Linda K. Thomas has delivered another captivating memoir. . . . In Please, God, Don’t Make Me Go, Linda invites readers to a turbulent time in a volatile region. Threats from anti-American Marxist guerrillas were just one of the many very good reasons not to move to 1970s Colombia.
But Linda, her husband, and their two young children answered God’s call anyway, and her account is a reminder that a call to the mission field is a call to sacrifice. It can be uncomfortable, challenging, and at times tragic.
But Linda’s story also reveals the amazing work God accomplishes through His people when we trust Him with what seems impossible. (Bob Creson, President/CEO, Wycliffe Bible Translators USA)
In my other memoir, Grandma’s Letters from Africa,
I wrote about a mini-adventure I had with Bob. At the time, he was Director of
the Cameroon Branch of SIL (a partner organization with Wycliffe Bible
Translators) and I worked as a journalist with SIL, based out of Nairobi,
Kenya.
Below is an excerpt from Grandma’s Letters from Africa about that day with Bob.
On November 11 each year, Wycliffe members set aside the day to pray for our work. Around the world, wherever they gather, they view the World Day of Prayer video so they can link faces and personalities with specific prayer requests. During May’s meetings at Brackenhurst [upcountry in Kenya], I interviewed several people for this fall’s video—individuals from Ghana, Nigeria, Central African Republic, and the Philippines.
One of the people I interviewed, Grace Adjekum, serves as the Director of Ghana’s Bible institute. Grace found herself in the midst of brutal ethnic violence in February when [my husband] and I had planned to travel there. (. . . . We received word along the way to skip Ghana so we traveled on to the next country on our itinerary.)
When Grace arrived at Brackenhurst, she told us that those clashes had focused on her and Ghanaian Bible translators. Warring factions killed a thousand people, including Grace’s adopted son, and destroyed a hundred and fifty villages. . . .
During our stay at Brackenhurst, Grace’s sister underwent extensive surgery in Nairobi. She needed a blood transfusion, so Grace asked people with Type O negative blood to donate. Only Bob Creson (the Director of Cameroon’s work) and I had that type, and we checked out a car and headed down to Nairobi.
Along the way, I confessed that I worried about giving blood because of potential exposure to AIDS and hepatitis, but we went ahead with it anyway. Bob watched closely during the procedure and assured me afterward that they had used new, sterile needles.
Whew! I was so glad Bob was there to reassure me
during this nervous time—exposure to AIDS, and to any number of other diseases, was
a real consideration while we lived there.
Our drive to and from Nairobi was 90 minutes each
way, giving us lots of time to visit. I still remember significant wisdom Bob
shared with me—words I needed to hear at the time. Bless his heart.
Bob went on to become the President and CEO of
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA and has served very successfully in that role
for many years.
Below is a quote from Bob about the work of
Wycliffe Bible Translators:
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Don’t Make Me Go: A Foot-Dragger’s Memoir by Linda K. Thomas.
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