New Book: Items May Have Shifted

Same God. Same Mission. New Assignment.

Many missionary biographies tell the stories of men and women who persevered for decades in a single context. Today, though, God seems to be moving His workforce around the globe with growing frequency. Items May Have Shifted: When Missionaries Get Rerouted is a collection of stories of missionaries who left everything and moved across the world to serve among the unreached—and then were rerouted, often without much warning or explanation.

Their experiences illustrate an inherent tension missionaries must maintain in our chaotic world: the commitment to go deep in difficult contexts as if it’s forever and the openhandedness to accept that plans may change at any time.

Why Read This Book?

You (or missionaries you care about) may be on the move by necessity or by choice. Either way, these stories remind us all that God’s people are called to a flexible, responsive faithfulness, tenaciously clinging to the God of the unexpected.

About the Author

Maxine MacDonald (pseudonym) has served with Pioneers since 2013 and has had the privilege of participating in global missions in five countries. She now writes and edits books for adults and children. Maxine enjoys telling the stories of how God is using His people to build His Church among all the world’s many peoples.

Related to the Book

Want to discuss this book over a bowl of soup? Get Lisa Walker’s recipe in Dill Pickle Soup & Ways to Pray for Displaced People.

You May Also Enjoy These Books from Pioneers

• When God Comes Calling, by Ted Fletcher
• Fire & Ice: Missionary Adventures of the 1800s, by John C. Lambert
• Treachery on the Twisted River, by Don Richardson (adapted from the bestseller Peace Child)
• Threads: Unexpected Adventures in Business, Missions, and Family, by Arlene Richardson

Items May Have Shifted: When Missionaries Get Rerouted, by Maxine McDonald. Pioneers, 2023. 146 pages.

You can also read the book online though our books website. For free!

Contents

• A Note to Readers
• Foreword by Steve Richardson
• Introduction
• All in, From Billboard to Precipice: Zach and Denise Gregg’s Story
• Lands of Milk & Honey: Frank & Eileen Goodman’s Story
• Lands of Tea & Opportunity: Kristi Reid’s Story
• Available, Brave & Crazy: Dave & Ashley Moore’s Story
• Of War and Wallpaper: James & Lisa Walker’s Story
• Epilogue
• Lisa Walker’s Dill Pickle Soup Recipe
• About the Author

The names of people and places and some identifying details have been intentionally altered to protect missionaries, local believers and the communities they serve.