It's a Wonderful World - by Jill Van Opstal-Popa (Paperback)

About the Book

Though the journey in life my be hard and long, when you get to a place where you don`t know what to do next, God reveals His grace in Jesus Christ. For the forgotten and abandoned, for those on their last hope, God has a wonderful plan. Explore the journey of Paul and Jill, missionaries in Brazil and founders of Lar Feliz.

Book Synopsis

It's a Wonderful World is a celebration of ordinary people whose lives cross in extraordinary ways at different parts of the world. Coming to the end of their own strength, and unsure of what to do next, the characters discover God's plan through His marvelous matchless grace in receiving the revelation of Jesus and what he can do, and how He heals and changes lives. Shown in the past lives of Jill's grandmothers, and Paul's grandparents, a binding of the generations together can be seen in their ordinary circumstances, mistakes, second chances, victories and joys. Looking back at how older generations struggled with their human desires, fears, and challenges, helps one to embrace his or her humanity, in order to then receive the supernatural solutions needed in everyday life. The stories of Paul and Jill's journey will compel one to look beyond himself to the greater needs of this world with its devastating happenings, and how with the collaboration of everyone, the world can be changed one life at a time. The reader may shed a tear, laugh out loud and just feel good reading about underdogs becoming champions, orphans placed in a family, and victories won despite impossible odds. True stories are used throughout this biography to inspire as well as to entertain with a light sense of humor. The author would like to convey that everyone is important, though from different backgrounds and walks of life, and that children are beloved by God and should be treasured, defended, and cherished, regardless the situations that they have come from. Children can have a new beginning and a new happy home or "Lar Feliz". From the poor simple life of Romania, to the advanced culture of the Netherlands, to the wild developing Brazil, the reader will be able to explore new cultures and lands through the eyes of the author. Cultural differences will be discussed, when they sometimes collide, and when they find a beautiful harmony of working together for the Kingdom of God. The true hero is someone who tries when everyone else gives up and building a team or an army is more valuable than standing out alone. Love, grace, adventure, friendship, marriage, courage, romance, and faith are aspects of the lives of these ordinary people. God loves the world, the people in it with their failings, sorrows, disappointments, and imperfections, so much that He gave His son, Jesus which cost Him everything because He loves the world.

About the Author

Jill van Opstal-Popa is the wife of Paul and the mother of Elisa and Jeremy. Originally from Akron, Ohio, she has been a missionary in Brazil for the past twenty some years. She is the co- founder of Lar Feliz or "Happy Home", which takes care of abandoned, neglected children. Together with her husband, she has been able to collectively care for 2000 children and now is involved in church planting. She is an ordinary person who believes in miracles and an extraordinary God and His matchless grace in Jesus.