When Lopez Lomong was six years old, rebel soldiers in his native South Sudan kidnapped him during a church service, ripping him straight from his mothers arms. He thought he would never see his parents again, destined to either serve as a child soldier or die in the camp. But three angels appeared to him one night in the form of other boys in the camp who knew Lopez and who promised to get him back home to his parents. They staged a daring escape from the camp that only could have happened with God watching over them. After leaving the camp they ran for three days straight, with very little food or sleep until they finally arrived at the Kenyan border. From there, Lopez was taken to the Kakuma refugee camp where he lived for ten years until finally he was given the chance to move to the United States. As soon as Lopez arrived, his adoptive family noticed that he had a talent for running, something he did every day in the refugee camp. Before he knew it, he was competing and winning, making a name for himself on the national stage. Lopez was chasing a dream he has since a young child at the camp, after watching Michael Johnson run the 400m at the 2000 Olympics. And his dream came true when he not only got to compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but was the United States flag bearer. Running For My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey From the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games is Lopez Lomong's inspiring story of survival, dreams, and faith. This is one amazing story. There are many stories being published about the Lost Boy's of the Sudan and this is NOT just another of them. Lopez went through life with a deep faith instilled in him from a young age by his parents. It was his faith that sustained him in the dark days, through life in the refugee camp and through his new life in America. I really enjoyed the way Lopez tells his story with humour and warmth. There were moments that he had me in stitches with his funny, in hindsight comments and there were moments that I was in tears over the things he had to go through. His faith is evident through all of the pages, and his commitment to his dream is incredible. Whether you are a runner or not, you will come away from this book inspired. The three paragraph synopsis I gave at the beginning of this review doesn't even begin to describe the incredible events that have occurred in Lomong's life. Through every page you can look at his life and say that God is watching over him. Lomong's life is proof that through faith and determination we can get through anything because God is the anchor in our lives. You will come away from this book inspired by his resilience and renewed in your own determination to achieve your own goals. I received this book courtesy of Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program. The opinions expressed above are purely my own.

I received this book from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review. When I saw the blurb about it I wanted to read this book – not because I’m an avid sports fan (because I’m not) but because I am always interested in how people overcome adversity. This book did not disappoint. Lopez Lomong was born in the Sudan. He was one of a family of four children, but the only one with his parents in the open-air church service that Sunday morning in 1991 – the day the rebel soldiers came for the children. He was only six years old. That was the day he was violently separated from his family with dozens of other boys and girls, the day his life was forever changed. Lopez tells the story of his kidnapping, of not knowing what happened to all the girls that were taken at the same time, of the prison camp where boys were trained to be child soldiers – but he was too small to become a soldier so he was left in the hut, probably to die as so many did. The difference for him was that he was rescued in a dramatic way, which to this day he firmly believes was God’s hand on his life. Lopez tells about his escape with three other boys, how they ran for three days, always miraculously finding food and water when needing it, where he ended up as a refugee instead of where he thought he was headed – home to his mother, and the ever-challenging experiences he had there that would shape him into the man he would become. His parents had named him Lopepe, which means ‘fast’, and he lived up to that name because he loved to run and always ran as fast as he could. This trait would be one thing that kept him alive, one main factor that would shape his life and eventually help him immigrate to the United States where he continues to run. In an unlikely place his heart was set on the Olympics when he was a boy. I read Running For My Life during the London 2012 Olympics, which seemed appropriate since Lopez Lomong was running for the USA. As I read through this book as one looking in from the outside, I could recognize God’s guidance and protection as Lopez trusted Him with his life. He tells his story with painful honesty, later revealing a sense of humour that caused me to laugh out loud several times. Lopez Lomong has a passion, not just for running, but for helping the people in his village and South Sudan. He now has a charitable foundation called 4 South Sudan set up to achieve his goals of providing clean water, education, nutrition through better farming methods, and basic health care that will save lives. Because World Vision already has a presence in Sudan, he partnered with them to set things in motion. Also, part of the proceeds of the sale of this book go to his foundation. Check it out: www.LopezLomong.com/foundation

I recently finished reading the book "Running For My Life" by Lopez Lomong.  This was one of the best books I have ever read.  It is a great story about a "lost boy" of Sudan who was kidnapped at the age of 6 to become a child soldier.  The book journeys with Lopez as he escapes his captors and lives at a UN camp for 10 years before coming to the United States as a 16 year old in 2001.  Lopez never lost faith in God and kept on pursuing his dreams.  In 2008 he was the US flag bearer at the Olympics!  This is a must read book for anyone who wants to see the good work God still does in our lives today if we are faithful to him. I give this book a 5 out of 5 rating!  I am a member of Book Sneeze by Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I received this book in exchange for a review of it.