who had also had stillborn children. Through this simple gift of kindness, Toni and Amanda became friends. Together, they founded Bears of Hope, a charity that provides support to grieving families following stillbirth.

When Vicki Purnell's saw her friend’s daughter go through the tragedy of giving birth to a stillborn child, she decided to help. With a talent and passion for sewing, she made an outfit for the baby to be farewelled with dignity. Through this single act of kindness, Bridie’s Blossoms was born and Vicki has now created more than 500 outfits for stillborn babies.

Thanks to new research from Professor James Dale. Countless people and organisations around the world are working to improve lives in the developing world, but Professor James is saving lives in East Africa, in the most unique way – with bananas. Queensland University of Technology and the Senior Australian of the Year for Queensland in 2019, James is using bananas to treat vitamin A deficiencies in developing countries, saving lives in the process. He also chats about future projects.

In 2012, Lindsay Miles decided to go a month without plastic, and she survived! Fast forward seven years and Lindsay lives zero-waste and plastic-free. She’s so passionate about it that she has just published a book to encourage others to do the same – 'Less Stuff: Simple Zero-Waste Steps to a Joyful and Clutter-Free Life'.

Belinda Bauman, author of Brave Souls, discusses the audacious power of empathy in a world of increasing disconnect and isolation. With the rise of social media and an intense need to be constantly connected, humans are, ironically, losing the ability to empathise and form meaningful relationships with others.

Tim Hanna is passionate about empowering those who are without resources, or hope, which led him to his current role of CEO of Compassion Australia. Tim was a senior pastor for more than 30 years and in 2008, he took the role of National Director of Church and Mission with Compassion Australia. In 2010, he became CEO. After almost 10 years of service as CEO, Tim is making plans to retire in 2020. In an announcement video to supporters, Tim said "the word retirement does not sit well with me", and explained that he planned to spend time coaching and mentoring young leaders, helping young people in their faith journeys, writing, and spending more time with his wife and family.

As a professional saxophonist, Neill Duncan has spent his life devoted to music, and has played with some of the biggest jazz bands in Australia and New Zealand. However, when Neill developed sarcoma in his left arm and underwent an amputation, he faced the prospect of losing his career. Today, five years on, Neill has returned to playing saxophone professionally – with one arm.