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Faith Mission Gone Wrong? Husband Faced 10 Years in Prison, Team Stabbed, and How God Showed Up — Donna Winship's Journey
Manage episode 481713213 series 3620192
This is StRest! In this episode, Kerstin Lindquist sits down with Donna Winship, co-founder of Identity Exchange, for a profound and transformative conversation about fear, faith, and the power of knowing who you truly are in God. From her early years as a Jewish girl who knew nothing about Jesus to becoming a wife, mother, and spiritual leader navigating life in war zones and foreign cultures, Donna shares her remarkable story of surrender, suffering, and supernatural peace.
Through decades of missionary work in the Muslim world—including time in Indonesia and the Middle East—Donna and her husband, Jamie, were forced to confront the limits of traditional evangelism. Violence, arrests, and near-death experiences forced them to reimagine how to share Jesus—not by converting others to Christianity, but by inviting them to follow Jesus into the Kingdom of God. What emerged was a new way of life centered on listening to God, embracing identity, and exchanging lies for divine truth.
Kerstin and Donna go deep into how stress manifests as false identity, how to sit with God and ask the right questions, and why spiritual transformation starts not with doing more, but with being known. If you’ve ever struggled with feeling unworthy, powerless, or unsure of your purpose—this episode is for you.
Major Themes & Concepts
✅ From Jewish identity to embracing Jesus as Messiah
✅ Why traditional mission models caused violence instead of peace
✅ The difference between doing for God and being with God
✅ Experiencing vs. learning about God: why information isn’t transformation
✅ The truth about negative emotions and how they reveal false beliefs
✅ The prayer that changed everything: “God, what do you want me to know about that?”
✅ How shame, fear, and striving disconnect us from hearing God
✅ Why God is not a prosecutor but a physician who heals
✅ The neuroscience of identity and the power of choosing what to believe
✅ How to lead others not through argument, but through love, listening, and presence
Chapter Breakdown
00:00 – Arrests, trauma, and a gospel model that failed
04:00 – Donna’s faith story: From Jewish roots to following Jesus
06:30 – The State Department offer—and why they said no
11:34 – Through Gates of Splendor and the call to go
12:50 – Raising three kids in Indonesia without hot water or internet
14:30 – Violence, persecution, and a 10-year prison sentence
17:12 – “We were trained in apologetics and it didn’t work”
20:00 – Confession redefined: What negative emotion are you avoiding?
22:00 – The prayer that changed everything
28:00 – Shame, fear, and the real root of sin
33:00 – Biblical identity shifts: Moses, Gideon, Paul
36:47 – What Jesus actually did: relationship over religion
39:35 – For the everyday woman: identity starts with one question
43:17 – Fear and peace in the Middle East
50:07 – “I’m not good enough”: breaking false names
53:04 – “Before your why, find your I”: identity unlocks purpose
Work with Kerstin
💡 Health Coaching with Kerstin
Resources & Recommendations
Vita Hustle Protein or https://bit.ly/KERSTIN20
Use code KERSTIN20 for 20% off your first order
Dr. Denese Skincare – Use code STREST
Living Fearless by Jamie Winship
Finding Hope in Depression (Free 21-Day Course)
Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
Connect with Donna Winship
Instagram: @thedonnawinship
Website: identityexchange.com
Amazon Resources: Jamie & Donna’s Recommended Reads
More about Kerstin
Website: kerstin-lindquist.com
Instagram: @kerstin.lindquist
Facebook: Kerstin Lindquist
YouTube: @Kerstin.lindquist
TikTok: @kerstin.lindquist
Production, Distribution, and Marketing By Massif Studio & Production & The Tallawah Group
LinkedIn: Massif Studio & Production
LinkedIn: The Tallawah Group
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