Summary: Fifty Years, Fifty Stories is a narrative history of the Mennonite Mission in Somalia, 1953-2003. Narrated through both text and photos, in coffee-table format, is the interplay between two worldviews: of the Islamic host culture and of its Christian missionary guests. The book's understated vignettes reveal the challenge the Mennonite Mission presented to Somali culture and religion and the cost of restraint, commitment, and personal sacrifice on the part of missionaries and believers Comment: "The story of the church’s witness is always embedded in a context. In Somalia this context is as intense as the hot desert winds. . . .What becomes apparent in this account is the singularity of bearing witness. Whatever . . . the original intent, circumstances soon made all mission activities subservient to this one purpose. Tensions with local Islamic enthusiasts and opportunistic political leaders came to a climax in the ultimate witness—the martyrdom of Merlin Grove, and the later martyrdom of some Somalis. Bearing witness for some missionaries included public rebuff while others were forced to leave the country. Programs were under constant public scrutiny. . . . “The understated vignettes of this
graceful book show the manner of witness that will
increasingly characterize the work of the church in the
twenty-first century: long-term commitment rather than
short-term expectations; careful listening to local
voices; respectful inter-religious relationships;
programs and strategies which respond to changing
situations; a commitment to peace building amidst
disorder and hostility; and rediscovering the
authenticating character of martyrdom, the last word in
bearing witness.” “Fifty years of the Mennonite
Mission in Somalia captured in the subtle colors of a
master artist—impressionistic, evocative,
revelatory. Eby has sketched the story of a mission, a
nation, and a people in suggestive vignettes that combine
carefully selected detail with a keen view of the whole.
Two peoples, worlds apart, meet in transformative
friendship.” “We are convinced . . . divine
intervention . . . brought Mennonites and Somalis
together, and allowed them to live together with respect
and mutual appreciation as religious people from very
different theological backgrounds.” Quote: "Often I
felt as did J. B. Phillips at work on his paraphrase of
the New Testament. In Ring of Truth, his
testimony of that experience, he writes: ‘Although I
did my utmost to preserve an emotional detachment, I
found again and again that the material under my hands
was strangely alive." The materials under my hands
were letters, diaries, journals, feature articles,
official reports written by missionaries of every
profession and psychic disposition, a delightful
confluence of characters joined in one mission: to make
the way of Jesus the Messiah known among the Somali
peoples." Market: Pastors and church leaders; mission workers; missiologists and students of mission; anyone open to a gripping account of the tragedies and joys of Mennonite mission activity in Somalia. Shelving: History—Anabaptist, Mennonite, of service organizations; Missiology, mission, missionaries; Pacifism, nonresistance; Anabaptists; Mennonites. BISAC: History, Religion. RTM: 431 History/World; 690 Religion/Ethics Publisher: Cascadia
Publishing House (the new name of Pandora Press U.S.) Fifty Years, Fifty Stories orders:
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