In this episode, Jedd Medefind sits down with Maggie Gobran – known to thousands of children in Cairo as “Mama Maggie” – who shares her soft-spoken message of radical love and her call to serve “the least of these.”

In this episode, we'll explore:

  • Mama Maggie’s reflections on what it takes to sustain a life of service to God in a world where children hunger for love, acceptance, and value.
  • Choices and habits that help you to keep your heart close to God’s amidst difficult journeys.

Key Quotes

“We are not the ones who get to choose when to die, but we are choosing either to be people with the mission, with meaning, with depth, or just let your life go without meaning.”

Mama Maggie

“This is the miracle, the real miracle, that if we listen from inside, he will do the change. I didn’t do anything on my own. I didn’t sacrifice anything. I just feel he took me step by step.”

Mama Maggie

“I cannot say how important it is for me…When you listen to God, you need to take time away and say, “I’m serious. I really love you. I want you to pour your love in me. Otherwise, I don’t know how to love.”

Mama Maggie

“You think, ‘What am I losing leaving my technology away for a day’ At the beginning, it won’t be easy. You won’t have the full of joy, but when you keep doing it, it’s like heaven is opening.”

Mama Maggie

Resources and Guests

Founder of Stephen’s Children

Some call her the benevolent “Mother of Cairo.” Others have dubbed her “St. Maggie,” and she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize many times. But to thousands of children and their parents living in the fetid garbage slums of Egypt’s largest city, Maggie Gobran is simply known as “Mama Maggie.” It is a moniker that is well-suited to her mission: This is all I want to be. A mother to them all.

Maggie’s story of devotion, obedience and love is the hallmark of the Stephen’s Children ministry. As the youngest daughter of an upper-middle-class family in Cairo’s Coptic Orthodox Christian community, Maggie grew up shielded from the realities of central Cairo’s squalid slums.

As an adult, Maggie became a successful professional, first on the management team of a marketing firm and later as a university professor of computer science. As she and her husband were raising their own two children, Maggie’s vision of “motherhood” began to grow as she dreamt of reaching out to children in need.

Maggie first experienced Cairo’s garbage slums through an annual Easter outreach aimed at distributing food and clothing to families. Maggie was gripped by the despair she saw, and haunted by the children’s hunger for love, acceptance, and value in society.

Her heart pierced by God’s Spirit, Maggie’s vision for Stephen’s Children began with a prayer for other committed Egyptian Christians to join her in meeting both short-term and long-term needs of the impoverished families in Cairo’s slums. Mama Maggie’s humble spirit and loving heart allowed her to build close bonds with children and discover ways to meet their underlying needs. Her sacrificial leadership has now guided Stephen’s Children for almost 25 years and helped reach over 30,000 families with Christ’s love and compassion.

Jedd Medefind loves journeying life with his wife, Rachel.  He relishes wrestling matches with his five children—Siena, Marin, Eden, Lincoln, and Phoebe.  Most of all, he desires to reflect the heart of Jesus Christ in all of life.

Jedd has seen (and experienced!) that lives are turned upside-down when Christians begin to reflect God’s heart through adoption, foster care and service to orphans worldwide.  This kind of love transforms not only vulnerable children, but also those who open hearts and homes to them.  Churches begin to look different, too, as the entire community pulls together for children who’ve known great hurt.  Finally, the change touches even onlookers, who encounter the Gospel not only in words, but made visible before their eyes.

Desiring to spur this kind of transformation through the Church, Jedd serves as President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans.

Through CAFO, more than 225 respected organizations unite in shared initiatives, along with a wide network of churches.  CAFO’s membership works in tandem to inspire and equip families, churches and organizations for effective service to vulnerable children and families — from adoption and US foster care, to aid and empowerment programs worldwide.

Prior to his this role, Jedd served in the White House as a Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, leading the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.   In this post, he oversaw reform efforts across the government to make community- and faith-based groups central partners in all Federal efforts to aid the needy, from prisoner reentry to global AIDS.  As described by the Harvard Political Review, these reforms “fundamentally changed the government’s strategy for improving the lives of the downtrodden…”

Previously, Jedd held a range of posts in the California State Legislature.  He also helped establish the California Community Renewal Project, which strengthens nonprofits in some of the state’s most challenged communities.  He has worked, studied and served in more than thirty countries, with organizations ranging from Price-Waterhouse in Moscow to Christian Life Bangladesh.

Books written by Jedd include Upended and Four Souls.  He also writes articles and op-eds for publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post to Comment Magazine, and engages radio interviews with both faith-based and mainstream outlets, from NPR and Al Jazeera to Moody Radio.  Jedd’s most recent book, Becoming Home, offers a brief-yet-rich exploration of how families and communities can embrace vulnerable children with wisdom and love through adoption, foster care, mentoring and more.

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