Publisher Description

When the author returned to the Congo for a year as a newly qualified medical doctor he was able to observe Christian missionary activity at first hand and, more importantly, to work and learn from the people amongst whom he had been born, and who he came to appreciate and admire.The stimulus for this book sprang from a desire to learn more about the country and the people of Congo before the intrusion of Europeans, the effects of Belgian colonization, the role of missionaries in exposing the brutalities of King Leopold II's rubber industry, and the contribution of Christian missions to the development of the country that is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.Mission. Impossible? is based on a detailed study of the archived records of the Congo Balolo Mission, personal interviews with retired missionaries and missionary children, current leaders of the Congolese church and other previously unpublished personal material. Following the "discovery" of the Congo River by Henry Morton Stanley in 1877 the Congo was presented to the wider world as "The Heart of Darkness", a concept challenged by the author in the final chapter.A postscript by Norbert Mpu-Mbutu adds an important Congolese perspective.

Author Biography

The author studied medicine in London graduating in 1962. Born of Protestant missionary parents in 1939 in the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) his African name was Kongo. In 1963 he returned to the Congo as a volunteer doctor for one year with the Congo Balolo Mission.Subsequently, he followed a career as a urological surgeon and cancer specialist in the National Health Service, working, also, with the Medical Research Council and the European Organisation for Research in the Treatment of Cancer in national and international cancer research. Following retirement, he co-founded Cancer Connections, a cancer support charity in the northeast of England where he is still a volunteer.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction; The Vision; The Committee; The Congo; Congolese Society and Religious Beliefs; The Livingstone Inland Mission; Malaria; The First Congo Christians; A Second Dawn; King Leopold and the Congo Free State; The Silence of the Missionaries?; Congo Belge; Congo Balolo Mission: The Early Years; The Roaring Twenties; Thirty Years: 1930-1960; Independence; A New Approach; Simba; Working in Partnership; Closure; Failure?; Missionary Children: Third Culture Kids; The Heart of Darkness; Postscript by Norbert Mbu-Mputu; References;

Review

"I think it is excellent. I am learning so much and it is so readable that I think it is accessible to anyone. At the same time, there is sufficient detail for it to be of interest and to provoke thought at an academic level."; Review by Dr Kate Wiseman, Head of Learning Services, All Nations Christian College"It's amazing. I found it so interesting and I do believe so topical. It has been all consuming for me and has made me question religious and missionary principles. A brilliant book with loads to discuss."; Review by Mrs Nicki Walter, retired teacher and Church Warden"What a great service you have performed for serious mission history in Africa by providing such a reflective, informed, authentic and extremely well researched history. It is a legacy to sacrificial, costly missionary enterprise and commitment. I felt quite moved by it."; Review by Robert Hunt, retired Congo Missionary:

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