Rekindle the Spirit of Sharing with . . .
Maximum Joy
. . . a novel written by the founders of OSC, to share.*
Rekindling the Spirit of Sharing in the human race is an intimidating task for Nick Perugino. But when St. Nicholas offers him the opportunity,
Nick can’t ignore the burning desire in his heart to serve the world.
Compelled to travel the world and share this spirit, he experiences the hardships of leper children in India, works with Mother Teresa comforting the sick and dying,
and delivers life saving supplies in Africa.
With the aid of Michael, his Guardian Angel, and the Angels of Faith, Hope and Charity,
Nick works to overcome the adversities that sabotage his efforts to improve the condition of the human race around the world, sharing the Kingdom of God on earth.
* Proceeds from this novel will benefit children throughout the world!
Expanded Synopsis:
Maximum Joy is the story of the life of Nick Perugino, who accepts St. Nicholas’ challenge
to rekindle the Spirit of Sharing in the human race.
As he grows, Nick’s strong belief that Santa Claus exists makes him the subject of ridicule.
He can not understand why he is teased about his belief. Nick’s mother assures him that there
was a real Santa named St. Nicholas, who was a great gift bearer.
Nine-year-old Nick is captivated by the suggestion that some day he could be a Santa,
a great gift bearer, just like St. Nicholas.
As a child, Nick forms a special bond with a neighbor, Sara. He overlooks her deformity,
mesmerized by her smile and joy,
unaware that their feelings for each other would follow them throughout the years.
An evening visit from St. Nicholas overwhelms young Nick as he learns that he was
chosen at birth to rekindle the Spirit of Sharing in Mankind and it is time for him to fulfill his mission.
Michael, his guardian angel, also visits Nick, sharing that Nick has been given special gifts from the
Creator because of his commitment to help St. Nicholas rekindle the Spirit.
At sixteen, Nick has spent most of his time helping others. He is thrilled when his mother
makes him a Santa suit to wear for his first toy drive distribution, a suit that he will be
wearing for decades to come. Nick enjoys wearing his Santa suit during the holidays from
high school into college, but he finds himself preoccupied with thoughts of becoming a priest.
After a year at Notre Dame, it is recommended that Nick take some time off from the seminary
to immerse himself in service as he thinks about his calling, his purpose in life.
Nick’s quest begins in Calcutta and is far from anything that he could imagine.
His assignment then leads him to Binhar and a school for lepers. His stay at the school is filled
with unexpected trials as well as special friendships that symbolize joy among the misery,
motivating Nick as he travels back to Calcutta to work with Mother Teresa.
Nick cherishes each moment that he has with her, trying to absorb her gentle yet strong spirit
to take with him to Africa. Dandora, in East Africa, is Nick’s next visit.
During his stay, Nick observes the disorganization and waste of urgently needed supplies
when stopping at mission camps set up throughout the region.
This begins Nick’s obsession to develop an umbrella organization to maximize distribution and
eliminate waste. As Nick’s time in Africa comes to a close, he starts a training session with
a new group of volunteers. He is thrilled to discover that one of the volunteers is Sara
from his childhood. Their reunion leads to marriage, children and a career teaching others
of the condition of the human race.
One evening Nick dreams that he transforms into Santa and is in a sleigh with St. Nicholas
who takes him on a journey around the world, showing him how St. Nicholas and the
Spirit of Sharing is portrayed and celebrated. As they return, St. Nicholas speaks to Nick
about his mission, explaining that three angels, the Angels of Faith, Hope and Charity,
will visit him. For the weeks that follow, Nick is sleepless, attempting to write a screenplay.
His intention is to use the profits of the movie to fund a global child relief effort and
monitoring system. When the screenplay does not receive a positive response,
they decide to begin the new child relief agency developed in the story.
Nick’s path is set and he and Sara work to develop Operation Serving Children (OSC)
into a local to global child relief agency. Life is good with the debut of OSC and Sara
expecting their third child. Soon complications develop for OSC and for Sara. Sara goes into labor,
enduring an emergency c-section. The baby girl is healthy, but Sara is in a coma.
Nick is devastated. After three days, Sara awakens with angelic intervention.
Sara’s full recovery enables Nick to travel back to Kenya with an OSC volunteer,
delivering the first medical kits for OSC to a clinic that Nick helped build many years before.
The poverty is heart wrenching. Nick’s travels make him even more passionate in his cause
to make a meaningful impact against needless poverty and suffering. He attempts to expand
his board of directors, only to find them discouraged with Nick’s success and abilities
to run an agency. Nick becomes very discouraged, ready to skip his usual Christmas collections
and distribution as he does not have the funding to help anyone.
Michael appears again, heralding the visit of three angels. Engulfed in flames is the Spirit of Justice,
the Angel of Hope. She takes Nick into the future, showing the positive results of hope in
places that Nick has lived and worked. Nick then experiences the force of a strong waterfall
that plunges him deep in a pool of water. Here he meets the Spirit of Wisdom, Angel of Charity.
He follows the angel in an upward flow of water into the cosmos, witnessing each act of kindness
as it displays a bright light through the heavens. Spirit of Energy, Angel of Faith then appears in
front of Nick in a cloud. Energy shows Nick how important the human race is to the Creator
and how faith is fed by love that is shared. Nick is propelled through space,
witnessing the special events of his life and feels the amazing love of the Creator.
The angel instructs Nick to keep on believing and not to give up on OSC.
The next morning Nick is energized and ready to work on his mission.
Things quickly turn around for OSC. They receive substantial donations, the screenplay is
turned into this novel and grows into a movie success, prompting support from individuals
and organizations, allowing Nick to put the umbrella organization that he dreamed of in place.
Twenty-five years of sharing the Spirit with so many accomplishments reducing hunger,
disease and hopelessness is celebrated.
For the final time, Nick is awakened with a visit from Michael and St. Nicholas,
who express their pride in his accomplishments. He is rewarded with a glimpse of eternity,
a glimpse of maximum joy.
In the morning sunlight, snoring unhappily awakens Sara. As she goes to nudge Nick's body,
Sara is shocked by what she finds!
Dreams Do Come True!Copyright 2008