Once again, I’m listing these books under “Books for Kids,” when in reality everyone needs to read these. Authors Janet and Geoff Benge have written these biographies on the lives of missionaries, allowing us to share in the faith-building stories God gave each of them. Other than the Bible, I can think of nothing more necessary in our day than reading about men and women who fully relied on God to provide their every need.
The first book I read in this series was George Muller, and I can honestly say that it changed my thinking process. Most of us have never had to ask God to supply our next meal, but he found himself asking for this very thing for the orphanages God allowed him to open. Spoiler alert: At one point, the kids in the orphanage were getting ready to sit down for their next meal. Though Muller was told all the food had been used in the previous meal, his faith never wavered. He had the children sit, told a friend to watch what God was about to do, and prayed for God to meet this need. A knock at his door revealed a woman who stated she had been up through the night preparing food for the orphanage because she felt God was leading her in this way. Immediately after, another knock came from a man whose milk cart had broken down. He needed to get rid of the milk in order to repair it. The book is full of these instances. George Muller wrote down thousands of prayer requests and God’s answer to each. I want this type of faith!!
My kids were gifted the entire set of these missionary books back at Christmas, and are still choosing to read them over other books. They choose titles I have not yet read so that they can excitedly tell me all about how God worked in key moments. Nothing makes my heart happier! Everyday I read to them at lunch and will often choose one of these titles (if I’m not reading a Lamplighter).
Some of these books have some tough content and are really for older children. Many of these missionaries experienced or witnessed very cruel practices. If you are questioning which books are safe to read aloud with younger children present, feel free to contact me. It is possible we have read that title. (The beauty of reading aloud is you can often omit the rough parts!) They also offer a Heroes of the Faith series for younger children.
Some of our favorite titles so far are:
- George Muller
- Hudson Taylor
- Amy Carmichael
- Gladys Aylward
- Corrie ten Boom
- Elisabeth Elliot
- Jim Elliott
- Lillian Trasher (I have not yet read this one, but my oldest daughter and my mom have and both have urged me to read it ASAP.)
http://www.ywampublishing.com/default.aspx?affiliateid=11678