Unveiling Cultures: A Conversation with Jenny Marcelene

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In this episode of Book Worthy, Valerie interviews author Jenny Marcelene about her international adventure series for children, 'The Dreamer.' Jenny shares her passion for connecting families with God's heart for the world through literature, drawing from her experiences living overseas in various cultures. The conversation explores the importance of understanding and respecting different cultures, the role of prayer in supporting unreached people groups, and practical ways families can incorporate global awareness into their daily lives. Jenny also discusses her journey to becoming an author and the impact of influential books on her writing.

 Jenny Marcelene

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Takeaways

Jenny's book series aims to connect families with God's heart for the world.

There is a gap in Christian literature for chapter books for kids ages 6-10.

Cultural understanding can help reduce fear and promote curiosity.

Prayer is essential for supporting unreached people groups.

Families can incorporate global awareness into their daily lives.

Jenny's experiences living overseas shaped her writing and perspective.

Christian fiction can be impactful and beautifully crafted.

It's important to approach different cultures with respect and curiosity.

God's glory is meant to be shared with all nations.

Writing a book can be a journey of faith and learning.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Jenny Marcelin and Her Book

02:18 The Heart Behind 'The Dreamer'

04:28 Cultural Insights from Living Overseas

08:18 Understanding Afghanistan and Its Beauty

09:39 The Concept of Unreached People Groups

11:40 Incorporating Global Awareness in Family Life

18:20 Jenny's Journey to Becoming an Author

22:05 Impactful Books and Future Projects

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Transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity but reflects the full conversation from the BookWorthy Podcast. Grab a cup of coffee, listen, and read along.

The blog version of this episode is available at www.valeriefentress.com/blog

Valerie - Welcome to Book Worthy, where we talk about the heart behind the books your kids are reading. Today, we're talking with author Jenny Marcelin. Jenny's passionate about God's glory being made known, whether that's across the street or around the globe. Her international adventure series for ages six to 10 seeks to combine her love of fiction with God's greatness. Book one of her To the Ends series, entitled The Dreamer, follows Jason and his younger brother, Fred, as they discover a board game that transports them all over the world. But one mistake could mean no way to get home. I can't wait to hear more about this worldwide adventure and Jenny's author journey. Welcome to Book Worthy, Jenny.

Jenny - Thanks for having me. I'm glad to be here.

Valerie - It is a pleasure to have you. I'm excited to chat. I've seen a few more books that have this worldwide appeal and a larger scope, and I'm excited to hear more about what you got. So, before we get started, let's start with our random question of the week, which is what is your favorite movie?

Random Question of the Week

Jenny - Yeah, I like movies a lot, but sometimes I forget what I've seen over time, because I see more and then I forget something great that I loved. But recently I watched with my boys McFarland USA, which is the true story of a cross-country team in central California that ended up winning the championships against all odds. And I really loved that story. And part of it, as my husband and I were debriefing, is that it's a lot like living cross-culturally, elements of just how for the coach to understand and learn about these kids that were experiencing a different life than he had. And so I really loved that story. And that movie was just kind of a fun watch for our family.

Valerie - That is a good movie. It's kind of a hidden Kevin Costner gem that I didn't know was there. My sons have done cross country, and so the team kind of got together and watched that as the end-of-the-season party. And so it was like, I didn't even know Kevin Costner did a movie like this.

Jenny - I know, I didn't know about it. I ran cross country in high school and college, and my oldest son just started doing cross country. He had some of his friends there who were also in the cross-country team. So I'd like to say I encouraged them before their first cross-country meet without meaning to. I didn't realize it at first. Yeah, the same thing.

Valerie - Yeah. But those underdog stories are always near and dear to our hearts. So that's so fun. Well, Jimmy, why don't you tell us a little bit about your book, The Dreamer?

