Teaching Kids to Love God’s World: Inside ‘Mary the Missionary’ with Yvonne M. Morgan
- Valerie
- 2 hours ago
- 13 min read
Thirty Years of Mission Trips led Yvonne M. Morgan to write her picture book, Mary the Missionary, about compassion and acceptance.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity but reflects the full conversation from the BookWorthy Podcast. Grab a cup of coffee, listen, and read along. This post does contain affiliate links. Thanks for your support.
Valerie - Welcome to Book Worthy, where we talk about the heart behind the books your kids are reading. Today, we're talking with award-winning author, blogger, and speaker, Yvonne Morgan, whose heartfelt stories inspire and encourage readers to grow in their relationship with God. Her children's book, Mary the Missionary, a Kenyan Adventure, is a heartwarming story that explores themes of compassion, cultural understanding, and faith. Welcome to Book Worthy, Yvonne.
Yvonne - I'm glad to be here. Thank you.
Valerie - It's a pleasure to have you. Well, we'll start our time with our random question of the week, which is, what was the first book you remember reading?
Random Question of the Week
Yvonne - I believe it was called The Ballerina. My dad bought it for me, and it was a long time ago, over 50 years ago, and I just loved that book and carried it everywhere, and it was just a fun read from what I remember. I've even tried to find it for my grandkids.
Valerie - Aw, that's sweet. Were you a little ballerina yourself as a child?
Yvonne - Actually, no, I just like, I just love the story, the way she took it on herself to become a little ballerina. So it was just a fun read.
Valerie -Thinking through stories that I grew up with and even stories my husband's family constantly talks about that are no longer in print, but they all have this memory of reading this one particular book. And so it was really sweet how stories impact us that way. Well, Yvonne, tell us a little bit about the inspiration for your book, Mary the Missionary.
The Inspiration Behind Yvonne Morgan's Mary the Missionary
Yvonne - Well, my husband and I have been coming up near 30 years now, and have done mission trips. And in fact, my very first book, It's Not a Children's Book, was about the journey on the missions and just the various things we've seen happen on the mission field. And I started writing children's books for my grandkids. So as those progressed and they got older, I thought, you know, this would be really cool to help them understand about missions and about other cultures and that God loves us all the same, no matter our background, where we're from, any of that. God just loves. And to try to help them understand that important concept, so that they can love everyone. And so I just decided, okay, I'm going to write this one, and hopefully one of these days they'll be old enough that we can take them with us on one of our mission trips.
Valerie -Exciting. Has Kenya been one of those places that you've traveled to?
Yvonne - Yeah, in fact, it's probably been the one we've visited the most. I think we've been there now 13, 14 times roughly. Can't remember. I tried counting, and it's like it never comes out right. So, but about there. So, we love putting it.
Valerie - That's really neat. What about the Kenyan culture did you want to make sure to include in this book for kids?
Yvonne - Just how the people we have worked with there tend to be impoverished. And so, in light of that, they have so much joy in Christ that it always impressed me that they can have pretty much nothing. Some of the kids we've worked with through the years will have one outfit. Well, actually two, they have a school outfit and something they wear to church on Sundays, but they're happy. And they make toys out of things they find. They might find some wire, so they'll craft a little car out of that. And that just always has impressed me, that it made me understand you don't need a lot of stuff to be happy. And so I think that was one of the big impacts of being there in the country a lot.
Valerie - I know it's one of those things, as we forget how the lack of things almost increases our own creativity and our social awareness. And that gets lost a lot on kids who don't come from an impoverished background. But what's Mary's adventure? Why is she in Kenya?
Yvonne - Well, and she goes to Sunday school regularly. She goes to Sunday school, and one Sunday, they sing the song, Jesus loves little children, all the children of the world. And she started asking her parents about that song. And it's like, she finally asked, are the children different in other countries? And so her family thinks, her parents think, okay, this would be a good thing to explore and help her learn. And so they decide to do some research and found through her church that a group is going to Kenya, and they tag along and take Mary with them so she can learn and understand more about her world and how God sees the world.
Valerie - That's really sweet. It's one of those; there's no greater challenge or eye-opening experience than going on a mission trip to a more impoverished country to see the light of Jesus in new ways. So that's really neat. Now, Mary kind of faces, you know, different culture, different people, kind of what's your goal in working through those differences that she encounters.
Yvonne - And we do address them because when she first gets to the village where they're going to be working, she meets some children, and after a little bit, they go off and explore, and she finds they go to the kids' huts, and they don't have air conditioning, and you know all the comforts of home. She finds out what a pit latrine toilet looks like and how to use it, and so she faces some challenges, but she addresses them because these kids can do it, so can I. They make do, and as I said, the kids are still happy and having a blast. And so she's like, she just says to herself, Hey, I can do this too. They go try to fetch water one day, and she's like, okay, I'm gonna try to carry that bucket on my head. She's not very successful with it, but she has fun trying and realizes, there's, you know, I can try new things and still be who I am and have fun with it.
