In 1959, a Baptist missionary drags his wife and four daughters to Africa, the Belgian Congo for what is supposed to be only one year. He is determined to convert the natives. They arrive completely unprepared for the humidity, hostile villagers, poisonous snakes and dangerous animals.
It's an eye-opening book about going somewhere foreign with your ideals and customs, and the consequences that can happen when you are not open-minded to change when those thoughts, customs, or ideals are no longer rationally applicable. It's also, in a sense, a story about what could have been achieved with love and an open heart (because this is not demonstrated), instead of condemnation without understanding. My favorite quote of the book, and what resounded with me most about the overall lesson, was, "Everything you're sure is right, can be wrong in another place."
The author takes us through the whole story, beginning with their journey to Africa, through Africa, and the paths each of these women choose to take afterwards and how Africa stays with each of them.
Overall, great storytelling with a rich setting, beautifully described in analogies and metaphors instead of statements of fact. However the book can get a little repetitive, about Africa, about the struggle, about guilt, and about the injustice and political lessons to be learned. I felt there was a missed opportunity in this book to repeat less, and ultimately make it a more powerful message. It also took a little patience to get through the same events x 2, 3, or 4 different perspectives, especially once you figured out the personalities and could already tell how they would feel about it.
Not a quick read, but an enjoyable one with some thought-provoking lessons, a rich setting, and invested characters.