Introduction to Jenny Marcelene’s The Dreamer

Jenny - Yeah, as you've kind of already talked about a little bit about what it's kind of about, mainly the heart behind it is sort of just to connect families with God's heart for the world. And a lot of times when I first started writing this book, I felt like there was a gap in Christian literature for chapter books, like for kids ages six to 10. Like if you're familiar with the Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne, that style of book is not quite the middle grade yet, but just a little below that. I felt like, as I was reading through all these books years ago with my oldest son, we were just blowing through chapter book series. And I just felt like I couldn't find a lot of Christian chapter book series. I loved all the ones we were reading, but it just felt like that was a little bit lacking. So I began to notice that. And then also, I have such a heart for the world from having lived overseas. And I felt like it was really hard to find resources for families. And so kind of what came together for this book and why it ended up being written was just I felt like I couldn't find kind of what I was looking for, and so I sort of combined that magic treehouse style with sort of God's heart for the nations into a fiction chapter book series for kids. And also because I loved Isaiah 49 six, it's just so much imprinted on my heart, which is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved Israel. I will make you a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. So you can guess how the series is called to the ends from that, but also that Isaiah 49 and six is central to the whole point of this series. And you'll see that woven throughout just as I did that God is so great and awesome that it's, it's just too small a thing for one people group to know and worship him. And I wanted that to just be put into characters that families could interact with and see that maybe they'll never get a chance to interact with, never get a chance to meet, but they get to kind of be introduced to these characters on the pages of a story. And then maybe when their kids go off to college or go out into the world, they'll have a background of like, remember reading about this character, and they won't have that fear to engage with them. They'll be like, let's ask questions. Let's learn. There are some really beautiful things about that culture. I remember reading that and just starting with a positive interaction with people who are different than themselves, rather than kind of having that fear-based response. They'll have that curiosity response instead, is my hope.

Valerie - Now you said you have lived overseas. Where have you been? What are a few of the places you've been, if you can tell us?

Jenny - Yeah, mainly, the bulk of where I have lived for six years overseas was basically conservative Muslim culture, some in the Horn of Africa and some in Central Asia, including where my first book is based in Afghanistan.

Valerie - Very neat. A definite heart, you have to have been in those cultures and kind of seen the interesting ways to navigate those cultures as a Christian. And how does that play out in the book, a little bit with your characters?

Jenny - Yeah, I think part of what I wanted to show is that as we go into new cultures, we want to really, again, like I've said, the key theme is helping families not lead with fear as they learn about other world views. I think when something's different from us, or people don't think or look or believe as we do, it's natural to be a little bit fearful and sort of want to hold people at arm's length. And I think what I want to do is invite families to kind of lean into that uncomfortableness and be challenged to see sort of the beauty and warmth that each culture possesses because I truly believe that each culture uniquely reflects aspects of God's character to us. Now, that said, all cultures are broken and sinful and still need gospel transformation. But I hope that people will step in and be surprised by some of the beautiful things they see about that culture and things that we can learn from that culture. So I really approach it with a deep respect because I want people to understand we have much to learn from other cultures. At the same time, we have a responsibility to pray for the gospel to be made known there. And so holding those side by side, thinking really builds a connection to that culture rather than pushing away from that culture. So my hope is just to sort of crack that door open into those worlds that make people recognize, okay, we can explore this from a Christian worldview. The Bible can withstand any other worldviews that come against it. So we don't have to be afraid. Like we know, the Bible can withstand that, and we can kind of step into that and kind of walk through how that looks and how to pray for that culture and still find beautiful aspects that we can appreciate, but also recognizing, hey, here's a place where the gospel speaks in, and I can pray for that.

Valerie - I love that I recently read a book talking about some missions in Persia, kind of in more of the early 1900s. And it's really interesting how, you know, people have, you know, there is just this automatic angst and conflicted-ness that can, you know, be present because there is it's opposition because it's two different religions, but I really appreciated the willingness of these missionaries to step into that uncomfortable place and be like, I want to listen to what you have to say. And I think anybody of any belief wants to be heard and wants, you know, I'm happy to talk about what I believe. And it usually is like to open that conversation, to build a relationship. And that's what God is about in the first place, building that relationship with him. And if we don't start from a place of a relationship, it's harder to speak truth and to a person's life. And so I love that you're kind of opening those doors and helping people see behind cultures that have become kind of scary to the Christian worldview, and to be willing to step in and realize that these are still people. These are still human beings that God loves, despite where they've grown up, despite their socioeconomic state, or what their family has believed in the past, or what they believe currently. So it's a new perspective I'm trying to teach my boys as well. And because there is again, still just that combat-ed-ness even as boys like to have in the first place, to be like, no, we need to lead with love. We need to lead with kindness. It is a hard thing to communicate to boys who are just like, all right, I'm ready to go to war for God. I'm like, hold up, hold up, hold up. Too fun. You said that Afghanistan is one of the places you went, and that's kind of the main location of book one. Why did you want to start with Afghanistan?

