Six-year-old Mia misses her daddy who is serving in the military and deployed to Africa. While at Camp Gecko at her grandparents' ranch in central Texas, she learns about Africa and imagines waving to her daddy as she rides around in the safari's Ranger.

The best part about Camp Gecko is the new friends she makes -- children from a family of missionaries to Africa! She learns of the hardships of missionary life while they inform people about God. Thankful the seven campers are only pretending to be in Africa, they go bowling, act in funny skits, make animal-shaped cookies, catch frogs, and go on treasure hunts. Also while at camp, Mia beats everyone in shooting wild game and helps discover an escaped lion hiding in the barn. While she is having so much fun at Camp Gecko, what does Mia forget about? How does her brother, Thomas, help her understand that everything will be okay?