African Adventures

African Adventures , Dick Anderson
(Christian Focus Publications, 2003), pb. 96 pp.
ISBN 1-85792-807-5

This is a book of missionary stories written for children. Rather than a collection of stories from different people, as I had assumed, it is a group of stories drawn (with some modification) from the experiences of one missionary doctor and his friends in Kenya (whether the author is that doctor or someone recording the doctor’s stories, I do not know). The book develops chronologically along the missionary’s time with the Turkana people, so the reader sees the growth from a lone missionary, to the building of a mission hospital, to the arrival of his family, further staff and the development of a church. Each chapter consists of a short story (4-6 pages) centering around an adventure including encounters with jackals, leopards, lions, snakes, bandits and diseases. Each story concludes with one person in the story drawing a spiritual truth from the incident.

My boys (ages 4 to 7) thoroughly enjoyed the book, as I read it to them. The adventure dimension of the stories was effective. I appreciated the opportunity to give them a picture of missionary work. It brought more clarity and reality to our praying for missionaries. The publisher has two other titles in this series, Rainforest Adventures and Amazon Adventures. For reading with young children or for slightly older children to read on their own, this book is a simple, fun portrait of missionary activity.