Meet Elizabeth Nandakumar - An Indian American Immigrant, Part 1

Meet Elizabeth Nandakumar - An Indian American Immigrant, Part 1

Liz shares how she experienced God’s provision and help in practical ways when she was new to the U.S., navigating student life, parenthood, and cultural adjustments.

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

This episode is the second part of my conversation with Indian American theologian, Dr. Sam George. He’s the director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, Illinois, and has authored and edited twenty books and numerous journal articles. Sam studies and teaches how the movement of people impacts Christianity. In the previous episode (part 1) [https://mabelninan.com/2026/04/21/episode-41-migration-and-missiology-part-1-with-dr-sam-george/] , Sam talked about his personal immigrant background and shared his insights and wisdom regarding the intersection of theology, global migration, and missiology. In this episode, Sam explains why Christians should welcome and love the foreigner and why it’s important to recognize that God is moving people with a purpose. He helps us understand the meaning of “diaspora” and the impact of diaspora communities on Christianity. Sam also talks about the history and characteristics of the Indian Christian diaspora. TAKEAWAYS 1. Welcoming and befriending immigrants expands our understanding of diverse cultures, increases our appreciation of Christians from other parts of the world, and fuels our desire to share Christ with those who don’t know Him. 2. Migration is the work of a sovereign God who’s moving people for His purposes. We have to see God’s fingerprints in the movement of people. 3. The U.S. is home to Christians from all over the world making American Christianity unique in its diversity of Christian traditions and denominations. ---------------------------------------- Join our online community [https://www.facebook.com/groups/farfromhomepodcast] to share your thoughts on this episode. ---------------------------------------- LINKS Learn more about the Global Diaspora Institute, Wheaton College Billy Graham Center [https://wheatonbillygraham.com/global-diaspora-institute/] Learn more about Parivar International [http://www.ParivarInternational.org] Buy Sam’s books: Sharing Jesus with Hindus by Sam George and Ashok Kumar [https://missionbooks.org/products/sharing-jesus-with-hindus]  – Desi Diaspora by Sam George [https://www.amazon.in/Desi-Diaspora-Sam-George/dp/9386549204/] Journeys of Asian Diaspora: Mapping Originations and Destinations by Sam George [https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472492/Journeys-of-Asian-Diaspora] Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia, edited by Sam George, Bulus Galadima, and Jeanne Wu [https://langhamliterature.org/books/asians-in-diaspora-and-diasporas-in-asia] Connect with Mabel on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MabelNinan/] Connect with Mabel on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mabel_ninan/] Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home [https://a.co/d/8H5SSsZ] ---------------------------------------- WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/v2UWYm_066E ---------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO MABEL’S EMAILS ----------------------------------------

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

This episode is part one of a two-part conversation with Indian American theologian, Dr. Sam George. He’s the director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, Illinois, and has authored and edited twenty books and numerous journal articles. Sam studies and teaches how the movement of people impacts Christianity. In this episode, Sam talks about how his background as an immigrant from the Andaman Islands of India shaped his faith and why he left a successful career in the corporate world to pursue seminary studies. Sam served on the leadership of the Lausanne movement from 2016 to 2025. He witnessed hundreds of refugees come to Christ while he traveled to Europe, Asia, and Africa to study the refugee crisis. Sam explains the important connection between migration and theology, pointing out that the Bible is a story of migrants or displaced people and that Christianity is a moving, missionary faith. TAKEAWAYS 1. No matter where we go or how far we travel, we can find a community of believers. The church is the most active global entity. 2. Migration is the mega theme of the Bible. Almost all major characters of the Bible were migrants who were displaced. 3. Human mobility and migration is an important aspect of the spread and transformation of Christianity. ---------------------------------------- Join our online community [https://www.facebook.com/groups/farfromhomepodcast] to share your thoughts on this episode. ---------------------------------------- LINKS Learn more about the Global Diaspora Institute, Wheaton College Billy Graham Center [https://wheatonbillygraham.com/global-diaspora-institute/] Learn more about Parivar International [http://www.ParivarInternational.org] Buy Sam’s books: Sharing Jesus with Hindus by Sam George and Ashok Kumar [https://missionbooks.org/products/sharing-jesus-with-hindus]  – Desi Diaspora by Sam George [https://www.amazon.in/Desi-Diaspora-Sam-George/dp/9386549204/] Journeys of Asian Diaspora: Mapping Originations and Destinations by Sam George [https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506472492/Journeys-of-Asian-Diaspora] Asians in Diaspora and Diasporas in Asia, edited by Sam George, Bulus Galadima, and Jeanne Wu [https://langhamliterature.org/books/asians-in-diaspora-and-diasporas-in-asia] Connect with Mabel on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MabelNinan/] Connect with Mabel on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mabel_ninan/] Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home [https://a.co/d/8H5SSsZ] ---------------------------------------- WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/xCo7eL02Hog ---------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO MABEL’S EMAILS ----------------------------------------

Episode 40 – Sharing Immigrant Stories with Heidy De La Cruz

In this episode, I talk with Heidy De La Cruz, who is the host of the two-time award-winning podcast, The American Dream in the Eyes of Immigrants, where immigrants share their journey of coming to the United States. Heidy shares the inspiration behind starting her podcast and the impact of podcasting on her spiritual life. Through podcasting and mentoring other podcasters, she believes she’s fulfilling her God-given purpose. She and I talk about the powerful effect of storytelling both on the person sharing the story as well as those listening to immigrant stories. TAKEAWAYS 1. Storytelling is powerful because it humanizes people’s experiences and can help others adopt a compassionate and empathetic view of immigrants and refugees. 2. We must make an effort to listen to immigrant stories so that we can understand the complex nature of their immigrant journeys. 3. It is important for immigrants and refugees to tell their stories in a safe space. It can be therapeutic for them and also help them see God’s fingerprints throughout their journey. ---------------------------------------- Join our online community [https://www.facebook.com/groups/farfromhomepodcast] to share your thoughts on this episode. ---------------------------------------- LINKS Learn more about Heidy [https://www.heidydelacruz.com/] Connect with Mabel on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MabelNinan/] Connect with Mabel on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mabel_ninan/] Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home [https://a.co/d/8H5SSsZ] ---------------------------------------- WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/k3cviQ0pGCw ---------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO MABEL’S EMAILS ----------------------------------------

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

In this special episode, my husband, Simon Ninan joins me in sharing our story as immigrants from India to the U.S. He works as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Strategy for Hitachi Vantara in Silicon Valley. Like me, he was born and raised in a Christian family in India. Simon and I have been married for almost eighteen years and that’s also how long we’ve been immigrants. We discuss the culture shocks and challenges we experienced during our initial years as immigrants. We reflect on how trusting in God’s plan and character helped us endure hard times and constant change. TAKEAWAYS 1. Most immigrants are not prepared to cope with the changes they encounter in a foreign country, and the transition can affect them emotionally as well as spiritually. 2. When we go through hard times or face any kind of unexpected adversity, we can remember that God is with us through it all. Sometimes, He helps and comforts us through people or community. 3. Truths we can rehearse to anchor our trust in God: God has a good plan for us, He is in control, and He never changes. ---------------------------------------- Join our online community [https://www.facebook.com/groups/farfromhomepodcast] to share your thoughts on this episode. ---------------------------------------- LINKS Check out Mabel’s book, Far from Home [https://a.co/d/8H5SSsZ] Connect with Mabel on Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/MabelNinan/] Connect with Mabel on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/mabel_ninan/] ---------------------------------------- WATCH & SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/lXq4ykO2ofI ---------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO MABEL’S EMAILS ----------------------------------------