“I like the isolation, but I also am a social person,” shares 76-year-old Alison Gray. “I have the radio on most of the time – on my phone. I just have it in the background, and it helps, it encourages me – lifts my spirits up.”
In this special Easter episode of Helping Hands, we join Alison on her property in outback Queensland.
Alison is a self-confessed Grazi-Her. She lives on 7,000 acres of rugged, mountainous country one and a quarter hours by car inland from Bundaberg. She approaches the daily responsibilities of her rural Queensland life with the easy-going nature typical of anyone who calls the Aussie outback home.
“I look after the cattle, horses and property while my husband works away. I’ve been here twenty-six, going on twenty-seven years,” shares Alison.
Alison’s early morning starts are made easier with the company of Fel and Andy, the hosts of the breakfast radio show, Rise & Shine.
Whether Alison is on a horse mustering cattle, breaking in a young fille, training one of her thirteen kelpies, or taking a break with a well-deserved cuppa, Vision is a trusted companion, a source of entertainment, and a spiritual inspiration.
Christian faith is a part of Alison’s daily life, and, over the last twelve months, she has found herself enjoying more and more of the content Vision provides, including Vision Worship, the Word for Today, and the Vision app.
Vision’s content and companionship is especially relevant at Easter, one of the most important occasions in the Christian calendar.
In more than seven hundred locations around Australia, Vision is a lifeline connecting people in rural and remote areas who may not be able to attend faith celebrations or services, encouraging connection and community.
Vision’s heart is to bring hope and encouragement to people like Alison across Australia, and does this through the content it produces on radio, in print, online and through the Vision app.
“I like 20Twenty because it’s informative and entertaining at times and they have really interesting guests … It also has the “The WORD for TODAY” – one of Vision’s publications … One day you might read something and say, ‘Wow, that’s just what we’ve been going through.’ It’s amazing and it encourages us.”
For Alison, her husband, John, and many others in rural Australia, participating in hobby groups, church services and other community gatherings is difficult. Vision helps to fill this void by providing reliable and consistent connection all year round.
“We do experience times when we feel really down and depressed and think, Oh, this is terrible, what are we going to do?” Alison admits. “As soon as I’m locking into Vision radio or Vision Worship … I’m part of a bigger community ... they really do treat us like family.”
See the VISION CHRISTIAN MEDIA story and the full catalogue of Helping Hands documentaries at helpinghands.tv. Catch up on full episodes of Helping Hands on 9NOW.
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* The Helping Hands producers are available for interview on radio, TV and online to discuss this topic. Get in touch at helpinghands.tv/contact/
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