The secret lives of church ladies continue to be explored in "The Mission of Mildred Budge: The Short Adventures of Mildred Budge." Like the first volume of short stories, "Miss Budge in Love," "The Mission of Mildred Budge" offers a fresh and often funny behind-the-scenes look at Southern church life with an emphasis in this collection on the work of missions, fund-raising for missions, and the mysterious ways that people unite in the fellowship of the saints called worship. Like the two full-length novels ("Mildred Budge in Cloverdale" and "Mildred Budge in Embankment") the stories in this newest collection look deeply into the motivations of hometown Christians and the power that fuels their faith. While the stories in this collection have a missions focus, they branch off into a spontaneous exorcism ("Sibel, You're Getting Fat") considerations about grief ("The Unfaithful Widow), and even the kind of funeral some people want ("Muffins all Around"). Lifelong friendships are explored and even the best of friends in church who routine squabble doing committee work are rightly sent to time-out in the story "The Doghouse Fellowship." One reviewer called it "wickedly funny." If you are involved in your church or in missions or in women's ministries, this collection of church stories about church life will enrich your understanding of how other people in the church think and believe. Any church lady in your life will want a copy. There are seventeen stories and a Bonus excerpt from the most recent Mildred Budge novel. The stories are: 1.Pulling a Martin Luther 2.The Golden Rule of Missions 3.Lunch with the Boys 4.Widow's Mite Nite 5.Sibel, You're Getting Fat 6.Spiritual Gifts: X Marks the Spot 7.Loose change and Happy Dollars 8.Recipes from the Grave 9.Practice Being Dead 10.In Your Easter Bonnet 11.The Unfaithful Widow 12.See You In Heaven 13.Volunteering with Hospice 14.The Doghouse Fellowship 15.Dixie Attends a Missions Meetin' 16.Praying Hands and Other War Stories 17.Muffins all Around 18.Bonus excerpt: Mildred Budge in Embankment Other works by Daphne Simpkins include: Christmas in Fountain City What Al Left Behind A Cookbook for Katie Mildred Budge in Embankment Mildred Budge in Cloverdale Miss Budge in Love The Long Good Night Nat King Cole: An Unforgettable Life of Music Daphne Simpkins lives in Montgomery, Alabama where she writes about family life, cooking, caregiving, church life in the South, Nat King Cole, W. C. Handy and assorted other subjects. She is a long-time writer whose works have been published mostly in the United States and Canada. She is on the speakers bureau for The Alabama Humanities Foundation and may be easily reached through Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.com