Where's Heidi? Let the Blog Tour Begin

Tragedy hits without warning. It struck Lisa Buske on April 3, 1994.

In her book Where's Heidi,  Lisa M. Buske takes us on her journey of healing after a phone call, announcing the abduction of her sister, rocked her happy place.

Today she turns her tragedy into triumph with her well-written and amazing book of the power of God in this sin-sick world.

Filled with Biblical truth, a walk through Ecclesiastes, and discussion questions to help you, Lisa's book Where's Heidi should be read by anyone who faces tragedy or knows someone who is grieving loss.We never know what news the next phone call brings.

Lisa M. Buske came into my life like a surprise gift from God. We met at the Upstate New York Christian Writer's Gathering. I was one of the teachers who soon realized God planted Lisa in my class to teach me about Him.

Where's Heidi is a book God and Lisa wrote to heal those who are brokenhearted, to comfort those who grieve, to give hope to the hopeless. Where's Heidi is one sister's journey, but it is every sister's journey. It is my journey. It is the journey we all face on any given day when tragedy strikes a family.

Where's Heidi is a book I wish I had read when I was 16 and my baby brother had cancer. I remember the pain of the terminal diagnosis and the ravaging effects on our family and my heart. I was the sister losing a baby brother. I had to be strong for my parents whose pain was so evident and real. No one really asked me how I was doing. They cared, but the grief was so great, no one knew what to say or how to help.

 Lisa knows.  She understands  grief and despair. She knows feeling helpless. She's screamed those screams of anguish behind closed doors. 

Where's Heidi is a book every person needs to read to understand a sibling's heart and a Savior's comfort, for Where's Heidi leads grieving people to Jesus Christ — the One — the only One — Who can heal such pain.

I commend Lisa for her obedience and courage in writing this powerful and helpful book. Burying her thoughts in a tear-streaked pillow would have been easier than bearing her soul to a world that needs to hear her message of God's amazing love and grace.

With passion and determination, Lisa obeyed God and honored her sister by making Heidi's abduction count for good in this world so children won't be kidnapped, families will be helped, and God will be glorified.

 

 

 

About the Author:

Lisa M. Buske’s sister, Heidi M. Allen was kidnapped on April 3, 1994 never to be seen or heard from again. God has taken a tragic instance of her life and transformed it into a life-saving occurrence. She writes with passion and out of obedience for the God who saved her knowing others need to hear her story. Lisa’s relationship with Jesus opened the door to a hope and healing she didn’t think was possible.

Lisa’s husband, Ed, daughter, Mary, and her parents serve as Lisa’s team as she writes and speaks. Lisa’s faith in God and dedication to family motivate and inspire her to do and be the best woman, wife, mother, and sister she can be. Her life proves it is possible to survive when God is part of the equation.

In addition to writing and speaking, Lisa works as a teacher’s assistant for her local school district and serves at different capacities within her church.

 

Book Synopsis:

In 1994, my only sister was abducted while working alone at a local convenience store. The book opens with an early morning phone call then details the emotions, grief, and confusion felt in those first moments while transitioning through the days, months, and years to follow.

A sibling's journey is different from that of a parent. Our role and feelings cannot compare yet they are just as important. Parents experience the greatest loss of their lives through the loss of their child. The emotional loss of the missing child’s siblings, has a similar and traumatic effect in their lives too.

I lost more than my sister on April 3, 1994 I lost my faith. Thanks to the bold faith of one child I have hope and a story to share. There is no one person or thing here on earth to replace Heidi or the friendship we had together yet after ten years of searching, I realized there is Someone who can, God.

“Mrs. Buske, you need Jesus.” Words that changed my life for the better.

My name is Lisa M. Buske and Heidi Allen is my sister. She remains missing but never forgotten. Our journeys after loss may vary yet the pain, grief, and need for hope are similar. This is my story of discovery, healing, and hope from the moment I learn of Heidi’s kidnapping until today.

Life after loss is a rollercoaster ride of memories and emotions.

Will you take this ride with me?

Purchasing Information:

Where’s Heidi? One Sister’s Journey will be released, April 3, 2013. Lisa’s book will be available at Amazon.com for your convenience. Additional bookstores and locations will be posted on her website once confirmed.

http://www.lisambuske.com/wheres-heidi-one-sisters-journey.html

Lisa will be hosting a “scavenger hunt” as part of her TOP’S Tuesday blog series in the month of March to reveal a mystery location and book signing on April 3, 2013. There will be a limited number of books available at this location but more will be available at the book release party at The River’s End Bookstore in Oswego, New York later this same day.

More information will be posted as it’s determined.

Contact Information:

To learn more about Lisa M. Buske or to follow her writing and speaking:

Email: lbuskewriter@aol.com

Website: http://LisaMBuske.com

Blog: http://lisabuske.weebly.com/blog.html

Facebook: “Where’s Heidi?” book page and “Lisa M Buske” author page

Twitter: @LisaBuske

AIM: Lbuskewriter

Writing for Him...to keep Heidi's memory alive with prayers to heal those affected by abduction.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 -2 (NIV)

Give yourself a splash of serenity and read Where's Heidi. Available April 3, 2013.

