What happens when a 1,200 mile honeymoon road trip turns into a 20-year, 30,000 mile missionary journey across three continents? In their new memoir, It's a Long Way to Florida, authors Brooke and Patricia Sadler share the authentic story of how saying 'yes' to God redefined their lives. The book begins in 1957 with a lakeside wedding in Michigan and a red Falcon intended to carry the newlyweds to St. Petersburg, Florida. Instead of beaches, they found themselves on an epic adventure of faith that spanned decades and took them to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The memoir offers an honest account of modern missionary life. From a 12,000 mile overland family road trip from London to Sri Lanka through military checkpoints to surviving famines and economic collapses, the Sadlers' story shows that rewards often lie within inconvenient detours. Readers encounter accounts of faith in action, including how Brooke smuggled truckloads of flour past five armed checkpoints during a famine to feed starving church workers in Colombo. The couple also forged a decades-long friendship with a local Buddhist High Priest, which saved their mission school's land from government seizure. Their decision to open their home to vulnerable children led them to welcome more than 80 orphaned children over the years.
'We never could have mapped out the life we lived,' says co-author Brooke Sadler. 'Every time we faced an impossible problem, the answer arrived in a way we never could have engineered. We wrote this book to remind readers that when God redirects your route, the detour is very often the destination.'
Now retired in Greeneville, Tennessee, the Sadlers transformed a historic log cabin into Nolichucky Cabins, a mountain retreat and glass wedding chapel where they continue to serve their community. It's a Long Way to Florida is available for purchase online via major book retailers. Perfect for fans of Christian memoirs and inspiring biography, the book offers a template for living by faith.
