Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
Hope. Real Hope.
Real stories.
From ordinary people, just like you.
🎙️ NEW podcast episode every other Sunday!
Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
88. Lauren Burns’ Extraordinary Rescue from Jordan and Healing Journey
Today, we welcome Lauren to Ordinary People Extraordinary Things, where she shares her gripping story of resilience and faith. At just seven years old, her world changed dramatically when her father kidnapped her to Jordan, sparking a courageous rescue mission that would later inspire a movie.
Join us as we recount the tense and emotional operation led by a team of former military personnel. This heart-pounding chapter of her life involved navigating cultural barriers, time-sensitive planning, and a daring border crossing that underscored the power of a mother's unwavering love and faith.
Lauren’s journey did not end with her dramatic rescue. She opens up about the healing process that followed, addressing the complex feelings of navigating a relationship with her father and finding solace in her faith community. With her mother as a steadfast support, Lauren's path to forgiveness and redemption serves as an inspiring testament to the transformative power of faith. We invite you to listen, reflect, and draw inspiration from this remarkable story of courage and hope.
🎥Watch the whole interview:
https://youtu.be/CpUo2z1Az_I
Connect with Lauren @ https://www.laurenburns.net/
https://generationstogenerations.com/podcast
ordinarypeoplestories@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ordinarypeoplestory
https://www.instagram.com/ordinarypeopleextraordinary/
X: @storiesextra
Any advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
All rights reserved: Ordinary People Extraordinary Things
Stories shared by guests may not always be shared views of OPET.
Being a guest does not mean OPET approves of every decision or action in the guests' life.
We all have a story, all of us, share your story. You don't have to have the perfect answer or the perfect life - share what Jesus is doing in your life. This is an easy, real way to witness & share your testimony.
Thank you for making Ordinary People Extraordinary Things what it is today. Thank you for sharing. You are the best way for people to hear about Ordinary People, extraordinary Things, and about faith and hope and how it impacts us. We are in 42 countries. I cannot believe it. Continue to share. Continue to share with people all over the world, in your own city and the country where we remember that, at Ordinary People Extraordinary Things, your story is His glory. Well, welcome to Ordinary People Extraordinary Things. I'm here with Lauren. Lauren, thanks for being on. You're so welcome. Thanks for having me. I am so excited to talk with you. We have just become kind of fast friends, I feel like, and I'm so thankful for this. We live in different states, but God both gave us podcasts to glorify him and it's just been really fun to work together and help each other and send an email or an encouragement, so I've just enjoyed that other and send an email or an encouragement.
Speaker 2:So I've just enjoyed that, me too. I, when I started podcasting just six months ago, I'm like God, how do I do this, and are you sure this is what you want me to do? And he just keeps putting people like you in my life to say, yes, I'm going to encourage you, I'm going to give you the people to help. I'm like, okay, just keep trucking along.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes. And so if people don't know who, you are.
Speaker 2:Can you give three words or phrases to describe yourself? I am a mom and a wife. I like to talk a lot, so podcasting is good, and I am a hard worker and I'm very passionate about Jesus and I'm passionate about life in general. That's good.
Speaker 1:That's good. So what was your young growing up Like I'm going to say before seven, because that seven have a whole nother story we're getting into but what was your life like before that, before this?
Speaker 2:So my, you know everyone's got a crazy story and that's me, my, my life started broken. Um, I, my parents, met in the Dallas area. My father is from Jordan. If you don't know where Jordan is, it's near. It's near Israel. Actually, I bet everybody knows right now it's in the news nonstop.
Speaker 2:Um and my parents met in the Dallas area. My mom's from Florida, my mom's Christian, my father's Muslim. They were married for about four years prior to my mom being pregnant with me. I was their first child and when my father found out my mom was pregnant, he told my mom that his dad was sick and that he needed to go to Jordan to take care of his dad. And, honestly, my mom didn't think anything of it. She was in her young 20s. She didn't have any family in Dallas, she only had some really good friends of hers and she said, yeah, no problem, didn't think anything of it. Well, he ended up being gone for three months. So some point during her pregnancy my mom thought that she was abandoned and that he wasn't coming back. So you can imagine that kind of stress being alone. She actually had me about eight weeks, six weeks early, somewhere in there, when, at some time around when she had me my.
Speaker 2:My dad did come back, but he looked different. He was dressed different and all the traditional Jordanian clothing, and he told my mom that he had gone to Jordan to make a home for us. He had found a job, he had found a house, and my mom was in shock. So I mean, if you're a mom, you can understand all the hormones, having a newborn early, the stress of your husband leaving you and then finding out you know what he wants to move you to Jordan. And so my mom was like no, absolutely not.
Speaker 2:So by the time I was six weeks old, my mom had filed for divorce. My mom had full custody of me and I was your typical divorced kid going between two households. You know every other weekend. But you know, nancy, the crazy thing is my parents had a great relationship. I mean, my mom was a single mom all of a sudden trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
Speaker 2:He wasn't paying child support. She actually moved in with a friend to help with rent. She was trying to figure out how to get like food stamps, like how do you pay for formula and diapers? Um, but anytime my mom needed help, then my dad would say, hey, I can take, lauren, you know, an extra weekend, and so that part was easy. My dad remarried and I loved my step-mom. Her family was also from the Middle East, but she was raised in the United States and they began having their own children. So now I had little siblings I was the oldest, so up until the age of seven, that's what my life looked like, going between two households. Um and I had a great relationship with my dad. He was very loving and kind and um, my and both my parents were very supportive. They made it work.
Speaker 1:So what happened when you were seven years old? It's a day that I'm just going to say changed your life.
