Synopsis
A whitewashed Spanish village. Golden Greek islands. Vast Egyptian deserts. Trouble. Picking Olives and Breaking Bread, Book One, is a poignant story about a couple who find God, grow spiritually, encounter adventure, trials, and success in some of Europe’s most beautiful places. The story begins in Spain where the previous book, Where Wild Olives Grow, leaves off. Jailed in a Spanish village and stricken with hepatitis, Ken and his wife, Barbara--former hippies and brand new Christians--recouperate in a lonely pension. While there, angels disguised as fellow sojourners minister to them. They learn that hope and divine inspiration can restore wasted years. Finally recouperated, they travel to Germany and wind up in a Jesus People commune. Later, they move to Greece where he enrolls in college and she teaches English. They smuggle Bibles into a Communist country. Ken sails the Aegean as a charter skipper to pay the bills. They go on to establish a church in Athens where Ken's entrepreneurial talents provide the means to live for the next nine years. In this true story, Ken nearly dies in a hurricane on an offshore oil rig. He becomes a charter boat skipper, an Austrian ski-tour operator, a carpenter, an engineer in Egypt, an international consultant, the director of a major ministry, and a missionary. The story takes place in the “olive crescent”—Sunny, southern European countries that line the Mediterranean from Turkey to Spain. The couple also lives or works in Egypt, Alaska, Morocco, Texas (a foreign country of sorts), and Hawaii. Another forty or so countries are mentioned. Yes, forty. Tough lessons learned in extraordinary circumstances compells the reader to journey with them ... and gain valuable insight on taking risks and trusting God. The book includes end-of-section discussions and applications.
About the Author
Born and raised in Southern California, Ken spent three years in the Army during the Viet Nam era. In Europe, he met and married his wife, Barbara and they decided to remain abroad for work and study. Two years later in southern Spain, they both became Christians. Ken earned his BA from the American College of Greece where he and his wife helped establish the Hellenic International Christian Church. Years later he leveraged his MBA from Regent University to establish a Christian consulting business for emerging democracies in Eastern Europe. Returning to the US, Ken worked as the Director of the Christian Broadcasting Network's ministry center in northern Virginia. He went on to serve in the luxury boating industry for thirteen years where he developed and managed dealer networks for all product lines of the Luhrs Marine Group throughout the world. He then designed the marketing plan and budget for Australian boat manufacturer, Mustang Marine. He developed and trained dealer networks throughout North and South America. In 2010, Ken fulfilled a lifetime desire to delve into international development by joining USAID (the US Agency For International Development) and served 14 months in southern Afghanistan. In 1991 he and his friend, Harry Farrar, published Never Give Up: A 31-Day Career Search Advisor. Since then, Ken has written newsletters and numerous marketing and development papers for international business while lecturing and teaching on the entrepreneurial process. Throughout the years, Ken and his family have attended church, facilitated home groups, led short term mission trips abroad and otherwise helped when needs presented themselves. Their daughter, Lisa, serves with the US Foreign Service in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and their son, Alston, has just completed his undergraduate studies. He has written two additional books: Dawn Passage, The Incredible Journey of the Missionary Schooner, Morning Star (2010), and Where Wild Olives Grow. Both books are about life, adventures, and lessons learned while living in eight countries of Europe, North Africa and the Middle-East. They are available at www.dawnpassage.com and www.wherewildolivesgrow.com In all, he's lived eighteen years in five countries and went on to work and travel in eighty more. Ken lives in Northeast Florida with his wife, Kanjana.
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