Latest Reading: Into the Mud

I recently finished reading a book recommended to me over the summer. Into the Mud by Christine Jeske is an excellent book that helped grow my heart for the world.

Aids patients. Malnourished babies. Child soldiers.

     If we look only to media accounts, Africa can appear mired in a decades-long failed attempt to imitate the West. But holistic missionary Christine Jeske sees another story unfolding, a spiritual story of transformation.
      Through accounts of ordinary individuals, Jeske reveals people and communities in South Africa that are being changed into something new, something holy . . . refashioned by God to exist afresh in the muck of daily life. Along the way, she uncovers glimpses of God's kingdom breaking out among those to whom Jesus said it belonged--not the deserving or the religious but the poor. (taken from back cover)

Christine Jeske, author of Into the Mud, portrays the stories of real people going through real struggles with real hope in South Africa. Each chapter is a story about a different person with a different experience but all finding hope and strength in God. Through reading this book I was inspired to trust in God through struggles and constantly see hope in Christ. My heart was breaking for the people I was reading about and I have a desire to learn more about how I can reach the world; not only to share the gospel with the world but so Christian brothers and sisters in other countries/other cultures can share their experiences with me and I can share mine with them.

 "God made the first human by breathing into dirt. Jesus healed a blind guy by picking up mud, spitting in it, and wiping it on the man's eyes. Jesus interrupted a death penalty case by drawing in the sand as people dropped their stones, and He told a bunch of religious folks if they want to enter the kingdom of God they need to play in the dirt with the kids. The scriptures are full of stories of a God who is not afraid of dirt, who is just as likely to show up in the sewers of the slums as to the polished halls of the temples. Christine Jeske has felt the mud between her toes and has seen God at work in the dirt. This is a book of dirty theology. It's about a God who is not scared of getting dirty and who invites us to join Him in the mud. May we have the courage to roll up our pant legs and follow." --Shane Claiborne, founding member of The Simple Way community and author of "The Irresistible Revolution"

http://www.intothemud.com/books/home/