I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
I have never personally known any missionary families, but have always been fascinated by the fact that they give up their entire lives to go spread the word of God. This past month Issac and I have been reading about Darrell Champlin and his family in his book Venturing with God in Congo. The title alone caught my attention, but the illustrations on the front cover are truly beautiful. This is an amazing book by Conjurske Publications and one that I'm truly thankful to have read.
The front cover is the first thing to truly grasp your attention, but the book is amazing quality as well. I have read many books that before we are through with the book pages are falling out, the spine is broken, etc. This book will handle many a rough and tumble handlings and still look great. I thought this would be a great book to read with my son, almost 13. We'd be able to spend time together, discuss the book, etc. I think honesty that I might be more interested in the book than he has been! Every chapter captures my attention and keeps me wanting to read just another chapter before we put it down! It's not that the stories don't interest him, but I see where the author shows us time and time again how God has protected them and led them where he wants them. I'm not sure that my son grasps those parts of the book, but I sure do.
I don't want to spoil anything for those that want to read the book, so I'm going to just talk about some of my favorite parts :) The adventures in this book are amazing and honestly quite scary as well. I can't imagine being a parent and living in such conditions. One such concern was when reading about a leopard that walked around the Champlin living quarters. If the animal had wanted to he could have killed the entire family. Not much separated him from the family. The buzzing snake was another such story that just brought home how close to death any given member of the family was at any given time. Darrell was out on an evangelistic trip with his friend, Ituku, when they came across the big red boars of the forest. They were hopeful to go home with some when a buzzing sound was heard. Darrell spotted a giant snake that reminded him of a rattler, but it was not. After the snake was killed Ituku told Darrell that God was with him because the itupa, the snake, only buzzes after he strikes normally. Ituku felt that God must have told the snake to buzz first this time and therefore protected Darrell. There are so many stories in the book that I really had no favorites. We go and love to watch the hippos swim in the water at the aquariums while the Champlin family had to worry about crossing rivers safely where the hippos swam. The witch doctors that they encountered and the faith and love of God that they chose to share with so many are so heart felt. There aren't many pictures in the books, but Darrell wrote the book in such a way that I felt like I could see exactly what he was seeing. There are some pictures in the middle of the book that show just a little about their life.
I don't want to spoil anything for those that want to read the book, so I'm going to just talk about some of my favorite parts :) The adventures in this book are amazing and honestly quite scary as well. I can't imagine being a parent and living in such conditions. One such concern was when reading about a leopard that walked around the Champlin living quarters. If the animal had wanted to he could have killed the entire family. Not much separated him from the family. The buzzing snake was another such story that just brought home how close to death any given member of the family was at any given time. Darrell was out on an evangelistic trip with his friend, Ituku, when they came across the big red boars of the forest. They were hopeful to go home with some when a buzzing sound was heard. Darrell spotted a giant snake that reminded him of a rattler, but it was not. After the snake was killed Ituku told Darrell that God was with him because the itupa, the snake, only buzzes after he strikes normally. Ituku felt that God must have told the snake to buzz first this time and therefore protected Darrell. There are so many stories in the book that I really had no favorites. We go and love to watch the hippos swim in the water at the aquariums while the Champlin family had to worry about crossing rivers safely where the hippos swam. The witch doctors that they encountered and the faith and love of God that they chose to share with so many are so heart felt. There aren't many pictures in the books, but Darrell wrote the book in such a way that I felt like I could see exactly what he was seeing. There are some pictures in the middle of the book that show just a little about their life.
I'm so thankful for people missionary families, like the Champlin, who risk their lives to go out and spread God's word. There are so many people that don't know God and especially those that live out in the jungles and follow only what they have been taught. Venturing with God in Congo is one of those books that I will recommend to everyone and I will read and read again over the years. For more information on the book and to read what my fellow reviewer's thought check out the links below.
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