Grace Schurz and her father, Hayne, watched helplessly as two tiny figures made their way into the treacherous borderlands between Thailand and Myanmar, clutching the water and snacks they’d just received. Before the children vanished into the jungle, Hayne snapped their photo and prayed, never imagining what God had in store for them all.
This heartbreaking encounter took place during a mission trip to Southeast Asia – a journey designed to give Grace and her family a firsthand look at where their prayers and financial support were actually being put to work.
At 15, Grace was old enough to understand the gravity of what she was witnessing as they volunteered with Life Impact International, a ministry dedicated to human trafficking prevention and rescue on the lawless Thai-Myanmar border. When their ministry contact suggested they pray for the trafficking victims and vulnerable children in the area, Hayne was surprised to hear his daughter’s steady voice rise up to lead them in prayer.
“I just started praying, ‘Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours,’” Grace says. “And I was just completely shattered in that moment.”
That prayer was a pivotal moment in Grace’s giving journey, but it wasn’t her first lesson in generosity. That education had begun years earlier when she was a young child, in her home and around her family’s dinner table.
Making room for generosity
For the Schurz family, generosity was never limited to writing checks. Grace’s parents, Hayne and Heather, served as missionaries in Thailand after they graduated from college. But as their family grew, they decided it was time to return to the United States. Eventually, they settled in Colorado. The couple’s commitment to faith-led, generous living continued, just in different forms.
They saw their home in the U.S. as a waystation for God’s work around the globe. Grace remembers the constant stream of missionaries and ministry workers who lived with them, each becoming part of their family and making a lasting impression on her and her siblings.
“At times, our giving capacity wasn’t big financially, but we had an extra room and time and resources for people staying over,” Grace says. “It was really wonderful to grow up with these different cultural perspectives and rhythms of life in our home.”
Dinner table decisions
As Grace entered her teenage years, family conversations began to include collective giving decisions. She was invited to be part of discussions that would shape her understanding of stewarding resources from the perspective of the extended family business, a fifth-generation media company, and their family’s personal generosity. And as she recalls, these dinner table moments went far beyond token inclusion.
“I remember my parents saying, ‘All right, we’ve been praying, but we want to hear what all the kids have to say,’” Grace says. “They asked us, ‘Where should we give this year? What are some places that are on your hearts?’”
Hayne and Heather took these conversations seriously, researching the ministries and causes their children suggested and often following through with support. This collaborative approach to giving not only shaped Grace’s heart for generosity but also prepared the family for a collaboration that would enhance their giving strategy in the years ahead.
A Giving Fund for a giving family
It was during this time that Hayne learned about the National Christian Foundation (NCF) and their role as a leading provider of Christian donor-advised funds. But he was skeptical. “I was reluctant to meet with what I assumed would be financial advisors who put a fish on their business cards,” Hayne says. But everything changed after meeting Tim MacDonald and Eric Most from NCF’s Southwest and Rocky Mountains teams.
“I was so pleasantly wrong about NCF,” Hayne admits. “First of all, I think it was the relational warmth I felt with their team. As I got to know them, I discovered they are very serious about their walk with the Lord. They’re serious about the global Church expanding, and both their charitable planning IQ and ministry IQ were far more than I expected, and so beautifully integrated.”
The Schurz family now uses their Giving Fund (a donor-advised fund at NCF) to support a diverse range of ministries – including Bible schools and outreach projects as well as a local homelessness ministry. They’ve even started a giving circle with friends, and Hayne has partnered with a friend to start an additional fund that will help them integrate business giving and ministry in innovative ways.
Building on the foundation
Today, Grace is a young adult just beginning her career in healthcare while planning for nursing school. To further encourage her giving journey, Hayne asked Grace to attend NCF’s Impact 2024 experience with him last year. “My dad had really talked it up,” Grace says. “I thought it might not be for someone my age, but I decided that I would at least give it a try.”
What she discovered exceeded her expectations.
“I was blown away,” Grace says. “Everyone was so kind. I was not expecting anyone to want to interact with me. I was expecting everyone to want to interact with my dad. But I met so many people just on my own. I wasn’t only Hayne’s daughter, I was Grace, making my own way.”
In the end, Grace felt the experience reinforced the lessons about giving she had been learning from a young age and showed her new ways to continue growing her generosity.
A picture of God’s love they’ll never forget
As Grace continues to pursue the next steps on her giving journey, she’s been encouraged by a powerful reminder of the impact of her prayers and generosity. It happened one day when her dad was home alone. Hayne saw a social media post from the ministry director in Thailand that mentioned a four-year-old boy caring for his two-year-old sister who had been rescued from the streets. They were now safe in a children’s home, healthy, loved, and learning about Jesus.
He opened his phone and sent her the photo of the two children he and Grace had prayed for that fateful day. “It’s not these two children, is it?” he said. “It certainly is!” she replied.
Hayne could hardly believe it. He was so overcome with emotion that he began crying and shouting with joy.
“I still keep that picture as a powerful reminder that God answers prayer,” he says.
For Hayne and Grace and the whole Schurz family, this miracle represents a big part of what God is still teaching them about generosity: It’s about prayer and presence, compassion as much as provision, and how much the cries of a generous heart mean to him.
Contact your NCF team to explore how a Giving Fund can help your family.