Jenny - Part of the thing about it is just, I feel like Afghanistan is often a bit misunderstood. Like, it has unfortunately just been in the headlines so much that I feel like the only thing that people sort of think about it as is sort of darkness, heaviness, brokenness. And while I don't want to minimize, I mean, this is a country that has been perpetually having people come and invade them over and over again and try to take over their country and try to, you know. And so I think it's a country that's experienced so much loss and tragedy. And so I don't want to minimize that by any means. But I hope to say that despite all of the difficulties and hardship and brokenness that this culture has experienced and continues to experience, there is this beauty there. And so for part of that, it's just this real desire for people to again, step in and see, to cultivate respect and love for other cultures and just by experiencing and interacting with people on the pages to see the beauty that is there that we can often, I sort of imagine, especially with Afghanistan, sort of like this broken window and everyone sort of gets cut on the jagged edges and they completely miss this warmth and this beauty that is beyond that frame that daily life still has to happen. And not that great tragedy hasn't happened. Again, I'm not trying to minimize that, but I am trying to invite families and just kind of see that beauty and that warmth. So, the sidetrack to that is just also a lot of times, we don't talk a lot about the word unreached. And so, for people who aren't familiar with that term, especially in missions terminology, unreached is basically from the time someone is born until the day that they die. They do not get a chance to hear who Jesus truly is. There is no Christian to go talk to. There's no church nearby. Sometimes they have to wait years to even find a Christian to ask a question, or if there is a Bible, it may not even be in their language, and it's not like they can get it in the open market without there being consequences for that. So kind of that idea of just there is no access, and so I sort of wanted to raise that awareness as well that like this is real and it matters, as we go back to Isaiah 49:6, because God cares about it. God says I am too great just for one people group. Know Christianity is not just for

One people group is not just for Americans. Christianity is to make God's name great, to bring him glory. And if there is a place that does not know who he is, they are not giving him the glory that he deserves. And God cares about receiving the glory because that's actually what's best for them. And as John Piper says, when we're most satisfied in God, we'd better glorify him. And so that was sort of the heart, too, to kind of bring this together. Like we get to be a part of this global plan that God has for all nations to know and worship him.

And sometimes, as kids, I think, and families, can feel kind of like, I don't know how to do that. How do I step into that? And so I wanted to invite families to see culture, but also to learn how to pray, because prayer really is the work. And so it's not that other things don't make a difference. They totally do. But today, here and now, you guys can take two minutes a week and pray for an Unreached People group. You can take, you know, a few minutes a week, and you can pray for a missionary or your church supports like this.

It's something beautiful. It doesn't have to be complex. You can weave it into the daily rhythms, whether it's on the way to school, you pray at Sunday lunch before bed, whatever it is, you can find a couple of minutes to pray together for this and just watch what God sort of does in your own heart as you begin to kind of lift the things that he cares about in prayer for his name to be made great around the globe.

Valerie - I love that, know, just kind of bringing other cultures and that missionary mindset into our day to day, that it doesn't have to be going to a totally different country as, on a mission strip that we can be on mission in our homes, you know, at our tables, at bedside, just remembering that God is still wanting to reach hearts, even hard hearts, even hearts that have never hurt him. He still desires to reach into those spaces because he does know what's best for us as human beings in general is a relationship with him. And I love how you're doing that. Now, what did one of you kind of put into your own home to help your kids have a greater understanding of these unreached people groups and missionary work across the world?

Helping Kids Understand Different Cultures through Books

Jenny - Yeah, I think because it's something that my husband and I are both fairly passionate about, I think it's, I do want to say like the caveat is just that like, even though this is really passionate, like a passion of mine, I think it's always easy to kind of ebb and flow and sometimes do really well at the season and then sometimes not. So I want to encourage people that, like, this isn't like, everyone's always mastered these things. Even if you go through seasons where you do really well, you're always going to have seasons where you're like, " Oh my gosh, I'm back off track and kind of go back on. But.

In general, our household, I mean, I've used a variety of resources to kind of help guide prayer times so that I'm not always constantly having to do research and look things up. And so part of that is resources, like you can kind of see in my background. I have one by the Daily Grace Company called Around the World, and it's letters to kids. And so it has, like, each day it has like a story, like it's written from a kid from that culture. And then you learn how to kind of pray for them. And then there are other ones like Wakelift Kids puts out Around the World with Kata Mack, and it's about Bible translation from people groups A to Z. So they pick out 26 different ones, and they walk through like this, like a story-based way of looking at that people group and the Bible translation status there and how you can pray. So a lot of it is just finding resources that can kind of invite kids in in a more interactive way. But I've also done like the Operation World for kids. That's a little more like fact-based, and that's not wrong, but that's still something you can pray through all the countries in the world and get a little information.

So kind of mixing it up and looking for opportunities to pray and just being intentional to do that. A lot of times, we tend to do that on the car ride to school in the morning. It's easy for me to take that book and pass it back to one of my kids and be like, " Okay, read this, and then let's pray. That's worked well in our seasons. Also, and that's also sort of the heart of my book, too, is to provide more interactive ways that parents could kind of understand that culture, so they could go on in the next few months.

