Hope runs : an American Tourist, a Kenyan Boy, a Journey of Redemption

DIAZ-ORTIZ, CLAIRE
GACHAGUA, SAMUEL IKUA

Sammy Ikua Gachagua had lost his father to illness, his mother to abandonment, and his home to poverty. By age ten, he was living in a shack with seven other children and very little food. He entered an orphanage seeing it as a miracle with three meals a day, a bed to sleep in, and clothes on his back.

When Claire Diaz-Ortiz arrived in Kenya at the end of an around-the-world journey, she decided to stay the night, climb Mt. Kenya, then head back home. She entered an orphanage seeing it as little more than a free place to spend the night before her mountain trek.
God had other plans.

Hope Runs is the emotional story of an American tourist, a Kenyan orphan, and the day that would change the course of both of their lives forever. It's about what it means to live in the now when the world is falling down around you. It's about what it means to hope for the things you cannot see. Most of all, it's about how God can change your life in the blink of an eye.

My Review:

A stirring story of hope that will linger with me for a long time. Easy to read, chapters alternate between Sammy and Claire's points of view. Sammy's story is captivating. He chronicles how his life changes from living in a secure, well-to-do Kenyan family to abject poverty as an orphan. Where is the hope in that?  God's at the heart of it and a Hope Runs is a stunning testimony for His power to change any circumstances.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."