Book excerpt: A desperate father manages to have his two young sons smuggled onto a fishing boat with eighteen strangers escaping war-torn South Vietnam. Running out of food and water, the boat carrying six year old Vu and eight year old Giang is adrift on the ocean for five days. All are saved from starvation when would-be pirates toss them handfuls of burned rice. After spending over two years in refugee camps throughout Thailand, the boys end up in Oakland, California where they get caught up in the gang culture of theft, guns, drugs, and alcohol. Giang ends up in prison for murder. Having escaped death many times, Vu feels God's presence in his life, yet struggles with his faith. Eventually Vu marries beautiful Mylinh, and together they work at turning their lives around. Through the grace of God and the forgiveness of Jesus, Vu is able to leave his gang lifestyle behind to become a successful businessman, helping area youth find strength through fitness and faith. Konnie Meyer is a retired third grade school teacher, who spends part of her busy schedule writing a bi-monthly column for a local newspaper. She is the mother of three grown children, and enjoys spoiling her eight grandchildren ages two through eleven. Married for forty-seven years to her high school sweetheart, Konnie and her husband Bruce enjoy an active, but peaceful life on their farm with two dogs in rural northwest Ohio.