By David Seaman | Echo
Andrea Conn has never been one to turn down a calling. In addition to working for Taylor as a Bergwall housekeeper, Conn launched several impactful ministries, including a Taekwondo training school offering free classes to the Marion community. In January, Conn followed through with another long-term calling by publishing her first children's book, "Adam's Pup."
The book is the first in a series of seven illustrated books titled "The Zookeeper's Collection." Each book tells a biblical story through the eyes of animals, offering the Gospel in a unique way children can understand.
"Long term, my thought and my hope would be that anyone picking up the book, whether they're reading it to their kids or their kids are reading it alone, that it would eventually lead to salvation," Conn said.
Now that "Adam's Pup" is published, with the second installment in the series on the way, the impact of the book is already becoming visible. In the past few months she participated in what the Tree of Life bookstore in Marion called their best book signing ever. A radio interview with Marion station WBAT followed, and the launch of a Zookeeper's signing tour is in the near future.
"Adam's Pup" has also managed to make an impressive trek around the world, with copies journeying across the nation as well as being incorporated into a school in Haiti. Young students at the school began to learn English words from the book, according to a missions team from Conn's church.
"That's a huge impact," Conn said. "If they can start learning that, then they can start learning about Christ in a new way, and that's pretty emotional in my heart."
Although Conn is able to see the impact of her work now, publishing her first story wasn't easy.
"The hardest part was probably believing in myself to do it because I did not feel that I had the skill to write a book," she said.
Completing the task took determination. Conn overcoming obstacles as they appeared, reminding herself that that it was a call from God that led her to the project.
"I think so many times people just sit and expect the lightning bolt to hit and God will do everything. That's just not the way God works," she explained. "You can't just sit in your seat and say, 'Okay, God. Let the book drop in my lap.' You have to get out there and hit all the resources you know."
To celebrate her story's release with the Taylor community, Conn plans to participate in an event with the Habeckers, tentatively called "Evening at the Zoo." The event will include a reading, prizes and a costume contest. The date is to be determined.
