Marshmallow Stew

Each year the congregation of Littlejohn United Methodist Church presents an outdoor pageant telling the story of the first Christmas. Visitors to the event meet in the church's park shelter at Lelia Tuttle Memorial Park and wait to be escorted in groups through the trail. The Christmas story unfolds along the path in a total of twelve scenes. 

This was to be the 25th year of the trail, but along came Covid-19 and ended that plan. 

However, I've been inclined to the theology that when one door closes, God offers another.

In this case, a comic book was the other. This fully illustrated book is based on a true event that had us all giggling around the bonfire that warms the visitors after the hike through the frosty woods.

So, as the story goes, once upon a Christmas Trail, two girls misheard the greeter's invitation that led to this once upon a time book, Marshmallow Stew.  All through the trail, they were anticipating marshmallow stew waiting for them at the bonfire. But there was no stew, only hot chocolate and marshmallows, too.

I knew the minute I heard the uproar around the bonfire that there was a book in there. 

I wrote it and had it on the back burner for a couple years. Then this summer, with the pandemic flaring, I realized the Christmas Trail just might not be possible this year. Unfortunately, I was right.

I contacted an artist from the congregation, Cheyenne Kimberlin, and asked her if she was available to bring life to the story with her illustrations. She was, and she most certainly did!

The fact that she was once an actor in the trail helped her as she drew the pictures. We worked on it together and uploaded it to the comic book company, Ka-Blam. It has not been printed as yet, but in the meantime, it is available now on amazon as an ebook for the low price of ninety-nine cents.

So it changes a little something in the translation from comic book format to ebook, but the message is still there: 

Two girls learn the true meaning of Christmas. I hope you will, too.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen