This week, the blog is sponsored by Reformed Free Publishing Association, the West Michigan-based publisher of Grace House by Lee Kamminga.
If you’ve read or listened to the news lately, you’ve probably heard much about the persecution of Christians across the world. Dozens and hundreds and thousands suffer and sacrifice for the sake of their faith every day. But a fair number of these sufferers weren’t born into Bible-believing households and families. What are their stories? How did these believers find their way from the darkness of atheism or idolatry into the light of the gospel? Grace House tells one such story.
Based on the real-life stories of young Christians in India, Grace House was inspired by author Lee Kamminga’s experiences of serving at a Christian orphanage in India. The story of the novel’s protagonist, Kashvi, was woven from the lives and stories of many foster children and social workers who lived at and near the orphanage.
Living in a low-caste village in India, Kashvi is expected to be an obedient Hindu daughter: follow the village customs, appease the gods, and don’t upset the balance of life. But when Kashvi and her brother are no longer safe at home, there is only one place for them to go—a local Christian orphanage.
Dozens and hundreds and thousands suffer and sacrifice for the sake of their faith every day. But a fair number of these sufferers weren’t born into Bible-believing households and families.
Struggling to adapt to her new life at Karunai House, Kashvi begins to question everything she has ever known. Feeling betrayed by her parents and weighed down with the responsibility of protecting her brother, she faces doubts about her self-worth…and her old faith.
With the help of her new Christian family, Kashvi’s eyes are opened to a world of possibilities through a God of grace and love. But now Kashvi is confronted with a choice: Will she stay loyal to her family and the religion she has always known, or will she abandon it all for Jesus Christ? Can her newfound faith withstand the pressures and expectations of Hindu culture, or will everything come crashing down around her?
“Grace House is a story of God’s redemptive work in the nitty gritty of the valley of the shadow of death. The book transports the reader to the streets of India to witness a soul-stirring deliverance from the clutches of Hindu idols into the warm embrace of the Christ of God. Even then, the book is as realistic as it is hopeful, as we watch God’s children walk the same bumpy road of sanctification that all Christians know themselves. Grace House artfully weaves together the urgency of ministering to the most needy and the practical importance of doing so with sound doctrine, into an engaging, page-turning narrative. The result is that the Christian reader’s love for God, the gospel, and the church increases. Youth of the church, pick it up today. Adults, this book is for you, too. Parents and grandparents, put away the phones and tablets and read it to your (of age) children or grandchildren. Readers of all ages will weep tears of sorrow and joy and will worship after reading this book!” —Prof. Cory Griess, professor of Practical Theology and New Testament Studies at Protestant Reformed Theological School (PRTS) in Grand Rapids, MI