Just kind of naturally be like, hey, let's pray for Afghans. And they can remember things from the book, look at prayer prompts, and could just be like, let's just go on the way to school without anything, you know, physically in our car, let's just pray for Afghans today. And they could think about different parts of the story. So a big part of that, that's something I've done, is just use different resources. I've created on my blog, actually, a lot of family prayer guides to go through activities, learning about cultures, learning about different ways your family can pray, because I just want it to be easy for families. I don't want it to feel like one more thing I've got to do. You know what I mean? And I think I'm sharing a lot, but they're one of my favorite Advent activities. Can't remember. Was via families, which has great resources for families to pray for the nations and very story-based opportunities, like things as well. But I can't remember if it was via families or Wake Cliff kids, but they had an Advent thing where you prayed for different unreached people groups every day of Advent.

That was awesome. And you could use that outside of Advent. So I love that. So I'm always just looking for simple ways that sort of give us insights, just to pray. I'm always trying to connect like, here's something about this people group that doesn't know, and then here's how to pray. And also, I have a tendency, my son is in travel soccer, and a few months ago we were out of town. We live in a rural county now, but I go an hour away, and we stumbled upon the Cambodian New Year by accident.

And so, like it's getting to the end of the day and all of a sudden I'm like, wait a second, what's going on there? So we just like pull in, you know, and we go in there, and we're just like, what's going on? And they're like, this is the Cambodian New Year. And so we're walking past all of these, you know, statues and the temple and all these things. And just showing my kids like, hey, this is what we've talked about, know, Hinduism, Buddhism, whatever it is, but in this case Buddhism. And we're kind of walking through and just looking at these different things and how to pray. And so then that just gives them a touch point, like it's a little bit uncomfortable, but for them sometimes, because some of the statues can be kind of crazy, but from their perspective, but you can kind of talk through those things with your kids, and then they get a sense of like, okay. And then if they see it again, it's going to be less of a shocker, and they're going to be like, I've seen this before. Okay. And I can, I know how to kind of think through this a little bit better. So just looking for natural opportunities to kind of introduce your kids to different cultures and just seizing them, I think, is helpful as well, not being afraid. We also read a lot of international kid lit, which is what it sounds like: books that are about other cultures, and reading those together and talking about them. Those are all different tools that I sort of use over the years to kind of pull my kids. With most international kidlets, I review those books on my blog sometimes, but I would encourage that sometimes there are some that are really awesome. There are some that you might want to read ahead. So that's why I try to put some of those on my blog, because it's not that it's bad. It's just as you're reading about different cultures, I have a little more comfort with that than some people might.  I'm always kind of helping parents understand, like, hey, this is how we could talk through this, be aware that this is here. So I think it's a great thing to actually, I tend to read together with my kids those things so we can have conversations, or if there's something I feel, you know, we feel maybe they're not ready for something, you can kind of skip over that part. But most of the time, they're just really great books to read together.

Valerie - I'm always looking for an opportunity for a conversation. I'm always taking my kids' questions. We have many diverse cultures in which we live, and we drive by Hindu temples and Buddhist temples, and there's always just these questions that come when you're driving by and just using your kids' natural curiosity to be like, yeah, this is what they believe. This is this group of people. This is why they are here. You know, this is why, you know, there was a need for them to leave their country, if that is part of that story. And just kind of talking about, you know, does God, you and my kids in particular, as I said earlier, they're very good, ready, ready to fight. I was like, well, let's remember that God loves these people, too, and that we can step into that space. We can pray for them in this space. We can look for the opportunity for the kid who may not be fitting in or being able to communicate, because we do have a lot of kids from other countries in our school systems. And so it's just really challenging, but also very good to just take those opportunities our kids present us and be like, God loves the world, and he wants everyone to know him. And I love the heart behind your book and that you're kind of going into all these other different spaces. Now, Jenny, did you always want to be an author?

Jenny Marcelene’s Writing Journey

Jenny - Not necessarily. Think for a long time, probably until I really stepped into trying to think about book writing in 2021, up until that point, I had always just sort of told myself I wasn't capable of book-length projects, essentially. Like that was sort of just what I had told myself, that I was better at telling other people's stories. I really shouldn't do things more than 2,500 words. So I always thought of myself as a writer. That was never a question for me.

But like a book author, I thought that's for some other people who can think on really large scales or something. And so I think it wasn't until I went through a mastermind program in 2020/2021 and I got kind of the support, the structure, and started to develop the skills I would need to do bigger projects that I realized, with those three things, God can equip you to write a book. And it didn't mean that it was great. It just meant that, like you could learn those skills with the right support and structure over time. And so I think, yeah, so I think.

