Journey of Hope: Stories of courage and faith from
Africa
Jean Gibson
Monarch Books £8.99
(978-0-85721-295-5)
Church Times Bookshop £8.10
THERE is so much bad news that comes out of Africa that it is
refreshing to read a book whose subtitle is Stories of courage
and faith from Africa.
The author travelled through Malawi and Kenya in 2011; she had
taught in Kenya a decade previously, and was also able to draw on
contacts made through the Presbyterian missionaries from Ireland
who work in both countries. Wherever she went, she listened to
people's stories, and this book is the result.
We hear the Africans relating their experience, which may be
rather different from what outsiders may assume their experience to
be. The story of Kasoni, a Samburu woman in Kenya, is very
instructive. She resists female genital mutilation (FGM), not
because it is painful and dangerous to health (which are the usual
Western arguments against it), but because she sees it as
incompatible with her Christian faith. And she is prepared, for
the sake of the faith, to remain unmarried (for no man will have an
uncircumcised woman) and an outcast from her tribe and family. The
greatest pressure to be "cut" comes from her mother and
father.
All Christians in Kenya have campaigned against FGM, but this
story is enlightening, because it shows us how the campaign can be
won.
The other revelation here is that so much of the work done by
missionaries is not material. True, there are things like building
bridges over crocodile-infested rivers so that children can get to
school; but the Christian faith has also given people the courage
to face up to the challenges of life. Africa has an appal-ling
road-safety record, sadly, and, in this book, we meet several
people bereaved by traffic accidents who, nevertheless, manage to
continue their lives in difficult circumstances.
Faith is a great gift, and, unlike material aid, it never goes
to waste.