Poikka's Story - Hardcover

by Lila R. Smiley (Author)

A missionary alone in the Peruvian jungle. A fearless dachshund who refuses to leave her side. And a snake as long as a man is tall, coiled just feet from her door.

When Lila Smiley left Oregon to serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators, she never expected her fiercest protector to come on four short legs. Poikka wasn't bred for courage--dachshunds rarely are--but from the moment he chose her, he faced down boas, guarded her jungle home, and refused to back down no matter the danger.

Poikka's Story follows one woman and her extraordinary dog through the remote mission stations of the Amazon, where every walk down a jungle trail could end in an encounter with something coiled and waiting. But beneath the suspense of snake charges and jungle standoffs runs a deeper story: how an ordinary dog became proof, again and again, of a faithful God watching over an unlikely family thousands of miles from home.

Told with the warmth of a woman who lived it and the wonder of someone who never stopped noticing God's hand in the small, loyal things, this is a memoir for anyone who has ever loved an animal fiercely--or needed a reminder that faithfulness, in any form, is never wasted.

If you love true stories of unbreakable bonds, mission-field courage, and the quiet ways faith shows up in daily life, Poikka is waiting to meet you.