No Longer a Slumdog

Recently, I found an ad next to my Facebook home page about a free book that Francis Chan recommended. If you've been reading this blog for a while or have explored some of my pages on the right-hand side, you know I like what Francis Chan has to say.
So I clicked on the link and discovered that the name of the book was entitled No Longer a Slumdog. You might have read a few months ago, that Slumdog Millionaire is one of my favorite movies...ever. Of course, I ordered the free book right away.

When it arrived, I was hooked from the first page. I not only learned the background of how Gospel for Asia's Bridge of Hope program began, but why. Providing free education to the deeply impoverished of Asia breaks the chains of ignorance, poverty and has side effects that we don't often consider. Care for the environment increases and troublesome statistics like fertility rates are reversed when people become more educated. This is also the only way out of poverty for those in the lowest castes of India.

The author, K.P. Yohannan, explains the caste system in a way that I understood for the very first time. I knew it was bad...I just didn't know how bad. I cannot imagine going through my entire life believing that I deserved to be treated worse than even some animals are...all because of the caste into which I was born. It's the whole "karma" thing...you get what you deserve.

But praise God...we don't get what we deserve! God's mercy and grace gives us far more than we could ever deserve by our own merit. You can now begin to understand why the "good news" of Jesus Love is transforming lives radically wherever Bridge of Hope centers are located.

This link will take you to Gospel for Asia's webpage to order a copy of the book for $5.00. But watch on Facebook for the free offer. Also, my copy came with a postcard to request another free copy if I just give away the first one. If you'd like to have my copy, I'll gladly request another.

Probably the best recommendation I can give for the book is not from me, but from my daughter, Abbey. After having recently watched Slumdog Millionaire, I encouraged her to read No Longer a Slumdog. It took her only a few days to complete it. What encouraged me even more was that when her co-op book group recently compiled a list of books they would recommend to the rest of the co-op for reading...No Longer a Slumdog was one of the three she recommended. High praise from a 16-year old.

Get a copy and allow God to open your eyes (and your heart!) to another part of the world that desperately needs hope.

Mentioned in this post: