by Lorinda K. F. Newton
“Mom, I’m bored!”
This common declaration during summer vacation can be remedied in various ways: send the kid outside to play, hand him a broom, or offer him a book to read.
Reclining under a blanket draped over a few chairs in my backyard, I spent many summer days of my childhood lost in a novel. Even now, I keep my nightstand piled high with books and always take a few volumes on vacation. Some days, my whole family will spend an afternoon around the RV reading.
But what to read? Appeal to your children’s sense of adventure, inspire their faith, and even have a good laugh with these stories about famous male and female missionaries and other heroes of the Christian faith.
Missionary Stories with the Millers
Title: Missionary Stories with the Millers
Author: Mildred A. Martin
Publisher: Green Pastures Press
Part of the Miller series by Mildred A. Martin, Missionary Stories with the Millers contains 28 short stories about a few well-known and many unknown missionaries, mostly from the twentieth century. The location of each narrative is highlighted on a world map with each chapter heading, providing geographical context. Each account focuses on a single, action-packed incident from a missionary’s life and draws the reader in with fictionalized style. A brief historical note about the missionary closes each chapter.
Join Hudson Taylor as he tries to reach Chinese fishermen with the gospel, Dr. David Livingstone in his close encounter with a lion in Africa, and Gladys Aylward as she escapes the invading Japanese with 100 Chinese orphans.
My son enjoyed Bible smuggler David Bontrager’s encounter with a Communist Romanian border guard. “The Tiger Is Loose!” was my favorite. Jack McGuckin, a Jungle Aviation Services pilot, while flying solo, had to act fast when a caged tiger that he was transporting got loose in the airplane mid-flight.
Being a collection of short stories, this volume makes a great read-aloud. Take it along on your next road trip and put an end to “Are we there yet?”
The Rani Adventures
Title: The Rani Adventures, books 1-3
Author: Ron Snell
Publisher: Hannibal Books
Providing a humorous side to mission work is Ron Snell, a missionary kid who grew up in the Amazon jungle of Peru during the 1950s and ‘60s. His parents worked as Bible translators (Summer Institute of Linguistics) with the Machiguenga Indians. Drawing from this unusual upbringing, he wrote the trilogy, “It’s a Jungle Out There!”; “Life’s a Jungle”; and Jungle Calls. These books contain stories that will bring tears to your eyes, either through laughter or deep emotion.
Travel down a jungle river with the young Ron and his brother, Terry, when they take a wild ride on a log. Experience their campout when Terry gets bitten by a vampire bat. Cross the Andes with his family in a beat-up car on a one-lane road, over a 16,500-foot mountain pass. Mourn with the family and Indians as sickness and death come to a village.
Later, follow 17-year-old Ron to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and learn why that school banned snakes and blow darts from the dorms. (You can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the boy.)
Watch the power of prayer in action when Ron helps to blaze a trail through the jungle for two missionary women, who sought to make the first contact with a tribal group known for killing men and kidnapping women who came into their territory. A miracle happened.
When reading these books, do not skip the Acknowledgment pages, especially the one in the last book. The humor begins before page 1.
Other Book Series
For more heroes of faith biographies, try these two series for middle readers:
- The Trailblazer 40-book historical fiction series by
Dave and Neta Jackson.
Writing from the point of view a child, who is close to a famous church history personality, these authors tell how men and women of great faith contributed to the missionary movement or had an impact on society. The authors’ website provides homeschool curriculum as well. - Christian Heroes: Then & Now published by
YWAM Publishing and written by various authors.
These action-packed biographies will keep you or your child (reading level 10+) turning the pages. Some titles are available as Audiobooks. Last year, I read Francis Asbury: Circuit Rider. See my Goodreads review. The publisher’s website has these 49 books listed in chronological order for those who’d like to incorporate them into history lessons. Heroes for Young Readers is available for ages 5-10. However, I don’t care for the rhyming text.
No Christian education is complete without learning about the great men and women of faith who have gone before us. This summer, introduce your children to them. Let this cloud of witnesses spur you and your children on in your faith.
Lorinda K.F. Newton began homeschooling her children in 2004, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She blogs about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings and Lorinda’s Ponderings on Facebook. Feel free to email her with questions or comments. ©2019 Lorinda K.F. Newton all rights reserved.
