God's Holy Breath

About the Book

The Gbaya people who live in central Africa believe that life is breath that is given by God’s Holy Breath. When a baby is born, they receive this Holy Breath. When a loved one dies, their breath goes home to that Holy Breath. This story illustrates the concept of oral tradition used by the Gbaya people to teach young generations. Children will see life and death from a new perspective, looking at it through the eyes and culture of the Gbaya people.

About the Author

The author, Olin K. Sletto, is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Pastor Sletto, his wife Connie, and their children lived in the Central African Republic for 15 years as missionaries of the ELCA. Learning the Gbaya language, living side by side with the people, and seeing life through their culture, provided them with another lens through which they grew to understand God’s great love, shown even at death. This story is a glimpse of that understanding.