I love kind of where I'm at, but it is something that I never initially thought I would be capable of. So it's encouraging to remember that God can kind of give us what we need to step out in faith.

Valerie - I love it. He equips those he calls. And so sometimes it has to be taking the time to learn something new and to step into a space you're not comfortable in and be like, all right, God, here you can have this part of me.

Jenny - Yeah, and especially with kids' fiction. Mean, I had spent pretty much all of my adult life for 20 years, you know, like basically just writing nonfiction. And so here I am all of a sudden, I've read a ridiculous amount of chapter books with my kids, and I read a ridiculous amount of middle-grade fiction. But God used that for me to start learning how to write chapter books for kids, you know, and so it's still different, but there's crossover. Anyway, so it is an interesting thing how God sort of begins to use different things that you wouldn't have thought were important all of a sudden. Yeah, you need to read a lot of books in that genre if you're going to write. And I've read enough scene amounts. So it was helpful, you know.

Valerie - Very neat. Well, what is one of the most impactful books in your life, Jenny, other than the Bible?

Most Impactful Book for Jenny Marcelene

Jenny - Yes, I know I always think like, of course, the oddest answer is the Bible, but I figured I wasn't allowed to say that. But I will think that I'm actually a big fiction book reader, but I'll share one nonfiction book and then a fiction book. So the nonfiction book is actually written by a mentor of mine, but I love all of her books. It's called Sacred Chaos by Tricia McCary Rhodes. And I really love this because she is a woman who has sat in God's presence over and over. Just made beautiful by God, you know, like just a beautiful heart.

And so, just solid. So anyway, her books reflect that. Like she's an excellent writer, but how she does it, there is nothing about striving in her books. And so she's always just helping you kind of connect with Jesus. And so this book, The Sacred Chaos, is really about connecting with God in the busyness of life, looking for those moments to just remember God's presence with you and to turn yourself back to him. So I really love that book. It's super short chapters with really practical ways to actually connect with God in the life that you have. So I love that book. That was just a great way to continue to be mindful of my faith in God throughout my days. And then the second one, the fiction one, I'll say, is Peace Like a River by Lee Dingle. That book, I always thought of Christian fiction as a bit cheesy and subpar for a long time. And that didn't make it right. It's just sort of that's how, for a long time, I thought about it. I read that book upon a recommendation of a friend of mine, a writing friend and mentor, and I was blown away. Like that was when I was like, okay, this is what all fiction should be like. Like this is beautiful. And so I think that's it, it was just a turning point for me where it was just such a well-crafted Christian fiction book that I was just like, okay, this can be really beautiful. And of course, I found so much since then that is just like that. But, you know, because I just hadn't really been aware of that space, I think as much until that point. So that really opened my eyes to how much incredible fiction is out there, written by Christian authors. And so that's been a joy to find over the years as well.

Valerie - I love that Christian fiction has definitely gone in seasons where it's been really good and really impactful and then really cheesy, and you're like, cringe. But I love that we were walking back into a season of Christian fiction, a Christian fiction, not having to be blatantly, you know, gospel on every page, but the heart behind the gospel is woven into the pages so well that anybody can enjoy a Christian fiction book. And so I love that we're getting back to that space. Very neat. Well, Jenny, what can we expect next from you?

Jenny - Yeah, so the Dreamer is my first book in the series. And then the second book is going to be set in Sri Lanka, and it's called The Menders. And it'll be coming out, Lord willing, probably in the fall of 2026. So I'm excited about that one and wrapping up edits on that and whatnot, and looking forward to book three. I thought I knew which country it was going to be, but now I'm questioning that. So I'm going to be starting research as well soon for the third book. And so I'm excited about getting to dive back into that because those are really fun. I don't know where the story is going to go until I start doing interviews and research.

Valerie - Very exciting. Love the writing process that sometimes you have one plan, and God says, Nope, we're going over here. And so it just shows that God is definitely part of that creative process. Well, Jenny, where can people find out more about you and your books?

How to Connect with Jenny Marcelene

Jenny - Yeah, the easiest place is on my website, jennymarsaline.com. And then also you can find me on Instagram at jennymarsaline.

Valerie - We’ll make sure to have those links in the show notes so people can find you easily. Thank you so much for joining me today, Jenny.

Jenny - Yeah, thanks for having me.

Valerie - And thank you for joining Ginny and me on this episode of the Bookworthy podcast. Check the show notes for any books or links that we discussed, and let us know in the comments what your favorite movie is. Help other parents discover Bookworthy by leaving a review and sharing it with friends. Happy reading.