- a girl’s life plan alters dramatically when the Lord calls her as a missionary to Egypt
- trusting God entirely for support (including financial), an orphanage thrives and saves many lives
- convo: some war violence*, theology**, mentions death***
- language: x1 darn
Type: biographical chapter book
Ages: 8-15
Authors: Janet Benge, Geoff Benge
*The book begins with a bang (literally) as Lillian is trying to save the lives of her orphans during a night in which shooting is occurring all around them. Most war talk, however, is distanced from the immediate context in which the story is set.
**Lillian is not a member of any church when she sets off for Egypt. She has little Bible knowledge at first and has a few tendencies toward New Age practices (i.e. acting entirely on her feelings, closing eyes and pointing at verses, etc.). She eventually becomes a member of an Assemblies of God church and some of her theology reflects that, including a couple brief times she is said to have preached.
***Six men are killed for no reason in front of their families “as an example.” Additionally, a young child, to whom the reader is endeared, dies.
Lots of asterisks on this one, ha! Despite any of the above concerns, we really appreciated Lillian’s story. It covers several decades of her life and gives us a much food for thought as we reflect on our own faith. Her faith persisted throughout and was not unlike that of George Müller’s. (See this biography review on him.)
Though it was set at a much later time period, I tacked this on at the end of our Ancient Egypt studies we completed over the last school year. It was a neat way to connect histories together. Lillian’s life positively affected thousands of orphans (a ministry which continues to this day) and now a new generation is able to learn about her in an age-appropriate way via this book.