Still on my TBR but on my short-list to read. I am listing it in the non-fic VBB.

Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow is raised in a religious Catholic family in Scotland. When he is a teenager he and his siblings go to Bosnia as there is a report that the Virgin Mary has appeared to some children there and has been giving them messages. --to me that sounds weird and possibly scary, but the good that came of this is remarkable. Magnus is very moved by this event, his whole family is. His parents, who already run a guest house, open their home and property as a religious retreat. Magnus becomes a fish farmer as an adult but doesn't forget his experience in Bosnia. Then when Yugoslavia splits into different states and war breaks out he feels called to collect and bring aid into Bosnia. This is the beginning of the aid that eventually blossoms into Mary's Meals. The idea of Mary's Meals is to provide one meal a day for children in school in very poor and developing nations. A lot of these children would never be in school if it weren't for these meals; they would be working for their families or sick/dead. Mary's Meals provides a meal for children in school thereby reducing starvation and giving children a chance to get educated so they can break the cycle of poverty and become a source for positive change in their countries. It isn't just aid either; Mary's meals are cooked by volunteers in the community where the meals are served, the food is grown locally if possible. It is program designed to give means to the community, not just charity. It really is marvelous. And the way it is run; humble, costs kept down, faith based with all faiths accepted. I like Magnus as well; he seems like a man who lives what he professes. I like also that the book stays away from political rhetoric and religious rhetoric. That is pretty amazing considering the places he works are often torn apart by politics and religion. For Magnus and Mary's Meals it is all about the kids, feeding and educating the kids. The inspiration for Magnus to do good in the world is founded in his faith. Amazing and inspirational.
Recommended.

Surprisingly, this book was not chosen in the Non Fic VBB. I guess it is going to a Little Free Library.

Left in a Little Free Library on Vassar St. in the Viewridge neighborhood of Seattle.