Our History
When I first set out to publish this book, I found it difficult to understand why anyone would want to know about who wrote this book. I have come to realize there is some validity in such curiosity.
In the fall of 1984, I went to Thailand as a missionary. I believed I would spend the rest of my life in Thailand. In February of 1985 I found myself back in the United States. Brokenhearted and believing I was a failure, I took a night shift job. One Sunday after church, the pastor showed me two puppets someone donated to the church. He gave them to me, saying see what God tells you to do with them. Being depressed, swallowed in my self-doubt, I thought, I'll tell you what I think God wants me to do with those puppets. NOTHING. I don't do puppets. Why would God want me to do this when I failed at being a missionary. But I quietly took the puppets and tossed them in the back seat of my car. They were not going into my house. They could just stay there until next week and I would give them back to the pastor. That week while at work, in the middle of the night when things were quiet, I heard a voice in my heart say: "Do you want to know the puppets names?" I quickly responded, "No, no I do not." The voice said "Try this, Faith Frog and Gospel Goose." Much of my pain disappeared when I heard those names. I said, "Thank you Lord, that makes me happy. That's all I need to hear." Then I got busy with my work. The next night during the same quiet lull in business, I heard Him say, "Do you want to know the names of their friends? They have some friends called Truth Turtle and Mercy Mouse." I chuckled with joy and though: "I like that. That makes me happy. That's all I need to keep me happy for a while." And I got back to work. The next night I heard: "Do you want to know where Faith Frog and his friends live?" I answered, "I suppose in my heart?" "No, they live in Redeem Region," came the answer. "Of course they do," I thought, "that's great, that makes me happy." "Do you want to know about the other side." "Oh no," I thought, "I don't want to hear about enemies or fighting." He told me anyway, "The other side is called Strife State." I laughed, "I know about that place. I've been through there. That's funny and a good name for that place, Strife State. That should keep me laughing for a while." The next night I was asked: "Do you want to know what Gospel Goose said when she saw Mercy Mouse and Truth Turtle coming across the field?" "Sure," I thought, "What did she say?" "She said: 'Look Mercy and Truth have come together.'" I laughed out loud. He said: "Wait, you need to hear what Mercy Mouse said. He answered, 'We are so happy to find Faith with the Gospel.'" From that point the story began to come to me. A chapter here and there. I had no idea I was writing a book. Each chapter was a delightful experience to write, healing my broken heart. I had not thought too much about publishing but other people that read the manuscript seemed to be blessed by the story. I did put a little effort into publishing, back in the 1980s but got frustrated and the manuscript sat for thirty years on a shelf in my home. In 2014, after walking through my valley of the shadow of death, I began pursuing the process of publishing again. It has been a long bumpy journey. It is my hope that Redeem Region versus Strife State refresh each readers joy and draw them into a closer walk with our Savior. |