18 Years Living and 18 Years Missing. A Sad Anniversary of Heidi Allen's Kidnapping.

Where were you April 3, 1994? Here's a clue: it was Easter Sunday. Many of us were waking to Easter baskets and sunrise services and new clothes and fun with our families.

April 3, 1994 changed the life of one family. Their 18 year old daughter and sister and granddaughter and niece was abducted from the D & W Convenience Store in New Haven, NY in the early morning, never to be seen by her family again.

Just about the time our own little ones were waking us excited to begin the annual Easter basket search, a different type of search was beginning to find Heidi M. Allen.

I remember hearing the news of Heidi Allen's kidnapping. It was devastating to think about another family with hurt so deep I can't imagine. "Another girl is missing." I said to my husband. We were sad knowing Sara Wood had been kidnapped the summer before. Sara was close to our daughters' ages. She went for a bike ride on a country road and vanished. Now, not too far from Sara or from our home, another sweet daughter had disappeared.

 Dan and I prayed for Sara and Heidi and their families and for the evil of this world to go away and for our own children to be safe. Well, not just our children. All children. Who could do this to a child, to a family? It's unthinkable, but the Allen family and the Wood family will never stop thinking about their precious daughters and the sweet Allen sisters. Nor should we.

Heidi slipped from my mind until the Summer of 2010 when Heidi's sister attended the Upstate New York Christian Writer's Gathering. Lisa Buske volunteered to read a section of the book she was writing. A brave thing for an author to do. Even more so when the story hits so close to your heart. The mere mention of Heidi's name brings tears. Lisa stood and read a portion of Where's Heidi? The Search Begins. Lisa's book of her sister's abduction is told from a sister's point of pain. As a sibling of a sister or a brother in deep trouble, I know Lisa not only lost her sister, she lost her life and her family as she knew it. It's a tragedy.

Lisa and I bonded immediately. I understood her pain a little bit. My brother was given a cancer death sentence when I was 16. I remember the pain of losing a brother, as well as my mother and father who spent night and day at the hospital (as they should have). A family and a life as I knew it,  ended. A sibling hurts for their own loss, for the loss of their sister or brother, for the pain they see their parents and grandparents and other family members go through. You feel so weak and vulnerable and sad and at the same time you know you have to be strong for everybody else. It's awful because then you feel guilty for not being strong enough to endure the stake driven into your own heart. I have good news, the Lord healed my brother. He lives. I celebrate birthdays with him. That chapter of my life is over.

Heidi's life is still an open book. Eighteen birthdays have gone by with no birthday hug from Heidi. She was never found, although a man is serving a prison sentence for her abduction. It is assumed she is dead. Who can assume those things? Not me. I salute the Allen family for their victory in the pain. They are filled with love and life and fun and joy because; well, Heidi would have wanted them to be happy, I am sure.

I feel like I've delved into the private life of this dear family. Forgive me Allens if I have. My only goal is to keep people from forgetting Heidi. What can we do to find her? As Lisa said in her blog post, there are only two people she is sure knows where Heidi is and what happened to her: God and the man in prison. Two extremes. Both of them keeping quiet about Heidi's life.

I am a believer in Jesus Christ. He said "Do not be afraid. I am with you always." I feel confident that whatever happened to Heidi, Jesus was with her and His angels gave her peace and calm and the assurance of His presence in the storm. Why hasn't God revealed to the Allen family the location of her body? I don't know. I do know that while they searched for Heidi, Lisa found God. She turned to God instead of away from Him. He transformed her life. For that, I am thankful.

I'm a better person because my brother had cancer and we almost lost him. Lisa confesses she is a better person because her sister was kidnapped and she lost her. When tragedy hits it can teach you life lessons you'll never learn otherwise. Lisa has a huge heart for people and a zest for life. She'll probably never complain about the weather. Her priorities are right on target. I love her dearly.

Where's Heidi? Won't you help find her? How?

Pray and pray and never stop praying.

If you have any information, contact the Oswego County Sherriff's Department at 888-349-3411.

Follow Lisa Buske's blog http://www.lisabuske.weebly.com. Her post today are words of God's grace in her life and a celebration of Heidi's life.  Thank you, Lisa, for lifting my spirits!

Be aware of and volunteer for The Ride for Missing Children and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

 Pray Lisa's book, Where's Heidi? The Search Begins finds the right publisher.

 Invite Lisa to speak to your organization. You won't walk away the same after meeting and hearing Lisa. 

May God give her strength for her journey to find her one and only sister, Heidi, with the help of the one and only God, Jesus Christ.

Will you pray for the Allen family today on the anniversary of Heidi's abduction? Better yet, drop by Lisa's blog and tell her you are praying, http://www.lisabuske.weebly.com.

Please God rain Splashes of Serenity upon the Allen family and bring Heidi home to them, I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.