Speaker 2:Yes, my life changed at seven so much that there's a movie made about my life, um, and we'll get into that in a little bit. But, um, my mom again, she was a single mom and she, uh, my, my father had asked can Lauren stay with us one extra day to go trick or treating? It was Halloween weekend, my birthday's in September. This happened in October. So, and so, halloween weekend, he asked if I could stay one extra night and my mom said absolutely no problem, as long as you take Lauren to school on Monday. Because I had just started new school and I was excited. I wanted to go trick-or-treating and show off. I had a cheerleading uniform. I remember it was blue and yellow. My mom put my hair in pigtails, I had bright red lipstick and I couldn't wait to show off for my siblings. And so my dad comes to pick me up at our house, at our townhouse in the Dallas area, and when he comes to pick me up, it was just him. I was expecting my siblings to be there, my stepmom, and so I kissed my mom goodbye. And I still remember it's funny how you remember certain things my suitcase was pink. It was the one that said like going to grandma's on the outside and I grabbed my suitcase, I get in a car and I was like, hey, where's my stepmom, where's my sister and my brother? And my dad turned around and looked at me and said, well, I have a big surprise for you. And I'm like, yeah, we're going trick or treating. And he said, no, I'm taking you on a big trip, we're going to the airport. And I was like, what do you mean? We're going to the airport? My mom never told me we were going on a trip. She said we were going trick-or-treating and I've always been very talkative, so all the questions are coming out. And he said, well, we're going to Jordan. I want you to meet your family You've never met. And I said, well, does my mom know? And he said, yes, of course, everything's fine, lauren, you're fine, don't worry. Well, the more questions I asked, the more aggravated he became. And you know, all kids know when they're pushing their parents' buttons and they know when to stop. So eventually, the more upset he got, the less I asked and eventually I just stopped asking the questions as he drove to the airport that Monday.
Speaker 2:You know, and, Nancy, I believe when the when I share this story, nothing happens by chance. It is totally the Holy Spirit. My mom, single mom, decided to go have lunch with me that Monday, and even as a you know, you know, as a married parent, right. So stop your day and to go have lunch with your child doesn't happen very often because it's just hard to find the time. So it was totally out of the ordinary for her. But on that Monday she pulled up to my elementary school to have lunch with me, pulled up to my elementary school to have lunch with me, and she walked to the courtyard and as the kids are filing to line up to go to the lunchroom, she's scanning and she doesn't see me. And the teacher sees my mom and walks over and my mom was like you know where's Lauren? And the teacher said, well, lauren never came to school today. And my mom was like what do you mean? Lauren never came. And the teacher said, well, her dad didn't drop her off. Well, you know, nancy, the last thing that my mom said to my dad was make sure Lauren goes to school.
Speaker 2:So her first inkling was frustration. You know it was like frustrated mad. Well, this happened back in the eighties. There's no cell phones, so instead of going to her house, which was right around the corner. She goes to the closest pay phone and she calls. He had a. He owned a restaurant in the Dallas area. So she calls the restaurant and they told my mom that Ollie never came to work today. And she's like you know what. And so she begins more frustrated. So then she calls his house and the phone rings and rings, and rings and rings and nobody answers.
Speaker 2:Well, the third phone call she made prior to this happening, prior to my mom going to getting married, she had gone to Jordan nine years before this had happened, to meet my dad's family before the you know, before the wedding. And she remembered that the main airlines going into Jordan and to Amman back then was called the Alia Royal Airlines and their headquarters were in New York city. Well again, I believe it's the Holy Spirit, like just at that moment. That third phone call, my mom calls the headquarters in New York and the lady answers and she begins to ask she said do you have a Lauren and Ollie on your flight reservations to go to Jordan? And the lady said ma'am, I can't give out that kind of information. And then my mom's voice changed into more of a panic and emotion and she said please, I think my ex-husband has taken my daughter, can you please help me? So the lady put my mom on hold. A couple seconds go by and she comes back online and she said yes, ma'am. Couple seconds go by and she comes back online and she said yes, ma'am, I have a Lauren and Ollie landing in Amman, jordan, this evening. Nancy, that was the moment that my mom knew, yeah, you were already on a flight. That's the moment my mom knew that my dad had taken me. Wow, so her fourth phone call.
Speaker 2:I said earlier my mom didn't have family in Dallas, but her closest friends were Rick and Beverly Lambert, and if you know that last name, it's Miranda Lambert's parents, the country singer, songwriter. But at this point Miranda was only three years old. So Rick was a Dallas County police officer, but he had recently started his own private investigation company with his wife. Beverly called Lambert and Lambert. So the fourth phone call from that pay phone. My mom paged Rick 911.
Speaker 2:Rick and Beverly happened to be working together at the Dallas County courthouse that day and when we talk about this story, beverly says it's very rare that they work together. But Rick got the page and he looked at Beverly. He said that's Kathy, something's wrong. She's paging me nine, nine one one. So he grabbed the closest phone and call my mom. And my mom began to tell Rick that my dad had taken me. So they jump in their car, they tell my mom, you know, meet her at the townhouse. And they drive like 90, 100 miles down the Dallas Expressway to meet her at her townhouse. And then that's when everything began to unfold.
Speaker 1:My goodness, oh my goodness. I, like you said, this has become a movie, and you can already see why it's. It's almost like how is this? How is this real? How can this happen? Were you scared? Because obviously you're going to get, you're going to get rescued? We'll get to that part, but this wasn't a day, right? I mean, you were in Jordan for months, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, I was in Jordan for three months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we're not talking one day, two days, this is a long time.
