Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle

Title: Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle
Author: Sheila Miller
Major Themes: Missionaries
Synopsis: When Ian finds a tree across his road, he prays and God answers his prayer in a surprising way.

I love Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle. We’ve had it since our firstborn was less than a year old, when I found it at a garage sale. She was too young for it then, of course, but within a few years I was reading it to her.

Ian was a missionary in Thailand who was showing a film about Jesus in the village-at-the-end-of-the-road. When he left the village to go down the mountain, there was a tree across the road! The villagers suggested that he pray about the problem—he had been teaching them about prayer, after all. He prayed, and nothing happened. However, a man showed up and asked him to come back up the mountain to his village! It turned out that there was another-village-at-the-end-of-the-road. So, Ian went back up and showed his film in the real-village-at-the-end-of-the-road, and taught the people about Jesus. When he started down the mountain again, the tree was still there. You’ll have to read the story yourself to find out how God answered his prayer.

This is a small book, but has lovely pictures. There are three chapters, so it’s more than just a picture book. I highly recommend it for any family who has young children.

No warnings!