Wherever the River Runs: How a Forgotten People Renewed My Hope in the Gospel

Written by Kelly Minter

Narrated by Renee Ertl

The least of these have the most to give.

In Wherever the River Runs, Kelly Minter invites us on a journey down a river teeming with piranhas and caimans, as well as machete-wielding mothers, heroic jungle pastors, faith-filled children, and miracles too seldom experienced in our part of the world. Kelly's honest and engaging narrative pulls back the curtain on one of the most captivating places on earth as well as on parts of the gospel we may be able to recite but have never fully believed.

On this beautiful adventure through the jungles of Brazil and the tangles of the soul, Kelly rediscovers Jesus among a forgotten people living well beyond the corners of her previously defined faith - a people who draw her back to their country, their pain, and their hope in Him, again and again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Oasis Audio
• Release date: Aug 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781621884132

Reviews for Wherever the River Runs

[abbieriddle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A few years back I went to a bible study and the key song was written by her, "This is My Offering". This song is on a cd that is no longer available - so I copied the words, folded them up and placed them in my bible where I take them out to read them. I have read other books written by her, but this one is different.

Like that song tugged at my heart and broke me before the Lord - this book does the same. In fact this song resonates in the pages of this book. On the surface it is a simple story about a people that have been forgotten. A humanitarian evangelical adventure to reach the lost with the gospel. Minter does an amazing job of bringing the Amazon to life. Her descriptive ability is amazing and it does not take much to imagine walking in this jungle.

But there is more to this book - and the author who penned it. This book is about living your life as a beautiful offering before the Lord. It is about surrender to the Power of Christ, to opening your heart, soul and life to the truth in action of the gospel. It is about a woman who knew the gospel, prayed the gospel and taught the gospel - and more powerfully through her journeys she experienced the gospel and lived it. And - living the gospel in its fullest is too often not done.

In our Western world we are comfortable with our religion, comfortable with our churches and their programs. We are complacent in our evangelism, complacent in our Christian walk. We have too often boxed in the Lord's power, silenced the Holy Spirit and relegated miracles to those that belong to a charismatic movements. We sit stoic in our worship services, we walk blinded to the hurting - and all the while we justify it with the fact that we are active in our local congregations. Too often we simply go through the motions of this faith we say is life changing, failing to tap into to the full life-changing power of the blood of Jesus.

Minter encourages the reader to see with the eyes of Jesus and respond with His heart to the hurting people around us. She engages the reader with a people who are not afraid of miracles, expect great things from a God who created all and never box Him into a certain confined set of religious protocol.

I will say I wanted to go to this place, but then through Kelly Minter's own testimony and the moving of the Holy Spirit - I was convicted of the fact that remains. The God of the Amazon is the God of America. It is the willingness and obedience of the people that call Him God that makes the difference. So I walked away from this book with an ever deepening appreciation for the song Kelly Minter wrote - now if I could only get my hands on the cd so I could listen to it in the car. Seriously, though, our lives are beautiful offerings and powerful tools. Thank you Kelly Minter for this beautifully written book and for reminding us all of the power of God.

Thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

[mtpisgahumc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wherever the River Runs is a captivating story of a woman’s journey into the Amazon jungles of Brazil where Kelly rediscovers Jesus. She travels from Washington, DC as a budding song writer to the Amazon joining the Director of Justice and Mercy International, a non-profit that helps vulnerable children internationally . She not only goes once but becomes involved with a group, Jungle Ministries and returns many times. She returns each year as she is drawn into not just seeing the materially poor, but to realize that God has called every one of His children to be stewards to the poor, the outcast, those on the fringes of society, and the spiritually hungry. This was a very moving book and easy to read. Helen Davison