This is a really interesting book on Dr Carl K Becker. Dr Becker was a missionary with the Africa Inland Mission, living in the Congo, and is most noted for his work in founding the Oicha Hospital.
This book was interesting in the ways that it described a lot of the details of being a medical worker in a third world country, and how it described the different political situations that occurred in the Congo over the years Becker served there, and why they chose the course of action that they did. It’s easy to think that missionaries should automatically stay at their posts regardless of what is happening, but we need to access whether we are dying for Jesus or for something else (such as ethnicity). In cases where the conflict was ethnically based, they left the area when necessary.
Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was how it demonstrated that the medical work had a big impact on the community, not just in terms of physical health, but in terms of salvations and building up believers. While we must never be preachers of a social gospel, we are to demonstrate the reality of our faith by what we do, and that means taking care of people’s physical needs where possible.
Things that weren’t so great – sometimes it seemed like Becker was making all of his decisions based on his own reasoning, and not on prayer and careful study of the Bible. A few passages in the book clearly contradict this, but the general feeling is of Becker relying on himself. However, this does not spoil the general readability of this book.
So this is a great book to read if you have an interest in medical missions or the Congo.
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