I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by Book Crash. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
Where the Sky Meets the Sand by Chris Loehmer Kincaid Published by Ambassador International on August 20, 2017
Genres: Christian, Fiction, General, Religious
Pages: 304
Source: Book Crash
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An American businesswoman with a secret past. An African boy without a home. Two missionaries with more than one mission to accomplish. Will all of their wishes come true where the sky meets the sand on the African plain?
Where the Sky Meets the Sand tells the story of Jenny Neumeyer and Ole, a homeless boy she befriends while she and her husband are on vacation in Kenya. This encounter leads her to confront a secret she has kept buried for fourteen years. As she comes to terms with her past, two missionaries to Africa discover Ole and are determined to lead him home. Along the way, they realize that the boy is not the only one who is lost.
Jenny, her husband, and the missionaries all discover that their faith in God is what will see them through.
I know it’s a little thing but I’ve struggled to come up with a star rating on this book. I’ve got all the ideas and feels and thoughts about the book but that rating is elusive to me. Let me elaborate for you. I first came across this book via Book Crash oh too long ago now. I saw it again via the publisher and decided to pull the trigger and requested it from BC. It felt like a sweet book about finding faith, sharing faith, and learning to trust in God even when it’s hard. It was that book. The problem now lies in telling you what worked for me and what I would like to see executed differently ‘without’ giving spoilers.
One thing I would like to have seen is more depth. Depth is a big idea but I’ve got some little examples. There was a lot of emotion in this book. The emotion of Jenny. The emotion of Paul. The emotion of Ole. The emotion of Matthew and his family. There was opportunity to build depth with their stories. The emotion and internal conflict of Matthew’s family in choosing to let him travel with them to Africa. The emotion of Jenny as she faced her past and found a path to her future. The emotion of Paul with the secrets that were kept from him and the path toward trust again. Poor Ole, alone in the world trying to right his place in his family and life, trying to find peace. This story was told so very well but I just needed to feel with them and that was lacking for me.
This book did give me such a sense of peace in faith. Ole, alone and certainly hungry and frightened finds solace in Jenny, for a short time. However, others come along and pick up where she left off. Only God could orchestrate something so seamless to share love with one lost young man. Jenny finding herself floundering after years when her past roars up and finding love and acceptance in her husband, friends, and church. Only God could orchestrate Paul’s response. To have something to passionately pour yourself into. Obviously, the author is passionate about Kenya and it shows in this book. I high recommend this book for anyone who enjoys story of healing and hope and redemption.
About Chris Loehmer Kincaid
As I was growing up, I dreamed of accomplishing two things with my life: write a book and change the world. You might think that the book was the easy part, but who can change the world?
It was actually as I was publishing my memoir, “A Time for Every Purpose Under Heaven”, that I realized my dream of changing the world is not so foolish. Like every item on anyone’s bucket list, this too could someday be crossed off my list. I have come to realize that to change the world means to change one person’s world. Is that enough? Just like the story of the man picking up starfish on the beach and throwing them back into the sea, you can make a difference to that one. And that one. And that one.
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