You Gotta Read This One!

Recently I was given the opportunity to be an advance reader of a book being published by Moody Publishers. The Missionary is scheduled to be released in March of this year. It is written by William Carmichael (author of several marriage, family, and parenting books) and David Lambert (senior fiction editor at Howard Books and author of juvenile and young adult novels).

Of all the different genres of novels, mystery/ suspense novels are my favorite. The Missionary doesn’t disappoint as the main character, David, hastily makes a decision to help a stranger who offers to donate money to his mission work. With the grandiose thoughts of what that money would do for his orphanage, David spends little time weighing out the moral implications of the relationship with this generous stranger. He rationalizes that he’s working for the CIA to overthrow the corrupt Venezuelan dictator, so he willingly follows the stranger’s requests.

Things go terribly wrong and David realizes that things are not what they seem. The Venezuelan government discovers David’s involvement in the attempted coup and stops at nothing to find him. David realizes his poor decisions not only put him in danger, but also his wife, son, and the couple who help run the orphanage. The remainder of the book is full of suspense as David meets obstacle after obstacle to clear his name and protect his family.

The Missionary challenged me to put myself in David’s shoes. Would I take a donation to my writing ministry without prayerfully considering what I was asked to do to receive it? It seems David was desperate for the opportunity to help more children and to see a change in the corrupt Venezuelan government. His intentions were noble, but . . .

In these desperate economic times, I could really use a generous donation to my writing ministry. But I believe in times like these, it is even more important to weigh all decisions (no matter how seemingly good they appear) against God’s Word. I encourage you to read The Missionary and discover the important lessons David learns.

Check out www.moodypublishers.com to order The Missionary.