Why did I write this book? Here are some of the reasons:

I wrote it to "pay back" for the thousands of stories from others that have enriched my reading life. My mother taught me that "if someone sends you a pie, do not send back an empty plate. Put some cookies on it." This book is the cookies on that plate.

I wrote it to teach. Storytelling is, I think, the very best means of conveying a truth. The story "It Was the Names" is a powerful lesson in what it means to be a pastor. The story of the picnic in the black forest of Russia is about building bridges instead of walls. "Two Nickels" speaks of a grandfather's wisdom and love. "The Cat Lady" challenges churches to be in mission where they are. The story of sending 16,500 stuffed animals to the children of Russia is person to person mission at its best.

I write it to travel again. I am ninety-seven as I write this, and age and the pandemic have kept me home. But my mind has traveled as I wrote. I've been back to Kromy, Russia, working with those families. I've been to El Roblegal, Dominican Republic, seeing the excitement as a village makes progress. I have again reached out my hand to receive the two nickels from my grandfather, and I have run to the bank with them. I've been in the hot harvest field with Ernie, a neighbor. I have been back on the well platform of my childhood home, pumping water with my brother, Olin.

I have written this book because I love to write. Words fascinate me, and it is a thrill to weave them into a word picture that others enjoy. I am a bit sad now that I have decided that this book is long enough and that it is time to dose it out.

--Melvin E. West

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