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Odd Socks
This is the account of how an ordinary couple, Mike and Judy Smith, in their late fifties, felt that God was calling them to take early retirement and go to Albania to run a children's home.
Their knowledge of Albania was almost non-existent. They had gazed across to Albania whilst on holiday in Yugoslavia and Corfu and pondered about life in that country which was so near and yet so far. In August 1993 after several visits to the country and various events confirming their call Mike and Judy moved to the central Albania town of Elbasan to open the 'Home of Hope'.
There were to be times of persecution and danger when their faith and reliance on God, who had called them there, would be tested. He never failed them!
Their knowledge of Albania was almost non-existent. They had gazed across to Albania whilst on holiday in Yugoslavia and Corfu and pondered about life in that country which was so near and yet so far. In August 1993 after several visits to the country and various events confirming their call Mike and Judy moved to the central Albania town of Elbasan to open the 'Home of Hope'.
There were to be times of persecution and danger when their faith and reliance on God, who had called them there, would be tested. He never failed them!
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2005
8 people want to read
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Mike Smith
520 books55 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 17, 2014
A missionary tale of a retired couple who went out to Albania to start a children's home.
I love hearing the tales of mission workers, & their ups & downs. This story connected with me even more as I work with & have a heart for children, so I had great interest in Mike & Judy's tale of their work with Albanian children.
Mike & Judy have named their book Odd Socks "in memory of the hours spent sorting countless odd socks at the Home of Hope children's home in Albania." That was all they said - not sure if it's because with the amount of children they had that they ended up with more odd socks than usual (I always seem to get odd socks in our house - I wonder if the washing machine eats them?) or if because people back home have sent out clothes and because they don't know what to do with their odd sock, send them to the missionaries - like they have any use for an odd sock either! And yes, people do do that! Along with sending clothes they no longer need but removing all the buttons & zips 1st - I remember a missionary friend recounting this story, & saying "It doesn't really look good if a guy is standing at the front of the church with his Bible in one hand and holding up his trousers with the other!" Quite honestly, I have never really understood that mentality. But anyway, I digress!
Judy is the narrator of the book & writes a compelling account of their days in the newly post-Communist days of Albania, & sharing God's love with the children in their care. The only thing I would have liked would be to have had scene breaks when she started a new topic within the same chapter, as sometimes I hadn't realised it was a completely different angle that was being written. But as she is not a storywriter, I'm not going to hold that against her, & actually that was the only negative & a minor one, so isn't detracting from my 5*s.
I love hearing the tales of mission workers, & their ups & downs. This story connected with me even more as I work with & have a heart for children, so I had great interest in Mike & Judy's tale of their work with Albanian children.
Mike & Judy have named their book Odd Socks "in memory of the hours spent sorting countless odd socks at the Home of Hope children's home in Albania." That was all they said - not sure if it's because with the amount of children they had that they ended up with more odd socks than usual (I always seem to get odd socks in our house - I wonder if the washing machine eats them?) or if because people back home have sent out clothes and because they don't know what to do with their odd sock, send them to the missionaries - like they have any use for an odd sock either! And yes, people do do that! Along with sending clothes they no longer need but removing all the buttons & zips 1st - I remember a missionary friend recounting this story, & saying "It doesn't really look good if a guy is standing at the front of the church with his Bible in one hand and holding up his trousers with the other!" Quite honestly, I have never really understood that mentality. But anyway, I digress!
Judy is the narrator of the book & writes a compelling account of their days in the newly post-Communist days of Albania, & sharing God's love with the children in their care. The only thing I would have liked would be to have had scene breaks when she started a new topic within the same chapter, as sometimes I hadn't realised it was a completely different angle that was being written. But as she is not a storywriter, I'm not going to hold that against her, & actually that was the only negative & a minor one, so isn't detracting from my 5*s.
Displaying 1 of 1 review