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Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
The last few weeks I have been reading a great book from Conjurske Publications called Venturing with God in Congo by Darrell Champlin. You can purchase the book here.
Briefly, this book is about one family’s journey as they effectively ministered to the people of Congo for over around 10 years. The book is mainly a collection of different stories from this time period. There is way more too it and I recommend you pick up your own copy to read more details about their journey.
A few parts of the book really spoke to me as an American Christian not part of the international mission scene.
Sleeping Arrangements
So first and for most, they had some crazy sleeping arrangements that were discussed in the book. Their kids all slept in cages! You read that correctly cages! This was to prevent animals from getting to them, but as a mother I could not imagine getting any sleep knowing that my kids were in cages to protect them from animals. Yet again, this is an American in a 1st world country, but still! This impacted me a lot and I still think about it everyday.
Crazy Animal Stories
Living in the African jungle provides a lot of crazy animal stories. My favorite one was about the Rogue Elephant (ps read the book and you will find out why it was so crazy!) and the Cobra in the kitchen. I am very very very scared of snakes. In fact, I hate them! I will say it! I would not have been calm in getting a cobra upset just to shoot it! (Crazy I know-hint hint read the book!)
Description of a Missionary
Towards the end of the book, it is discussed about what it means to be a missionary in an international field. One of my favorite quotes from the book is: “The fact is that the peoples of the world do not live in different ways int he same wold, they live in different worlds” (pg. 227, Venturing with God in Congo). I have been pondering this since I finished the book. We always think about helping the international missionaries, but many times we think oh they are just living like Americans overseas, but it is completely different and that is okay! We need to make sure we are asking these international missionaries what they really need, not just sending what we think they need. It is important because every mission field will be different.
Those were some of my favorite parts of the book. I have been thinking about this book for a while and I think it will always be on my mind.
This hardback book was very well made and can withstand being read over and over again. There are some great pictures in the middle that can help you visualize all the different stories. I recommend reading the book and then going back and looking at the pictures with a changed mind.
Please check out this book and let me know what you think!
Click below for more reviews of Venturing with God in Congo and see how other families used this book with their children.
