I grew up on missionary stories. One of the first books I can remember my parents reading to my siblings and I was John G. Paton’s Missionary to the New Hebrides. Over the years, I was always inspired to read tales of sacrifice, suffering, and heroism. So it was with the missionary tales that I read in 2024. May you be encouraged and inspired to follow our Lord’s Commission and share His love with all the world – from the people on our street to the ends of the earth.
The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson – 4 Stars
“You asked the Holy Spirit for a miracle, and now that you’ve got one you’re trying to argue it away. People who don’t believe in miracles shouldn’t pray for them.”
God really blows my mind. He took a country preacher who knew nothing about gangs and brought him to the middle of New York to minister to gangs there. It’s almost comical the people that God chooses to do his work. So often he takes people and puts them in situations that we would say were utterly foolish. Then God works miracles and changes lives.
“We humans can work hard for each other, and we should and we must work. But it is God, and only God, who heals.”
Ten P’s in a Pod: The Million Mile Journal of a Homeschool Family by Arnold Pent III – 5 Stars
This is one of my favorite memoirs! A family of ten, the Pents traveled all over the US and Canada sharing the gospel, singing, and reciting the Bible. It is packed full of hilarious stories – with so much travel and so many people, how could humor not result? I aspire to live a life like that modeled by the Pents. They were utterly devoted to God, and to knowing His word by heart. They trusted God with their finances and their lives, and He proved Himself faithful.
Tramp for the Lord by Corrie Ten Boom – 5 Stars
“Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. The forgiveness of Jesus not only takes away our sins, it makes them as if they had never been.”
“Many persons make the mistake of thinking they can measure the certainty of salvation by their feelings. It is the Word of God that is their foundation and therefore it is essential for the new convert in Christ to have a practical knowledge of the Bible. More than anyone else it is the new convert who will come under the fire of the enemy.”
Corrie Ten Boom is one of my heroes. Her books never fail to stir my heart and open my eyes to biblical truths. Following her release from the Ravensbrück concentration camp, Corrie traveled all over the world sharing the gospel and helping to bring hope and healing to many who were suffering. She believed that God would care for her finances, and He did. She believed that He would care for her health, and He did. She obeyed completely, and it’s amazing to see what came of it.
“And so it is with God’s strength, our wise Father in heaven knows when you are going to need things too. Today you do not need the strength to be a martyr but as soon as you are called upon for the honor of facing death for Jesus, He will supply the strength you need just in time.”
I Know Nothing: And Other Lessons I Learned by Being on the Mission Field by Allan Rodney Tilley – 4 Stars
This is a collection of funny stories about Tilley’s time on the mission field. I love his humor and his humility – how he was always ready to learn from his mistakes and laugh about them instead of becoming angry or annoyed.
The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun by Brother Yun – 4 Stars
“It is not great men who change the world, but weak men in the hands of a great God.”
“When we arrive at the end of our own strength it is not defeat, but the start of tapping into God’s boundless resources. It is when we are weak that we are strong in God.”
This is the story of Brother Yun, a Chinese pastor, who suffered much for the sake of the gospel. It is full of stories and miracles that blow my mind, and a faith so strong I can only begin to imagine it.
“I didn’t suffer for Jesus in prison. No! I was with Jesus and I experienced his very real presence, joy, and peace every day. It’s not those in prison for the sake of the gospel who suffer. The person who suffers is he who never experiences God’s intimate presence.”
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis Majors – 5 Stars
“We are not called to be safe, we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us. And there is no better place to be than in His hands.”
Kisses from Katie shows how God can use literally anyone who is willing to sacrifice for His sake. Majors moved to Uganda when she was nineteen to teach orphans there. She adopted fifteen children and has a thriving ministry.
“Do not forget in the darkness what you have been promised in the light.”
Love Has a Face: Mascara, A Machete and One Woman’s Miraculous Journey with Jesus in Sudan by Michele Perry – 5 Stars
“This love does not start with a good program. It cannot. It starts with being in love, being intimately connected to Jesus. It starts with knowing first that I am loved. I cannot give what I do not have. It is supernatural. It cannot be apart from Him. All living fruit in my life has come only from a living relationship with Him.”
If I was a crier, I would have bawled at this book. Perry is a missionary to Sudan. She has few possessions, is surrounded by death, hunger, and did I mention that she only has one leg? If ever a woman had an excuse to quit and live an easy life, it would be her. Yet day by day, she continues to pour herself out with love for the people that God has given her. I have rarely read of such love for God. She couldn’t write a few paragraphs without praising him. It reminded me of St. Augustine’s Confessions.
I listened to an interview with her before I read the book, and my goodness. She was so happy! The interviewer kept trying to turn the conversation to her, but she hardly said anything about herself, and instead spoke of Jesus. It wasn’t in a “I’m a missionary so this is what I have to say” way, but in a “I’m so in love with Jesus that He is all I want to think about” way. That’s what this whole book is! I was so inspired and encouraged in my faith. *cries*
“I am no longer satisfied with attending or participating in a meeting called revival. I want to live revival reality and carry His glory into the darkness. Our goal is nothing less than lives and communities transformed from the inside out and turned upside-down by love. That is revival.”
~Hattush
What missionary stories have you been encouraged by? What books impacted you in your childhood?
Daughter of the Light 