No Distance Too Far by Lauraine Snelling

This is book 2 of the Home to Blessing series.  Snelling has several series that center around the fictional town on Blessing North Dakota:  Red River of the North (6 books), Return to Red River (3 books), Daughters of Blessing (4 books) and Home to Blessing (2 books so far...with a 3rd releasing soon).  I absolutely love all of these!  They are easily some of my favorite books!  I enjoy the setting, which is very "foreign" to this Southern girl, and I adore the characters who have become old friends.  Each time a new Blessing book comes out I get excited to catch up on the families and meet their new neighbors and friends.  It is like going back home for a visit.

So there was no doubt I would love No Distance Too Far... and I did.  The focus of this series, so far, is on Astrid.  A young woman who has completed medical school and is now struggling with where she should go to serve the Lord in her calling.  Will she head into the jungles of Africa to work as a Medical Missionary or to an Indian Reservation near her home of Blessing where the need for medical care is great or will she go home to Blessing and serve the people there along side her sister-in-law, Dr. Elizabeth Bjorklund? Only God knows and He is not making it as clear to Astrid as she would like.

Following some advice of her mother's, Astrid decides to take a step of faith and heads to Athens, GA to attend Missionary School.  There are those who believe a single woman, no matter how educated, has no business heading off into the dark heart of Africa. They advise she find a husband and try again.  But Astrid pushes on... determined to complete the training there even though she has no certainty that Africa is God's plan for her.

All the while Joshua is settling in Blessing, building a home that he hopes Astrid will share with him, and wondering how to get her to settle back in ND instead of going to Africa.  He is also learning that God has a plan for his life and things for him to do.  Family and friends in Blessing struggle with Astrid's choice as they anticipate a new hospital and wonder how Elizabeth can manage as the area's only doctor.

It is intriguing to see all this play out on the pages of this book.. to read the thoughts and prayers of those involved... to see God's hand at work.  A wonderful read.  I look forward to the next book in the series!