Valerie - I love that message for kiddos that, you know, trying hard things, looking at things that are different, and stepping into them rather than stepping away. You see a lot of kids, especially kind of hitting it middle, not middle school, but elementary school, and differences really separate kids, and rather than being a welcoming or a reason to get to know someone better. And I think that that's really important for kids to kind of explore their world and explore their differences because that's what makes the world beautiful.
Yvonne - Yes, it is very much so.
Valerie - Very neat. What would you do you hope kiddos walk away from this book with?
The Goal of Yvonne Morgan's Mary the Missionary
Yvonne - A deeper faith, a deeper understanding of how we are all connected in God's world. And as you said, our differences are something that should be cherished and can make things fun. Okay, you do things differently; let me learn about them. And maybe some of them I can incorporate into my life and do differently. Just because a tradition or a lifestyle is different doesn't mean we can't look at it and appreciate it. And so it's to teach kids about that, and as I said about their faith in that, even though Mary's scared of some of the things that happen and just fearful of going, she overcomes those with the help of Christ in knowing that we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.
Valerie - That's a beautiful message for kids of all ages. No, it's one that I have to remind myself of often, too. And what is it? Think children's books do a good job of communicating that in a way that really speaks to our hearts and connects us in big ways. Too fun. Well, Yvonne, what did you always want to be an author?
Yvonne Morgan's Writing Journey
Yvonne - No, actually, I didn't. Never crossed my radar till about 10 years ago. As I said, the first book is kind of a memoir of our mission work and just the different places we've been, things we've seen, thingsand God has done through those trips. And finally, about 10 years ago, I started getting this little nudge that I felt God saying, You should write about these. This is a story that needs to be shared. And I laughed. Because writing wasn't ever a thing for me. And so kind of put it away that, okay, maybe this is an ego thing. You know, we all get into those little traps and just say, Okay, Lord, if this is really you, I need a confirmation just so I know I'm not doing it for me. As a month went by, I had never told anybody this story. And we're sitting in the living room one night, my husband looks over at me goes, oh, by the way, how's that book coming and like I said had never told him and so it's like I kind of sighed and he's like what and I told him the story he goes well I guess you need to write a book and so I did and actually thought that was it but God has kept calling me to keep writing and as long as the calling's there I will keep doing it and so it's been quite a journey it's been wonderful nothing I ever expected in my life so it's been cool.
Valerie - It definitely sounds like with as many trips as you've taken overseas and the mission trips you've been on, that you have lots of stories to tell on how God has moved both in your own heart and the people that you've interacted with. Well, of all the places that you've traveled, Kenya has a big place in your heart, but what's been the most unique place that you've gotten to travel to?
Yvonne - Probably Myanmar, which is formerly known as Burma. Because it's closed again, the country has been closed for many, many years. We work a lot with orphans; we established an orphanage there. And so finally got the opportunity to go because the country opened. It's like, it is a country where there are no tourists, a few, but not many, to the point of even getting money exchanged or buying souvenirs, those places don't exist. And so we went, and it was a really unique experience. The country has closed again. They have a civil war going on, but we got to go three times, and it was pretty incredible. Just to be in an area where tourists are not, and everything is just kind of the way they live, which is what I enjoy about travel, is being with locals, living like a local. So it was really a cool experience.
Valerie - That definitely would be unique. There's what is it? Now that I've traveled, you could definitely find the pockets where they know tourists go, and it is not what life is like in those places. And so it's neat to kind of, it's neat to find those little mom and pop shops and the holes in the wall and be like, all right, how do people really live in this place?
Yvonne - Yeah, and I usually, when we travel, even for fun, I find myself asking that, or if we're in a hotel motel at the front desk, it's like, okay, where do you eat? I don't want to go to tourist places. Where do you guys eat? Because it's just fun to explore.
Valerie - I love that spirit, and you know it's one of those. You know, Mary has that very adventurous spirit, and I think kids have that as well, and I think that's a great way for them to connect with this book as well. Well, Yvonne, tell us a little bit about what your favorite book is.
Yvonne Morgan's Favorite Book
Yvonne - My favorite book is one called Ahoti, A Story of Tamar, and it's by Eva Marie Everson. I have to always think of how to say her name. I read that a couple, I guess, a couple of years ago. It's one of David's, King David's daughters, and it's her story, and it's just very moving, and I loved it. Read it in like a couple of days, because I couldn't put it down. Really enjoyed that one. It's a historical fiction.
