Sparklers

REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY:

I am a lover of books and stories of inspiration and faith. I choose to view the world through rose-colored glasses, content in the happy glow it gives me.

I hate darkness, bugs, snakes and water so dark that you just know no good can come of its deadly flow to nowhere. This describes my perception of the Amazon River as I began reading the novel by Kelly Minter, Wherever the River Runs.
Ms. Minter’s slowly drew me into a book that I didn’t think I wanted to read. Assuming the book was yet another story of well-intentioned volunteers out to change the world one week, one year at a time, I too journeyed as her life was changed more than those she went to help, and in the doing, changed my life.

From the beginning of the story, Ms. Minter tells of how the journey captivated her and her Western-theology perspective, “forever shape the way I spend money, value prayer, consider the poor, view modern-day miracles,” as she quickly asked, “Which way to the jungle?”

And so my own journey began, with each word and each turn of the page as the beautifully written descriptions of the land and the people allowed me to experience, from my porch swing, as the ice melted in my forgotten tea glass, the unexpectedness of people whose lives were more difficult than today’s world finds acceptable, thus our journey to minister to those less fortunate. This one week in the Amazon changed how Ms. Minter, upon her return home, caused discontentment with the security of her own world through revelations from eyes that learned to see those who needed help that were right in front of her as she went about her daily activities.

These experiences allowed her to see that it is not what we do or don’t have, rather it is what we do with what we have; we can begin this day, at this time, right where we are.

Funny how God works… .

For a chance to win a free copy of Wherever the River Runs, enter your email address in the comments section.
a Rafflecopter giveaway