It’s officially the Christmas season. What better way to celebrate than to take a break from the bustle of holiday activities to read a good Christmas novella that can be finished in one afternoon. Here’s my contribution to a long list of great Christmas stories.
A Christmas Promise
by Tamera Lynn Kraft
Pelican Book Group
A Moravian Holiday Story, Circa 1773
During colonial times, John and Anna settle in an Ohio village to become Moravian missionaries to the Lenape. When John is called away to help at another settlement two days before Christmas, he promises he’ll be back by Christmas Day.
When he doesn’t show up, Anna works hard to not fear the worst while she provides her children with a traditional Moravian Christmas.
Through it all, she discovers a Christmas promise that will give her the peace she craves.
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Here are a few reviews of A Christmas Promise:
Revel in the spirit of a Colonial Christmas with this achingly tender love story that will warm both your heart and your faith. With rich historical detail and characters who live and breathe on the page, Tamera Lynn Kraft has penned a haunting tale of Moravian missionaries who selflessly bring the promise of Christ to the Lenape Indians. A beautiful way to set your season aglow, A Christmas Promise is truly a promise kept for a heartwarming holiday tale. — Julie Lessman
I‘m always on the lookout for a unique Christmas story and this one made the search worth it. This is about Moravian missionaries to the Lenape native Americans. It is a beautiful story of faith and courage at Christmas. A quick read that kept me riveted in one sitting. Loved its sweetness and important message. I also love that it’s a very accurate historical look at this culture and time. As an amateur historian I appreciated all the little details that revealed a genuine view of the life of the Moravians. Very well researched and written. You won’t be disappointed! — Karla K. Adkins
Tamera has done her research regarding 17th century life in the Schoenbrunn Village, & Gnadenhutten, Ohio area! This is an excellent story based on missionary work w/ the Lenni Lenape Indians, and Christmas traditions! I hope there’s more books of this genre from this talented author! — Barb Dawson
Moravian missionaries in the 18th century experienced danger, hardships, and unexpected twists of “fate” as they witnessed to and mentored Indians in the Ohio territory. This is a work of fiction, but so true to what these brave and dedicated missionaries could easily have experienced. This is a book that is inspirational in every sense of the word.
Anna and John Brunner are two such missionaries. When John had asked Anna to marry him, she stipulated he must promise to put the mission God had given them first, no matter what. But that was before having children, one of whom they had left behind in a cold grave. Now she lived in constant fear of losing one of them to hostile Indians, to disease, or to accidents.
Her love became a suffocating passion to keep her family safe, leading John to leave out critical details of where he would be going, to whom, and why. He wanted to protect her from worry. Two days before Christmas hee had to go with one of the new converts to visit his father, a chief with no friendly feelings for Christians. John promised her he would be home for Christmas Eve; and if not by Christmas Eve, at least by Christmas.
Sometimes his promises had not been keepable. This might be another one. — Anne Baxter Campbell
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