Valerie - Very neat. I've recently come across, you know, books like that that are kind of these hidden characters in the Bible that we don't hear a lot about, but such powerful stories when taken, what biblical truth we have, and kind of given it a little bit of fictional flair, but with the heart of the biblical story. And it's really neat.
Yvonne - It was really cool. It was my first one of that genre to read. That was a biblical base and I really, as you said, I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun to think about. Just to see the characters in the Bible, the people of the Bible, how they did have lives beyond what we read, and just to think about that because, you know, they had normal problems. They got sick. They did all the stuff as we do. So it's fun to think about.
Valerie - Definitely. Think I read one recently called The Pearl in the Sand, which follows the life of Rahab, not just when she was in Jericho, but after Jericho too. And it's just a beautiful story of redemption. And just kind of looking at her story a little differently. And I don't think I've ever read the story of Jericho the same since I read that book. Highly recommend. Yvonne, what has been the most impactful book in your life other than the Bible?
Yvonne - Oh, that's the one I was gonna say. Yeah, now I'm really gonna have to think.
Valerie - Well, everyone would choose the Bible.
Yvonne - Yes, well, that is true because it is the one who has the life-changing experience. I think, now I'm going to have to think about it, there's been some Bible study books called, is it the circle? And I can't think of who wrote it, but about how to share our faith. It's more of a Bible study than a fiction. The importance of how it all works together when we share our faith. It has taught me a lot about getting out there and sharing, and the importance of it. Because we don't live in a vacuum, and what we do in life impacts all those around us, and just how much, and how it makes a difference in our lives. So I have, I loved it cause I've really put it and I've got it still somewhere. So put a lot of it into practice.
Because we don't live in a vacuum, and what we do in life impacts all those around us, and just how much, and how it makes a difference in our lives.
Valerie - Very neat. Now, I'm not remembering if in Mary's Compassion adventure, she talked a little bit about evangelism and communicating the gospel to those around her. Does that show up anywhere in her story?
Yvonne - It does a little bit. They're there to teach a vacation Bible school to the children. So at one point, as they're getting ready to start, right before they're setting up, and she realizes all her people, the friends she's made, they don't have a lot, and she goes to her dad and says, We're doing this VBS. How are they going to know about Jesus if they can't read about him? And he teaches her. Honey, don't worry, we brought little children's Bibles for everybody. And so we touch on it. It's not really deep at that point, because I think kids just do it a little more naturally than we do as adults, but we do touch on it.
Valerie - Do you think kids have the unique ability to speak their mind and their heart without reservation? Which serves them well and poorly all at the same time. I know with my boys, they speak a little too hard of the truth sometimes. It's like, let's taper that back a little bit. Very neat. Well, Yvonne, what can we expect next from you?
Future Project and How to Connect with Yvonne Morgan
Yvonne - I've got one for sure coming out in January. I also write nonfiction for adults. And so it is a 21-day devotional on overcoming fears. It's Big God equals Little Fears is the title. That's like I said, it'll come out in January. I've got a little bit of another book too with Mary that I've kind of been working on needed to get this one out of the way, because I'd already promised it to my publisher. So I'm going to go back and start working on that. Because I'm thinking of Mary, I'm hoping, God willing, it'll become a series. And she'll go to several other countries. The next one I'm leaning towards is that she goes to Nepal, which I picked as one of the places we've been, so I can get into the details of the country accurately. And then maybe if I do a third book on it, she'll go to the Holy Land so that she can learn more about the roots of our faith.
Valerie - Very neat, that sounds like quite the adventure for Mary to go on for sure.
Yvonne - Yeah, hopefully, hopefully it's been this one that has been doing well. So it's like, okay, let's keep going down that path because I think it does appeal to a lot of people.
Valerie - And to take what is done in a mission field and present it to children is kind of something that's not been done a lot. You see it more in kind of middle-grade books, but not in picture books. And so to take it to kids who, you know, do have these big hearts and the lack of filters and the love of Jesus and to give them those tools to communicate, whether in their neighborhood, their school or whether they travel in their country or out of the country, the skills to look at the world around them to see the way God sees the world too.
Yvonne - Yep, we need more kids. And then hopefully they grow up and go and do local US-based missions or international missions because the more all of us serve in any capacity like that, we can change the world.
Valerie - Most definitely. Well, Yvonne, where can people find out more about you and your books?
Yvonne - My website is yvonne-morgan.com, and they can connect to all. I'm on all the social media, but they can connect to me through that, so it's easy just to give the one address for them to remember and find out all about.
Valerie - Wonderful. I'll make sure to have that link in our show notes so people can find you easily. Thank you so much for being with me today. You're welcome. And thank you for joining Yvonne and me on this episode of the Bookworthy Podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed, and let us know in the comments what the first book you remember reading was. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review to discover more great books together.
Happy reading.
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