Australian Outback: Four Journeys to a New Country Ride on the Wings of Faith and Love

The history of Australia begins with England sending ships full of convicts to work in the country. These convicts, some innocent of their crimes, while others had made mistakes, must first endure a vicious trip across dangerous seas. This book contains the evolving romances of 4 couples, all intertwined throughout the four stories. Each story's basis is a deep Christian faith. In the first story, John Martin was wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to life toiling in Australia. During the voyage, he quells a riot, but is severly punished by a jealous ships officer. He is nursed back to health by Elizabeth. Once arriving in Australia they strive to prove John's innocence while he struggles to trust in God's plan. The second story revolves around Adam and Kate...Adam was also once a convict but now free and is working to create a life for himself in the Australian outback. He takes John Martin as his assigned worker and soon learns to believe in God and agrees to try and prove John's innocence in England. Adam meets Kate in England and together they face danger from John's true enemy. While they struggle to return to Australia with John's proof, they fall in love. Beth and William also travel to Australia with Kate and Adam. William has loved Beth since they were children, married her in an arranged marriage filled with lies and secrets and as a Reverend struggles to find peace with God when he feels Beth has betrayed him. His struggles to remain loyal to his vows and his love of God are painful but result in glorious true love. The fourth story revolves around Tim and Patricia. They struggle to find common ground, all the while struggling to survive in the harsh Australian Outback. This is probably the weakest of the four stories and I think could have been left out of the book. I found some of the stories a bit slow, but did get involved in the characters and wanted to see the conclusions of their stories. I do wish it had moved a long just a bit faster. But I felt you did get to truly experience the harsh conditions all who lived in Australia dealt with in the early years of the country's existence. Particularly interesting was when the author revealed which characters in the stories were actually members of her own family. I also liked how strongly having faith in God was woven into all the story lines. Having a personal relationship with God does not make your life go smoothly but it does give you a solid anchor to weather the storms that all of us experience. I think that was the strong point of the book and therefore worth four stars. Having faith in God will get all of us through life's difficulties.

At first glance, I wondered if this book could keep my attention enough for as long as it is. But I thoroughly enjoyed it until the very end, and it even left me wanting more. I am going to get her other book, Australia. This book is really four books or stories, with characters that are related throughout and each book focusing on a different set. The delicious romantic storylines include an unfairly convicted convict, a convict (convicted for something harmless) who is a devout christian and brings others to Christ, and other characters who are equally as deep and interesting. Each storyline drew me in to the last page and was rich and inspiring. Enjoy!