{"id":12,"date":"2014-07-29T01:48:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T01:48:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2015-01-23T02:09:41","modified_gmt":"2015-01-23T02:09:41","slug":"about-susan","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/?page_id=12","title":{"rendered":"About Susan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photo220236-Full\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Susan Gail Swanson, author of adventure stories for the young and the young at heart.<\/p>\n

LEAD CHILDREN TO GOD, following the Lord is an ADVENTURE. True life stories from around the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ABOUT ME<\/p>\n

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I graduated from University High School in Westwood. I went on to college where I majored in history, because I loved learning about exciting foreign places. Even as a child, I was interested in traveling and loved National Geographic. My relatives were all travelers who went to Europe, Asia and Scandinavian countries. I listened to their stories and wanted to travel, too. In fact, I just recently found out that one of my aunts was one of the first missionaries to China back in the \u201820\u2019s. I\u2019d love to learn more about her, I have no records. .<\/p>\n

I married young and divorced even younger. As a single mom I struggled to raise two children on my own. My ex-husband spent time in jail, so I did not receive any child support. I struggled with depression and wondering whether my life had any value. My son led me to the Lord when I was in my 30\u2019s. His life was a wonderful witness, because at age 14 he was a committed believer of Jesus. He spent his weekends in Mexico on mission trips. My friends spent their weekends partying, going nowhere. I knew my son was praying for me. I walked on the beach and asked the Lord to help me. The first story I read in the Bible was about a crippled man who got up and followed the Lord. I realized I needed to follow God. My life changed from depression to joy and making a difference for the kingdom.<\/p>\n

My son made a commitment to be a missionary to a tribe in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. I was upset with his decision, because I did not know how I would be able to keep in touch with my grandchildren in such a remote place. I was challenged to take a short term mission trip to Papua New Guinea for a month and it turned out to be a life changing trip; a month that changed my life. I came back with a new respect for God and for his missionaries.<\/p>\n

This was in 1994 and every year I went on a short-term trip to serve God. It was the most exciting adventurous time of my life. Following God is the most exciting adventure ever. I journeyed to Medallin, Colombia to work with street children. I smuggled Bibles into Viet Nam, China, Cuba and even into Gaza Strip. There were some very scary moments, but the Lord always had a better plan.<\/p>\n

So many of us live with the \u201cWHAT IFS\u201d\u2026\u2026 unknown fears about the future!<\/p>\n

What if I get caught smuggling Bibles?…I did.<\/p>\n

What if I lose my luggage?…..I did, in Cuba when it was full of illegal Bibles.<\/p>\n

What if I end up in a really scary situation?…..I did, Medellin, Columbia is very dangerous.<\/p>\n

I stepped out in faith and the Lord protected me in all these places. I blessed others and they blessed me in return. God never ceases to amaze me. I am just an ordinary Grandmother, who stepped out in fait to serve an amazing God.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blog title: Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things \u2013 stepping out of your comfort zone and living life to the fullest. Stop asking \u201cwhat if\u201d and just go for it. Let God move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susan Gail Swanson, author of adventure stories for the young and the young at heart. LEAD CHILDREN TO GOD, following the Lord is an ADVENTURE. True life stories from around… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66,"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12\/revisions\/66"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/susangailswanson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}