About the Book

Book: Mary the Missionary, A Kenyan Adventure Author: Yvonne M Morgan Genre: Children’s Early Reader Release date: February 1, 2025 A Kenya Adventure Are you ready for an adventure in Kenya? After singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” in Sunday School, Mary has many questions about children in other countries. When her parents learn about a mission trip to Kenya, they decided to experience another culture as a family. Mary encounters many trials on her Kenyan adventure. In the end, she learns that she and her new friends aren’t different, and Jesus loves all children. Through colorful illustrations and engaging storytelling, “Mary the Missionary” teaches important lessons about acceptance, empathy, and love. As Mary meets children from different cultures and backgrounds, she learns to see the world through their eyes and understand the unique challenges they face. Along the way, she also discovers the unifying power of faith and how it transcends all barriers.

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About the Author

Yvonne M Morgan takes readers of all ages on a journey of faith, hope, and love with encouraging words. Her captivating storytelling will inspire readers to trust in the Lord and give them hope. Yvonne’s insightful reflections will resonate with anyone who wants a deeper relationship with God.

More from Yvonne

As my grandchildren grew, I started writing children’s books. I wanted them to read engaging, faith-based stories filled with fun illustrations and valuable lessons that would nurture their faith. As the children grew, I wanted to continue their lessons, tailoring them to their expanding interests and abilities. The book, “Mary the Missionary, A Kenyan Adventure,” shares the message of God’s love, and how we are all his children despite our differences. The memories of my mission trips to Kenya, filled with the warmth of the people and the beauty of the landscape, led me to choose it for Mary’s visit. I loved the vibrant tapestry of cultures and the welcoming smiles of the people I met during my visits. To help your children explore Kenya, I’ve added free resources to my website; these include downloadable activity books and captivating information. Here is a link to those resources: https://yvonne-morgan.com/mary-the-missionary-resources.

In Kenya, Ugali is used as a fork to pick up their food. Ugali Recipe to try with your children: Ingredients: 1 cup maize meal / corn meal 2 cups normal water Instructions: Heat water over medium heat in a deep pan. Make sure you use a pan with a handle. Add the maize meal or cornmeal and keep on stirring with a strong wooden spoon. Keep stirring and pressing the mixture against the sides of the pan to break up the lumps. As the mixture becomes thicker, it becomes more difficult to mix but keep mixing and breaking up the lumps. The mixture with begin to come away from the sides of the pan. Allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes. At this point transfer the ugali to a platter. Place the plate over the pan and turn it upside down. Or you can transfer to a small heatproof bowl. Pat it down into shape. Place a plate over the bowl and turn it over. Enjoy piping hot ugali with your favorite stew or curry.

Rural School in Kenya

Interview with the Author

What literary pilgrimages have you gone on?

Yes, I have. On a visit to Ireland, we visited various James Joyce sites for inspiration. He like to visit a bar in Dublin called The Temple bar. The first time I visited was in 2016 I got a photo with his statue. I was writing my first book, so I prayed it would bring me good luck. Then I visited there again in 2023 and now have 8 books. I think he inspired me to work hard and keep at it. We also visited Victor Hugo’s home in Paris in 2024. I enjoy learning about the literary greats.

How do you select the names of your characters?

I tried to pick names that are not from the family, so no one gets upset. My process includes looking through list of names (i.e. for girls) on the internet till I find one that feels like my character. For example, I picked the name Mary for this latest book because I wanted a name that sounded good with “the missionary” part of the title. I tried many names, but none rolled off the tongue till I picked Mary.

If you had to do something differently as a child or teenager to become a better writer as an adult, what would you do?

As a child, I loved to write poetry, and I had binders full of them. On one of our cross country moves, they got thrown out and then I never wrote much again until I got much older. I think I should have kept writing instead of giving up and I wish I had taken some creative writing classes in high school and college. If I had, I think my writing skills would be much further ahead than where I am now. I also wished I had paid more attention in English class, especially with grammar, diagraming sentences and comma usage. Since I didn’t like the class, I didn’t retain the knowledge and so still struggle with them, but thank goodness for grammar checking on my laptop.

What comes first, the plot or characters?

Usually, I get my plot first. For Mary, the Missionary, I knew the story would entail a young girl going with her family on a mission trip to somewhere and once I had the outline of how I wanted the story to unfold; I started thinking about the character of Mary. It is the same process I used for my other books as well because I like to know where my story is going before I put the characters into the scenes. Along the way, some new characters might get added that were not in my original plot, but that is not the normal way.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

My husband and I retired from the business world several years ago. I like to spend time with my kids and grandkids. And we also love to travel. So far, we have visited all fifty states, forty countries and we are making our way through the national parks. Spending time in nature, especially in the mountains, helps to inspire my writing and gives me great ideas for my weekly blog.