I hope all of you are enjoying the somewhat lazy days of summer.
The heat and humidity of the South remind me of my trips to the Amazon jungle—without the breeze of being on the riverboat, without the piranhas, pink dolphins, and Irish green toucans. (Okay, so it’s kind of not at all the same.)
For any of you who may have gone through my Bible studies on Ruth or Nehemiah, you’ve read snippets about my journeys to the Amazon jungle and how the beauty and people have so changed and refreshed me. But those brief mentions were simply snapshots from a several year journey wrought with disappointment, a reordering of priorities, grand surprises and the joy of discovering Jesus while meeting the poor down the most majestic river in the world.
I felt that journey was worth writing about. And so for the past two years I’ve been working on Wherever The River Runs, my most vulnerable work to-date.
In its pages I open up about personal disappointments, where dreams of a music career didn’t develop the way I’d hoped and where God wasn’t doing what I wanted Him to do with my life. Not sure if anyone can relate.
I share about the unexpected passage to the Amazon that began at Abby Road Studios in London, where I was part of a worship event, and how that eventually led me to worshipping on the bare wood floors of a hut where a woman in a hammock lay with cerebral palsy.
I write about how the jungle pastors who serve in literal obscurity challenged me to minister for the treasure of Jesus alone, not for the glory of social media followers or fame or financial gain. Even in a Christian context it’s easy to get derailed by the relentless comparison thinking of living in a digital society. Facebook, anyone?
I reveal my own struggles about what serving the poor looks like in an affluent country, as well as how sacrifice for those on the fringes of society has been the best remedy for my own boredom, and at times, misery. Who couldn’t use a little more joy?
And I open up about what it was like to take my mom to the jungle and how I shielded her from the unfortunate news of someone finding maggots in the pineapple.
Dear reader, many of you have been with me from the beginning of my writing career and others I am meeting for the first time.
Some have been followers of Jesus for a lifetime while a few of you are checking this faith thing out.
No matter where you or your beliefs are, I want to personally invite you down the Amazon on the Discovery Boat, a clumsy double decker white wooden vessel with baby blue trim, where together we’ll meet characters who stand to change our lives.
We’ll explore the exotic beauty of the Amazon on a jungle hike, sleep in a hammock surrounded by a cacophony of wildlife (or at least pretend like we’re sleeping), attend the First Annual Jungle Pastor’s Conference, and most importantly, discover how Christ is holding all things together—both in the Amazon jungle and the one we wake up to everyday.
If you’ll jump on board, I promise to be as honest as I can be. And that the pink dolphins won’t disappoint.
Kelly is giving away a Brazilian brownie recipe, FREE access to the new interactive digital version of her book The Fitting Room, the song My Portion from Kelly’s album Loss, Love and Legacy, and, for the first 100 preorders, a Lifeway Women Audio Devotional with teaching from Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer and others! Once you’ve placed your preorder, enter your purchase details here and you’ll get an email with access to the gifts!
