No Turning Back for These Servants

Many American couples today might define their all-consuming passion as the acquisition of things, the pursuit of the good life, the desire to possess more and more. For Jamie and Lea Peters the overwhelming passion that seizes them day-in and day-out is for the continent of Africa and the souls there that do not know Jesus as Savior. The "good life" the Peters pursue is the vision of 1,000 churches to be established on the continent.

As missionaries for nearly two-and-a-half decades the Peters have given themselves without reservation, even when their call has required them and their young children to live through violence that ultimately would kill 300,000 Burundians. When times were tough and even the U.S. embassy was strongly recommending that they evacuate, the Peters clung tight to their "no-exit strategy"-a strategy that reflected their deep sense of calling and desire to do God's will.

In No Retreat-No Regrets, Jamie and Lea share their story-an infectious, well-told account of their time in Africa. In their back-and-forth style that is both transparent and entertaining, the Peters openly relate the challenges of daily life in Africa, the difficult tasks of church planting and caring for the poor, as well as their personal struggles with illness, homesickness, and rearing American children overseas. Yet instead of counting the cost, Jamie and Lea believe they are the privileged ones-blessed to live at the front line of what God is doing on the earth. As Jamie says, "A life lived outside the will of God is a life not lived at all."

Let Jamie and Lea's captivating description of their journey-not just written but lived-motivate you to do God's will in whatever harvest field you are planted and to follow their example and live your life without retreat and without regret.

Imperfect People CAN Serve God

A yearning that could not be denied--a yearning to answer God's call . . .

An earlier call to missions never was far from Helen Spaulding's thoughts, but life-her longtime service as a professional nurse, marriage, and childrearing-had put Helen's call on hold for a season. Ultimately empty-nested but believing she had many good years left, Helen, alongside husband Roger, found that her passion to serve God overseas was as fresh as it had been in her youth. But would these retirees know what to do when they reached foreign shores?
Go If You Must-Even If You Are Not Perfect demonstrates how God can use imperfect humans-many who feel led to pursue such a career yet believe they might not "qualify"-and enables those He calls to do His work in His power. By tracing Helen's service-all of which occurred after she was 52 years of age-the book illustrates the joys and sorrows, successes and failures, frustrations and "Wow!" moments in daily missions work.
This book, the first of three in Helen's Go If You Must series, traces her years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, a nurse in a Somali refugee camp, and a worker on short-term mission trips to Honduras and Guatemala. Written in the third person so that it reads like a novel, Helen's absorbing, informative account pulls the reader into the life of a missionary in hopes of drawing those the Lord is touching to respond to His call.

Blogger Says "Misadventures in Travel" 'Changes the Trend' of Missions Books

Many thanks to these bloggers (and the ones with links in this post from Monday) for posting their honest reviews of Misadventures in Travel by Paula Edwards.

Reflections in the Window
Our Family's Adventures
Adventures in McQuill-Land
Christy's Book Blog
A Book Lover
Growing for Christ
Blogs of Books

"Misadventures in Travel" Featured on Numerous Blogs

Paula Edwards' new book, Misadventures in Travel: A Missionary's Experience in Brazil, is featured on numerous blogs today. Start out browsing these posts and watch for another list later!

Creative Madness Mama
Adventures in Unsell Land
Bookfoolery and Babble
ElCloud Homeschool
Window to My World
Black 'n Gold Girl's Book Spot

Little Brown-Haired Girl with big imagination subject of new children's book

When the Little Brown-Haired Girl and her neighborhood buddies decide to form a "Secret-Tree Club", they have no idea that they are about to uncover the biggest news on the block!

In this first book of the Little Brown-Haired Girl series, the Little Brown-Haired Girl uses her big imagination to transform a climbing tree into a mailbox. At first the children exchange random messages back-and-forth as they hide them in the branches of the "secret tree".

One day, though, the Little Brown-Haired Girl finds in the tree a special note--one that contains important news that will change the neighborhood. Will she be able to keep the secret found in the secret tree? Or will she break the trust of the Secret-Tree Club?

The Little Brown-Haired Girl and The Secret-Tree Club is Kay Moore's first children's book and features stories of events that happened in her "growing-up" neighborhood, in which she is privileged to live even now. The full-color paperback is illustrated by Nathaniel Platts.

Late-in-Life Couple Left Comforts of Home for Adventures in Brazil

Most people in their 50s wouldn’t even think of moving to a remote area of a foreign country with only minimal language skills. Retirement, relaxation, and enjoying grandchildren would be on most people’s minds.

However, Van and Paula Edwards left the comforts of their home, their church, and their culture and set out on a missionary adventure in Brazil, as described in the new book, Misadventures in Travel: A Misadventures in Travel.

The book, by Paula Edwards, is a collection of stories from her and her husband’s three years in Brazil, during which they studied the language, traveled the coastline in search of villages that needed a Baptist church, and helped plant churches in Minas Gerais.

Misadventures in Travel describes an intriguing journey as the Edwardses attempt to be God’s ambassadors in a foreign country with only a rudimentary understanding of the language and a lone map book as their guide. Naturally, the experience is one of adventure, misadventure, and a few laughs along the way. From numerous bureaucratic snafus to hair-raising traffic to countless scary vehicle breakdowns, Paula and Van press on to fulfill what God had called them to do.

Their escapades weren’t always challenging. They encountered numerous gracious Brazilians whose hospitality knew no bounds. Often, Van and Paula stumbled upon surprisingly pleasant pousadas (lodging) and came across fellow believers whose unbridled joy in the Lord motivated this American couple to push on so all Brazilians in these remote areas might know Jesus.

Paula’s warm humor and unrelenting optimism will amuse readers, while her candid honesty will give a glimpse into real missionary life.

Paula Edwards, a native of the piney hills of north Louisiana, received her bachelor's and master's degrees in music from Louisiana Tech University. Besides having served God on the mission field, Paula also has been a schoolteacher and enjoys riding and training horses. She and her husband, Van, are parents of two grown daughters. The Edwardses live in North Louisiana, in which Van serves as pastor.

Proud of Me?

When Brad Russell and his wife, Robin, welcomed their first child, Tyler, into the world, they had no idea of what lay ahead for them as well as for their son.

Robin first spotted the telltale signs of the problem. Then the first doctor the Russells consulted offered a frightening diagnosis: cerebral palsy with a high probability that Tyler would never walk nor speak. Thus began a life course that neither Brad nor Robin ever expected nor had prepared themselves to face. Realizing their helplessness and hopelessness the Russells turned to the only source of strength they knew: God.

Brad and Robin decided early on that they would love Tyler as much as any parent could and would rear him the best way they knew how. Tyler's story, told through the loving eyes of his father, succinctly addresses the problems families of special-needs children face. In a surprising twist, Brad Russell tells all the ways Tyler exemplifies a true Christian spirit and characteristics and is an inspiration to him as well as to other family members.

In Proud of Me? you will cry with the Russells, laugh with them, and glimpse into a world different yet so very special.