Speaker 2:Correct, correct, and you know most children, one, most children never return. They never come back. Two, they're at least gone four or five years and so by the time they come back they're just totally different kids, especially if they're being taken to a Middle Eastern country, totally different culture, language, religion, you name it. So during those three months when I first got there, I thought, okay, I'm going on a vacation. I had to accept that. But when I started going to school I knew this wasn't a vacation and every time I would ask my dad if I could call my mom and talk to my mom, he would became very angry and upset. He was a different man in Jordan, angry and upset. He was a different man in Jordan, in Texas, he was loving and kind. He tucked me in at night, he brushed my hair, he'd do all the regular dad things In Jordan, even at seven, I could tell there was a difference.
Speaker 2:The men stayed together, the women stayed together. And you have to remember, this is my first time to meet my grandmother and my aunts and you know, and they all spoke Arabic. I didn't know what they were saying, but it was my aunt's job and my grandmother's job to take care of me. I don't know what my dad was doing, but he was like doing whatever the men were supposed to do. So it's like I didn't even a parent to take care of me. My stepmother wasn't there. I would beg to call my stepmother. I wasn't even allowed to talk to her because she was sent somewhere else with with the other children. They weren't there either. So that was scary and hard and lonely because I didn't have anyone I could confide in.
Speaker 2:And then he started taking me to the mosque and I thought that I was praying to Jesus, but in a different language, in a different way. I didn't understand at seven years old the differences. The food was different. We would sit on the floor, we would wash our feet and sit on the floor and we would eat and scoop everything up with your hands, because they didn't use utensils.
Speaker 2:The bathrooms were different. The bathroom was a hole in the ground where you would squat over the hole and there was a chain above that you would pull. They did not have toilet paper, so you would use your hand to clean yourself. For a seven-year-old little girl that grew up in the United States, that was traumatic. For a seven-year-old little girl that grew up in the United States. That was traumatic. There were times where I didn't want to use the bathroom and I would hold it and I would have an accident and be so embarrassed. So those are the big memories that I have, because it was such a drastic change and I didn't have anyone that I could reach out to and, like I said, when my dad put me in school I knew this was permanent, this was not a vacation anymore.
Speaker 1:Did he tell you that or you just got this sense?
Speaker 2:I think I just got the sense he never he just always would push me off. It'll be fine, you'll see. You're going to see your mom soon. You're going to see your stepmom soon, she's going to come. She was pregnant with their third child, so he would always say, oh, it's too dangerous for her to fly, it's not safe. It was all of those kinds of things to sort of push, push, push. I eventually got to talk to my mom on the phone, but he made it very clear I'm going to be listening right beside you. Don't say anything that would make your mom upset. You know, if she begins asking you questions, don't answer where you are. It was very guarded conversation and he did the same thing with my mom before she got on the phone with me, telling her Kathy, don't bad mouth me, don't try to get any clues or tips from Lauren, or you won't be able to talk to her again. So the phone call.
Speaker 1:As much as I love talking to her, it was very strained. Yeah, yeah, you were both pretending.
Speaker 2:Right, yes, and as a mother now you know I have two boys I can't imagine. I can't imagine having to talk to my kids like that, wanting so bad to ask all the questions, but too scared to ask.
Speaker 1:Three months, that is a long time. That is a long time no-transcript that. If you are intrigued by this story which I mean, how can you not? Then please listen to Lauren's podcast, redeemed Podcast, and you can see all these different sides, because we are going to have to kind of focus on yours, but there's so much more there for those people that are like oh, my goodness, I have to know what my mom was thinking. So you have all of that. So this day that you were rescued, I assume for you it started out like any other day.
Speaker 2:I? Yes, it was like any other day. Um, I have to back up because the biggest part of the rescue is finding how did my mom find the men to go and get me? And nothing. Nothing happened in my story without Jesus, nothing. My mom was in that townhouse for days. Rick and Beverly and Miranda they all moved in with my mom and lived with my mom these three months, helping her with everything.
Speaker 2:Rick Lambert told my mom to put a recording device on the phone so anytime she called Jordan we would have all the recordings because they wanted to go back and listen. So my mom was calling Jordan every day, begging to be able to talk to me, and I have all of those recordings and, like you said, I share those on the podcast. She calls and she's begging, saying I'm Lauren's mother, let me talk to Ali, let me talk to Lauren, and people were only speaking Arabic. And it's day after day of this. Rick and Beverly are trying to call the police, they're trying to call everyone. They know all the contacts they know and everyone's saying there's nothing we can do, it's outside the jurisdiction, we can't help, the United States cannot get involved. One day, beverly actually calls my mom and I think that's totally God that she called because this conversation could have happened in the townhouse. But Beverly calls my mom and she tells my mom cause I have it all recorded, Kathy, you've got to get away from the noise and the chaos and and all the stuff and you've got to get away and be with Jesus. And my mom just starts crying and she's like you're right, I have to get away, I have to be with Jesus. I need you to pray, pray over Lauren's protection, pray that God, that God would protect her. And then Beverly said I recently read a book that says the thing that brings you the closest to God is fasting. And my mom said, yes, I need to get away, I need to fast and pray.
Speaker 2:Prior to my mom doing that, rick had made an appointment with the district attorney's office and the Dallas County courthouse to meet with the grand jury, hoping that they could just get a warrant out for my dad's arrest. And that was really the whole thing was just let's get a warrant out for Ollie's arrest so if he happens to come to the United States, we can at least put him in prison and then figure out where Lauren is. So she goes to that, that meeting at the courthouse and she stands before the grand jury and she begins to tell her story. Well, they told her I'm so sorry, ma'am, we can't help you. I mean, everyone has told her that by now we can't help you. So my mom breaks down crying and she was like can I be honest with you? It's not fair. We spend billions of dollars in foreign aid every year and you're telling me you can't help me get my daughter back. It's just not fair.
