Tales of the Not Forgotten

Do you have days when you are just not content with your life and think that everyone else you knows has it so ‘good’?  Well, as much as I’d like to hide my head in the sand, I have to admit that there have been days in my life when I was envious of others and longed to have the ‘perfect’ life they seemed to have.

What I really needed on those days was an attitude adjustment and a reminder of all the people in the world that could look at my life and be thinking the same, exact things…”she’s got it so good!”

Today, I get to share with you a book and resource guide that could be a real eye opener for children and parents alike.

About Tales of the Not Forgotten:

Follow these real-life stories as they take you on a journey to faraway lands and unknown faces. Travel through their challenges and see the hand of the great Storyweaver writing endings you’d never imagine!

Joel dares to ask for what he can’t have. Seraphina sacrifices what she can’t afford to give. Ibrahim looks for an answer buried out of reach. Christiana, saved by a mission, searches for her own.

These are the tales of the ones the world doesn’t see . . . the tales of the not forgotten.

In this collection of four real-life stories written for preteens, a compelling storyteller paints a picture of God’s dynamic movement in four foreign cultures, inspiring children to trust that God is weaving a story in their lives as well.
This resource will shrink the macro picture down to approachable, individual stories of real children and teach about fundamental survival issues. The stories address some of the challenging questions that kids have and weave God’s promises to orphans into each one.

The Tales of the Not Forgotten Leader’s Guide is a 6-session kids’ missions resource (sold separately) that walks adults through an easy-to-follow guide for making the abstract real and for designing an action plan to help others.

Preteens will be challenged to answer the questions:
How do I pray? What can I give? Where can I go? Who will I serve?

About Beth Guckenberger:

Beth and her husband, Todd, are the founders of Back2Back Ministries (based in Cincinnati, OH) which communicates a lifestyle of service by sharing the love of Christ and serving God through service to others. Back2Back Ministries connects willing workers to open hearts through international and local ministry opportunities. Their ministry is currently caring and providing for orphan children and needy people in Mexico, Nigeria, India and most recently, Haiti.
Beth travels and speaks regularly at women’s and missions conferences, as well as youth gatherings and church services. Her topics include orphan care, missions, parenting, marriage/intimacy, and faith. Her story-telling style captures audiences, and she draws from her field experience as a missionary and parent for illustrations to biblical concepts. In addition to her latest release, Tales of the Not Forgotten (Standard Publishing 2012), Beth has written Relentless Hope (Standard, 2011) and Reckless Faith (Zondervan, 2008).
The Guckenberger family lives and serves in Monterrey, Mexico where they have hosted thousands of guests on their ministry campus. Between biological, foster, and adopted additions to their family, Beth and Todd are raising nine children.
Learn how you can join Beth in ministry at www.bethguckenberger.com or www.back2backministries.org.

My Thoughts~

Like I’ve already said, this title can serve as a real eye opener for kids who are caught up in the trappings of our modern society where their big ‘wish’ is to get the newest gadget available.  The book on its own can help you to stop and think about how blessed you truly are.  I might not have the nicest house or the best ‘stuff’ around, nor do we have vacation trips or lots of outside entertainment in our lives.  Yet, I am incredibly blessed to have all of the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter.  And, we even have resources to obtain some of our wants/desires after giving to God and charity.

It is only through books like this that I can get a glimpse into the life of children who have no family.  Some of them live in orphanages, but even then have times when they do not know if all their needs will be met.  Others, like Seraphina, live in conditions that would appall most Americans while living her life to find what is needed for her and her younger siblings to survive.

While I enjoyed reading through the book and could see the benefit of having my boys read it as well, what really blew me away was the leader’s guide.  This guide provides 6 sessions of material that incorporate Scripture and the Tales of the Not Forgotten stories with other activities to help educate children about those who are suffering in the world.  All of the lessons and accompanying material are in Word documents or jpg format for pictures to be printed or projected.

Rather than emphasizing the disparity in life, the sessions can also inspire children and their families to take action to help those less fortunate or even consider missionary work.  As a homeschooler, I can also see these lessons working into social studies as the children learn a bit about the different countries represented in the book.  Honestly, this is going on my list of suggested co-operative classes with our local Christian homeschool group as I can see it being a powerful experience for the participants.

Tales of the Not Forgotten book retails for $8.99.  The Tales of the Not Forgotten Leader’s Guide is available on CD-ROM for $7.99.

You can see what other reviewers think of this book by visiting the LitFuse Tales of the Not Forgotten tour page.

Disclaimer ~ We were sent the materials mentioned in the post to facilitate a review.  No monetary compensation occurred and all opinions are my own.