Francine Thomas

The Road To Kondoa [Revised and Updated] Francine Thomas

Is God truly a God of providence orchestrating people and events for his eternal purposes? Does the Creator of the Universe actually concern himself with the intimate details of our everyday existence? These questions are answered through the lives of four ordinary individuals born into the obscurity of a dusty and poverty-stricken part of the world long dominated by malevolent spirits. In the beginning they have some small familiarity of God's dealings with mankind, but it is what they learn through the fires of unimaginable suffering that transforms them into humble giants of the faith who dare to impact their world for Christ. Why them, you might ask? Why would God choose such unlikely candidates to accomplish his purposes? Perhaps it is because he saw the longing in their hearts for someone to rescue them, someone to give them a hope and a future. Perhaps it is because he knew they would not count the heavy cost to carry the good news of Jesus Christ to those who had never heard his name. Chance encounters with strangers become divine appointments even as unlikely prophetic voices yield clues to the future. Even though God's hand is often disguised through the words and actions of others, he nevertheless leads Given, Melina, Lilian and Vailet into a greater adventure than they could have envisioned for themselves. As famed writer and theologian, Frederick Buechner says, our best dreams and truest prayers come from the Kingdom of God. "We glimpse it at those moments when we find ourselves being better than we are and wiser than we know. We catch sight of it when at some moment of crisis a strength seems to come to us that is greater than our own strength." My book, The Road to Kondoa: An Unexpected Journey with God, tells the stories of four people who manage to latch onto that strength that is far greater than their own. Their lives reveal how God uses even the most tangled threads and knots of disadvantaged lives to weave a beautifully designed tapestry.