Speaker 2:And one man stands up and his name is Alza Panta. Alza Panta is still working today. He's worked in the political realm, he's big in the military, has tons of awards. He stands up and opens his wallet and he hands my mom his business card. And again, my mom has no clue who this guy is. He said my name is Elsa Panta. If you're not happy with the state department, call me and I'll see what I can do. Well, at that moment you know what it's like when you feel so depressed and so defeated. She just put the card in her wallet and told him thank you.
Speaker 2:She left, she grabbed, she went back to the townhouse, grabbed her Bible, grabbed her bag and she drove to Fort Worth, texas, checked herself into a motel room and she was there for three days and three nights and she fasted and prayed on that last night and she fasted and prayed On that last night she was down on her knees praying and God gave her the Bible verse, daniel 10, 12. Do not be afraid, daniel. Since the first day you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before God, your words were heard. God was telling my mom, kathy, I see you. I see you because you've humbled yourself before me. And then God it's like in her, the Holy spirit just sort of told her you need to lay down your cigarettes, you need to wrestle with the areas of unforgiveness and bitterness in your heart. And so my mom just spent that time praying and working through those areas and she left that townhouse or that motel room and just totally looked different. She walked into the townhouse and Beverly said Kathy, you don't look the same. And my mom said I'm not the same. God told me I'm getting my daughter back. So she pulled out that card. She called Al Nancy. Al begins to tell my mom. She called Al Nancy. Al begins to tell my mom.
Speaker 2:One week prior to him being at that grand jury meeting, he was in Washington DC meeting a friend of his for lunch. His name is Everett Alvarez. Everett Alvarez is one of the first POWs. He has numerous, numerous awards. Everett was telling Al about a group of men that work in North Carolina that by the name of CTU is their company name and their mission is to go to the Middle East and to rescue people and bring them out of the Middle East.
Speaker 2:Al told my mom, kathy, they have not done a mission. Yours would be the first. It's going to cost a lot of money and the United States cannot help. They are ex-military, they are not a part of the military. The United States cannot help. My mom said I don't care, put them in contact with me, I want to talk to them. So she flew them to Dallas. They met and, honestly, they were blown away by her. Yes, she was emotional, but she was prepared. She had binders of information about my dad and his whole entire family, pictures of Jordan, maps of Jordan detailing the streets and the buildings, everything. So they agreed to take on the mission and they told her the same thing we haven't done a mission and it's very dangerous, you're risking your life. And again she said I don't care. So that's how my mom met the men. It was only through God, my mom fasting and praying. And then everything started to you know, click into place.
Speaker 1:So how many men went to Jordanordan just to get you?
Speaker 2:yes, so three men went into jordan. One stayed in cyprus. Um, don, dave and jd were the three men that went into jordan. Dave went first, his um and I just did this reunion with the men last weekend and it's amazing to hear them and to hug them. Uh, Dave is 85 and uh, I just God is so good to give me these opportunities. But, um, Dave went in and he was there about three weeks before anybody else. His job was to take to do all the intelligence and the recon to figure out the best way to get me out.
Speaker 2:Once they found me, because you can't just fly me out of there and then he was struggling. He couldn't find me. He couldn't find my dad's house because nothing looked the same with my mom's photos. So then Don and JD went into Jordan and they were spending time on the streets and the ruins, acting like tourists. Um, going between Jordan. And they were spending time on the streets and the ruins, acting like tourists, going between Jordan and Israel trying to figure out the borders. And after days and weeks of trying to find me, they couldn't.
Speaker 2:And one day and JD was telling this to me in person he was standing on the street corner and he said I just he. This is him talking. He said I just had to pray. I just started praying and said God, you got to show me where this girl is because all of them were believers. So JD, standing on the street corner and day and Dawn is a couple of feet away from him and a school bus pulls up right beside where JD standing and he turns and looks through that window of the school bus, pulls up right beside where JD's standing and he turns and looks through that window of the school bus and there I am sitting and I turn and we lock eyes and I have darker complexion, I have dark hair, but my eyes are a bright blue. And he said, when he saw my eyes he knew it was me. And so he ran over to Don and grabbed him by the shoulders and he said I saw Lauren. I saw Lauren and Don was like what is going on? How do you know? And he goes, cause I saw her eyes and Don was like okay, calm down, when is it? I'm that bus, the bus that's driving past us. And so they tried to get into the car and follow the bus, but it was too late. But that was the first time they actually had eyes on me because at some point they thought maybe I was in Lebanon. So then they contacted my mom and they said okay, we have spotted Lauren, she is in Jordan, but we can't find the house because everything has changed. You have to come and help us.
Speaker 2:My mom, at this point was in Cyprus and she was waiting with Jim Hatfield was one of the other men. Um, so my mom, you know, got in disguise, she flew into Oman and the men met her at at the airport in Oman and she, at this point she was pretty confident. You know, she was very emotional. She's so much closer to me than she's ever been. And they start to drive into Jerash and all of a sudden her heart just sort of sinks down in her chest because nothing looked the same. The dirt roads were paved, the little buildings were now big. So her confidence was dwindling.
Speaker 2:And as they were zigzagging the streets, streets, trying to get my mom to remember something, she got down in the floorboard, closed her eyes and began praying and crying out loud, with the two men in the back and one of the guys in the front driving.
Speaker 2:And she's praying God, you have to help me, you haven't brought me and these men this far to not even find the house, these men this far to not even find the house. And it's like the Holy Spirit started showing her the way. She had walked the streets arm and arm with my aunts nine years prior and she began saying, without even opening her eyes turn left, go straight, turn right. And then all of a sudden she looked up and she saw my dad's white car with Texas license plates sitting on the street because he had had his car shipped to Jordan. So at that moment she froze and finally she said I saw the car. So Don said you know, Kathy, hide your face, look away. And about that time Don looked up across the street and he saw my dad walk out of the building. So that was the first time that they had finally located my father's house. Again, Nancy, after my mom was praying in the floorboard of that car.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, yeah. And you can say, oh, they went and they rescued you, but this was again not. They flew in and a day later they had you. This was a lot of time.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and when you hear Dave's interview he talks about all the logistics of it. The longer you're in country, the more risk of being found out, especially in a small town like that. My dad, I think, had 12 siblings a huge family so they were changing rental cars every day, they were changing disguises, they made sure they weren't seen together, being very cautious not to be seen and to stick out like a sore thumb. And so, as the days were ticking, they were also working under a visa and so their visas were about to expire. So time was ticking down. So now they had a plan. They knew they couldn't get me out of the house because the house was in the middle of the city and near a police station, so they knew that was too dangerous. The next part was they decided they were going to escape over the Allenby bridge. It go. It crosses the Jordan river into Israel. That would be the safest way to get me out, and Dave explains why the other routes were not safe. But it was a 45-minute drive between Jerash and Israel if we took that bridge. But you have to have a passport, you have to have a border pass, you have to have an entry pass, so all these other details they had to work through and all of those little bits and pieces were all miracles as well. But they decided that they were going to hijack the school bus and that's how they would get me out. Because as they were watching the bus routes, one day they saw that the bus stopped at one little farmhouse on the outskirt of town and they figured that would be the safest place to get me, because it's, you know, further away from the police, further away from the crowds. So that's exactly what they did.
Speaker 2:The day of the mission, judy is Don's wife. Judy was back in North Carolina working at CTU and she was managing things on stateside. They had to be careful what they said over the phone, not knowing who might be listening. So Judy came up with a code word the sun is shining. And she told Don, tell Kathy, the code word is the sun is shining, not S-U-N but S-O-N, because the sun is Jesus. And my mom was like yes, the sun, the sun is shining. So that day she said you know, the sun is shining. The mission is a go.
Speaker 2:Dave was in one getaway car and Don, jd and my mom were in another car and Dave's job was to watch the house to make sure I actually got on the bus, because they don't want to hijack a school bus and me not even be on it. So once they saw that I got on the bus, they said the code word. And as soon as the bus passed Don, he zoomed behind the bus and parked so that the bus was sort of sandwiched in. Don got out and went over to the driver's side and start speaking in English to distract the driver and, is you know, waving his hands. Jd went over to the passenger side, like the accordion style doors, and he was trying to wedge his way to to get them to open the door. And my mom they were all dressed in disguise, with her hair covered. She went over to my window. She spotted me and she tapped on my window.
Speaker 2:And there's lots of things I can't remember, but I will never forget seeing my mom for the first time through that window. Her eyes we have the same color eyes. She's staring right at me and she's motioning to me and all I can think is it looks just like my mom. But how can it be my mom's in Dallas, I think? At this point I just thought I was never going to see her again. So I froze. I immediately went in shock. My mom was trying to motion to me and I wouldn't move.
Speaker 2:So Dave pushes his way onto the bus. He gets the keys out of the ignition. He throws the keys in some bushes, hoping that they'll go looking for the keys instead of going straight to the police, which is what they did as a distraction. My mom pushes onto the bus, pushing past JD, past all the kids in the rows of seats, and she scoops me up and she grabs my backpack and she's getting me off the bus. As we get off, there's a lady chaperone and she jumps on my mom's back. My mom has to let go of my hand long enough to punch the lady in the nose. Jd had taught her how to do that prior to, and blood's just going all down this lady's face. So I am really in shock. I'm seeing my mom punch this lady and all the commotion.
Speaker 2:So Don and JD see what's happening and they come over and they get me in in the getaway car. They get my mom in the car and we began to speed off and we meet Dave and we switch cars because we did not want anyone to recognize the car we were in. So Dave actually had the trickiest, most risky job. He took the car that we used to hijack the bus and he went back towards the city as a decoy. The other decoy we had that day was my mom had made reservations for us to fly out of Amman back to the United States, hoping that the authorities would be looking for us at the airport.
Speaker 2:So, don, I'm sorry Dave gets pulled over on the side of the road. He is surrounded by Jordanian police and military. They pull him out of the car. They are going through every inch of his car, the trunk of his car, looking for any evidence of us. And he's just talking in English, acting like a tourist, asking where's the best place to go fishing. He's eating a Snickers bar, and this goes on for like 30, 40 minutes. The bus driver comes, they bring the bus driver to where Dave is and the bus driver, in Arabic, is saying that's the car. But I don't know who this guy is, because remember, dave wasn't there at the hijacking. As this is going on, all of a sudden Dave can hear on the walkie talkies and the radios Alia airport, alia airport, nancy. Every single one of those military men. They got in their cars. They left Dave on the side of the road and they all went to the airport looking for us. They shut down the whole airport looking for me and Dave was able to get away While that was going on. We didn't know.
Speaker 2:We're in another car headed to Israel, and on this day my mom and the guys this past weekend were talking about how thick the fog was. The fog was so thick that you could not see the front of your car. So as we're driving, we slow down long enough because between Israel and Jordan there was little. There was refugee camps, people living in tents on the side of the road. My mom's getting me out of my school uniform and putting me in other clothes and they're all taking their disguises off and changing clothes. So we hand all the clothes out to the people living in the tents on the side of the road and we can only go so fast because they can't really see the road very well. And as we go over a hill, my mom sees this bright light in the distance and she asked Don. She said what is that? What is that bright light? What is that in the distance? And Don said well, kathy, that's Israel. The sun is shining over Israel and Nancy. My mom just started crying and again it's like God was just telling her I am with you, kathy, I am not going to leave you, because that's one of the scariest moments we could get captured any minute and so she just felt that peace over her again.
Speaker 2:So we get to the checkpoint and if you've ever been to that area, you can't drive. Well, back then you couldn't drive a car over the bridge. You had to leave your car on the Jordanian side. You get on a bus and the bus takes you across the border into Israel. My mom had to give them all of our paperwork, our passports, our visas, and we're sitting on that bus. It took like 30 minutes for the bus driver to finally get on and drive us across.
Speaker 2:So, nancy, we were on the, we were on the bus, myself and my mom and Dawn and JD, and it was intense emotions, as you could imagine. My mom was holding me and praying silently as that bus started going over the border, and the way it works is there's a Jordanian bus driver and a Jordanian soldier that takes you partway and then in the middle of the bridge, as you're crossing over the Jordan River, the Allenby Bridge, there is a shack and there is an Israeli bus driver and soldier and they switch to take us on over into Israel. So, as we start to approach that shack and they are switching the guards, if you would say behind us there was a big commotion where we had just left and that was at the point where they realized the military, the Jordanian soldiers, had realized that we were not at the airport, but we were actually on that bus. That's how close everything happened. So, as our bus continues to go over into Israel, they realized that we were on the bus, but at that point there's nothing they could do.
Speaker 1:Okay, so there's no turning back for them.
Speaker 2:They can't say hey, wait, wait, wait or wow, that's right, that's right, Because we had passed over, we had gone into Israel, we had crossed the border, the Jordanian soldiers were no longer with us on that bus and you know I was in shock. People ask me, Lauren, do you remember? And no, I don't remember that point. My, my best memory was when my mom was tapping on the bus window and I first saw her through the window. After that I went into shock and I don't have a lot of memory of what happened. But talking to my mom, she's like it's like a movie which there is a movie about my story. It's like when you see in the movies where people get down on the ground, they want to kiss the ground. We get off that bus, my mom just wants to kiss the ground. She starts crying, All those tears are falling, all those emotions that she'd been holding together and of course I'm crying and hugging her.
Speaker 2:And there was a group of women on the on the side of, on the Israeli side, and they saw all the commotion and they go over to JD and JD was this big, handsome military guy and they said excuse me, sir, what's going on? What's? What's wrong with that? Mom Is the little girl? Okay, you know, they could tell something intense had just happened. Jd looks at them with these tears coming down his face, which is probably shocking for these women, and he said you see that mom and that little girl. We just brought them out of Jordan. That little girl was taken three months ago by her father and we just rescued her and this is the first time for her to be reunited with her mom.
Speaker 2:Well, Nancy, those women begin to jump up and down and they started saying praise you, Jesus, Hallelujah, we have come to the promised land and we have seen a miracle Like I mean promised land. And we have seen a miracle Like I mean God was with us the whole time, from the sun is shining, to the sun is literally shining over Israel, and then those sweet women jumping up and down to celebrate and to come around and pray with us. It was just. You know, God is so good and it's a good reminder that, no matter what hard things you go through not a lot of people, hopefully, will know what it's like to have a child kidnapped, but a lot of us know how hard life can be and I truly believe the longer you live, the more likelihood you're going to know what hardship looks like. So it's a reminder that God sees you in every part, but we just have to have faith and continue to surrender those things to God, and he will show up in a mighty way.
Speaker 1:Wow, if you don't have tears, I don't know how you couldn't. That was such a beautiful story. Why do you think your dad wanted you over there? And I don't mean that rudely, it just from your, from what you were saying, it sounded like he was super wonderful in the United States, but then wasn't really that fatherly figure there. Do you know what happened or why he wanted you there, even though it kind of sounds like he didn't want to be a part of your life? I don't know, maybe I'm overstating.
Speaker 2:Well. So a lot of it, I think, is the cultural differences. It's not that he didn't want me there. He wanted me to be raised Muslim. He wanted me to be raised in his tradition. And I think that he left my mom as soon as she found out she was pregnant and I'm assuming that all of a sudden he thought oh yeah, I'm a dad, first time dad, I have these responsibilities to raise my family in Jordan, with my family and the traditions and my customs. And so from the day the moment he knew he was going to be a dad, that was his desire and that didn't pan out for him. And then, when you turn seven, in the laws in Jordan back then I don't know if they still are all rights go to the father. Well, he took me my birthday's in September, he took me in October. So he was planning this the whole time. He knew what he was doing. So that was all calculated. I really think he wanted me to be raised. You know, just like I have a very strong faith as a Christian that's why I'm sharing my testimony and so I can understand strong beliefs and so I think he and his mind thought he was doing the right thing.
Speaker 2:And then to answer the question about you know, once he got me over there, he wasn't really the loving father. Well, that and I don't want to speak for everyone that you know is from Jordan, but from what I understand, there are clear lines. The women take care of the children and the home. The men go do whatever the men do and that is very that is a tradition. That is the customs there where he grew up, and so I think he was practicing his beliefs and I never saw that part of him in the United States. I didn't know this man. I also didn't understand going to the mosque and praying to Allah, you know, in a different language. So there's a lot of cultural shock that I was going through in a different language. So there's a lot of cultural shock that I was going through. So I think that's what I was seeing as a seven year old little girl being in a foreign country for the first time and without my mom and without really the dad that I knew.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for that. Yeah, what is your relationship with your dad now, and were you or are you able to forgive him?
Speaker 2:with your dad now and were you or are you able to forgive him? That's why I'm sharing my story. You know, nancy, a lot of times I say my own story really began after I came home from being rescued. That's where my journey of healing had to start. I was a broken little girl with a stolen childhood. My relationship with my father would never be the same the day he took me. He stole my siblings from me, he stole my stepmother from me and he stole that relationship with him from me. You know, because he broke that trust. That was a long, a lot of years of healing from that. To answer your question, my mom, that's a whole nother story. She's amazing, um, she never bad-mouthed my dad. She allowed me to continue to try to have a relationship with him, whatever that looked like.
Speaker 2:For years we we changed our last names. We lived in hiding. By the time I was in high school I moved like 14 times. My life was very fearful those early years that my dad might try to come and get me. So we always were living in hiding. So the way we communicated is my dad would send letters to my grandmother, who lived in Florida, and then my grandmother would mail the letters to me, so he never really knew where we lived. Well, you know, I'd get a letter and my heart would start racing, some with fear, some with excitement, trying to figure out who is this father, who is this man. He'd send me pictures of my siblings and I longed for that family that I lost and then, later into my high school, middle school years, I actually got to see my dad for the first time and that was amazing, looking back, that my mom allowed that to happen, but it was a part of my healing journey.
Speaker 2:We were still sort of living a little bit in fear, very careful. We met in a big crowded mall and he didn't know where we were living at the time, but that was scary, nancy. My, I still remember my heart was beating out of my chest you know whenever you're really scared and you feel like everyone can hear that, that heartbeat. As I walked up and I saw my dad for the first time and it's like this man standing in front of me that looks like me, that has the dark hair and the olive complexion, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is this man, he's real, he's right in front of me. And then he starts to speak and I hear that thick Arabic accent and that fear starts to come over me. But then my siblings were there and that made it easier, and so that was a process of seeing him, and it was hard and awkward. He kept telling me he loved me and calling me his baby, and all I could think of is I don't even know who you are, you're a stranger to me.
Speaker 2:So into my college years I continued to try to have a relationship, but it was hard. It was hard because I kept thinking that the man in front of me was going to say the magic words to make all this hurt go away, all this anger go away bitterness, brokenness Because for years I looked around thinking why is my childhood so messed up? Why did I have to have so many last names? Why don't I have the typical family? And it's because of what he did.
Speaker 2:And I also struggled with God. How can you be a good father if you allow this to happen to me? Yes, you brought me out of Jordan. Yes, that was a miracle, but why did you allow it to happen at all? So that was a lot of healing I had to go through, and you know, nancy, what I realized through lots of prayer and being in a Bible study and being in a small group where I could unpack these feelings, I learned that there was never anything my biological father could say to me that was going to be the magical words to heal me. It was going to be my heavenly father to take me through those wounds. God had to show me how to forgive my dad, and God had to show me, lauren, I'm nothing like your earthly father. I am so much more than that. I love you so much more than you'll ever know if you'll just trust me. And so I had to learn how to trust my heavenly father and let him walk me through that healing Wow.
Speaker 1:Yes, I think that when you said, okay, we got into Israel, I'm thinking great, the story's over. But, like you said, I'm sure that's just the beginning of so much. So were you in witness protection or did you kind of just put yourself in that kind of changing places and names and things like that?
Speaker 2:places and names and things like that. Yeah, good question. So Beverly Lambert I remember I had shared that Beverly and Rick were private investigators. And Beverly, whenever I interview her on my podcast and I can't remember exactly how she said it, but she she told my mom you know, I'm really good at finding people as a private investigator. Then I know I can hide you, because if I can find you I can hide you. So Bev helped us hide. She took that role on when we came back to Dallas and she walked my mom through that process of helping us change our name and to hide us. So that's who helped us through that process.
Speaker 1:Wow, I can't imagine I I really did had no idea that you'd have to go that far as far as okay, now you're in the United States and you have trauma and things to work through, but that that fear that it could happen again, Wow.
Speaker 2:Well, and I'll tell you a funny story. So I told you, I grew up in Lindale when I went to got my driver's license at the age of 16, you know, how do you get a driver's license when you've already had like two last names and how do you prove it? I had my birth certificate with Bayonne, and then we chose the last name, elliot, and then my. Then I had Hopkins. I had, you know, three and I hadn't been married. So we showed up to the driver's license place whatever it's called and showed up with our magazine articles, with the book, with the movie, to prove who I really was. So everyone comes out to like y'all got to hear this story about this girl, the 16 year old, trying to get the driver's license. She was kidnapped and so, anyways, that's how I got my driver's license for the first time.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, and so, anyways that's how I got my driver's license for the first time. Wow, wow. Why are you sharing your story now? I know that you have your podcast and we'll link that. And have I heard right that you're working on a book?
Speaker 2:I am. I am working on a book.
Speaker 1:Yes, that's it For me. I see a huge shift right. We had to be in hiding. We had to change our name to just openly sharing your story, which I'm so grateful for.
Speaker 2:But can you share how that shift happened? About a year ago I was sitting in my living room and Miranda Lambert had come up with a cookbook and it's just their family recipes. And I'm sitting in my living room reading it and I start to hear like God's voice saying Lauren, it's time for you to write your story. And I'm getting emotional reading about Beverly's meatloaf. I'm like why am I emotional reading this? But it's like God just kept saying Lauren, it's time for you to share your story. And I'm like God, I don't know how.
Speaker 2:I'm a full time physical therapist, I'm a mom, I have dyslexia, I don't know how to write a book. And God just kept putting that on my heart and it would not go away. And I was like, okay, I'm going to pray and I continue to pray and I've just sort of followed this path. And then it opened up to doing a podcast, and me doing a podcast has allowed me to interview all the men that rescued me, which I haven't talked to them since my rescue 37 years ago Next week, if you're listening to this Halloween 37 years, this past Halloween. But that's why I feel like God's really telling me it's my time, because I want people to know that God's a big God and he heals and he redeems and he restores. Nothing is too big for him, doesn't matter how long you've been carrying around that anger and bitterness and unforgiveness. He can let you be free from it, because now I'm a mom and I'm a wife and I don't live with that anger towards my dad anymore.
Speaker 1:That's so good and you don't have that fear, I hope.
Speaker 2:No, no fear, no fear at all. No, God has set me free from all of that, and so that's why I'm sharing now. I don't think I could have shared this story four years ago. It's just, you know, God brings you to a place in in your life when it's time and when he's healed those parts of you and and he gives you that boldness, and so that's why now's the time.
Speaker 1:What would you say to someone who is not probably gone through what you did but, like you said, maybe fearful, maybe anger, maybe resentful, maybe not forgiveness? Is there something that you would share on top of what you already have?
Speaker 2:Scriptures would share on top of what you already have Scriptures, I mean, there's so many times I remember in high school being in my bed crying like God, I don't know where to even go, what to even do, and being around people that can point you to Jesus. Even though it might be awkward and weird to get in a small group, it's life changing Because newsflash everyone's been through hard things. So when you start to open up, it starts that healing process. But God gives us so many scriptures, like in Mark 11, 25. And when you stand praying, if you have hold anything against anyone, forgive them. So your father in heaven may forgive you.
Speaker 2:If I was still holding onto that unforgiveness towards my, my earthly father, my heart would be hard and bitter and angry. And forgiving doesn't mean what he did was okay. Forgiving doesn't mean that I have to forget. Forgiving is just God. It's yours to take care of. The Bible says revenge is mine, says the Lord. It's not up to Lauren to punish anyone. That's up to God. And so when I can let that go, then my healing started. So that's what I would say, especially if someone's holding on to unforgiveness, whatever that looks like, continue to pray about that over and over again. It might take you five years, but God will soften that area of your heart.
Speaker 1:That's so good. Thank you for sharing that, and I've loved getting to know you. I've loved getting your story and I'm just so thankful. Lauren just reached out to me on Instagram or something, and we are both pretty new with our podcasts and it's just so beautiful how God's interwoven our relationship and I'm so thankful for that with you.
Speaker 2:Oh, me too, I love just being able to text you and ask you questions and go through this journey together, because it's a journey we're learning.
Speaker 1:It's fun to do it together. So I always end with a few questions what is your favorite Bible verse or story? So I always end with a few questions.
Speaker 2:What is your favorite Bible verse or story? Well, bible story, it's been Ruth since I was a little girl, because who doesn't like Ruth? And then Psalms 107, to let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, and that's why my podcast is called redeemed, because God, god, redeems all the broken areas, you know, and over and over again he promises that in his word.
Speaker 1:That's good. What are you?
Speaker 2:grateful for. Oh man, there's so much to be grateful for my family. I'm so grateful I'll get emotional. My boys have lived in the same house their whole life. They have the same parents. I didn't know what that looked like. I was that broken little girl thinking I wish my family looked like that, and God's redeemed that through my family. So I'm so thankful for my family and my husband supporting me because I mean, this is a lot, you know, working full time and trying to write a book and doing a podcast. He's a trooper. So I'm very thankful for my family.
Speaker 1:That's that's so good and that's a reminder of how God can do that right. Because you see that in the world, where it's hard for generational blessing or curses to stop, and so for that to happen in one generation for you is such a testament to God and for you doing the work too, thank you, you're right. What kindness have you shown or what kindness have you seen in the last week?
Speaker 2:I'm a physical therapist and so most of the time my patients might tell you that I'm torturing them, but just kindness. It's really cool in my career because, yes, I'm, I'm helping them physically, but just the conversations and talking through things and getting to know people, just the conversations and talking through things and getting to know people, sharing God's word little by little, even in the clinic. That is just a day to day. That's the cool thing about my job, is that kindness and sometimes just listening, because sometimes you might be the only one to actually listen. So I get to do that in my career on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:That's great and on your podcast you get to listen.
Speaker 2:And on my podcast. Yes, yes, I love it.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you for sharing your story, and I'm praying over everyone who is listening that either is just wowed by it or can really resonate with certain parts. I think all of us can resonate with something in that, and that we would hear you talk about God's redemption and forgiveness and that we would really take that to heart.
Speaker 2:Me too, amen. I'm on that prayer with you.
Speaker 1:Thank you Well, thank you for joining us on Ordinary People Extraordinary Things, where your story is His glory. I hope that this episode has been impactful for you and a reminder at Ordinary People Extraordinary Things, your story is His glory, and so make your story known in order for His glory to shine. We do that with faith and hope with every story that we hear. We will be back in two weeks with a brand new episode. In the meantime, check out all five seasons of Ordinary People Extraordinary Things and make sure to share it with your friends and family that will be impacted by this podcast.