Geoff BengeReviews

I really enjoyed this story of perseverance in the midst of hardship. Can't wait to read more in this series. It gives a clear picture of missionaries who give it all for God.

Hudson survived his perilous maiden voyage to his beloved China. With his heart set in determined obedience to God, and trusting the provision of the One who had called him, Hudson overcame persecution and almost overwhelming personal losses to bring God's truth to the "ripe harvest fields" of China.

Today, Hudson Taylor's story continues to challenge and inspire believers young and old to carry the anchoring gospel message, regardless of personal trial or hardships, to those who are adrift and without hope. (1832-1905).

As the race began, it had seemed obvious that Eric Liddell was overmatched. Now the crowd in the Olympic Stadium hushed as this runner from Scotland refused to be passed. As Eric crossed the finish line, the crowd erupted in applause heard all over Paris. Eric Liddell had done the impossible. A new world record had been set!

Eric's refusal earlier that week to run on Sunday in the Olympic 100-meter race had stunned the world. Now his incredible victory in the 400-meter race further strengthened his belief in God's promise, "He who honors Me, I will honor."

Years later, Eric Liddell would be tested far beyond mere physical ability as a missionary to China. His character, perseverance, and endurance are a challenging example for all who would obey the call to bring the gospel to the nations. (1902-1945)

When Charles Mulli was a child, his family repeatedly abandoned him, and he lived in fear of his abusive, alcoholic father. With an extraordinary will, the young Kenyan struggled to feed and educate himself and, encountering hope in the gospel, found a reason to live and to forgive.

Later, as a multimillionaire and father of eight, the entrepreneur sold his businesses to devote himself to caring for street children throughout Kenya. Since 1989, Charles and his wife, Esther, have taken into their protection thousands of the most vulnerable through Mully Children's Family, revealing in the midst of brokenness God's astonishing redemptive power.

Também em espanhol: Buenas Nuevas en Todas las Lenguas

William Carey watched from the dock as the magnificent sailing ship headed for the English Channel without him. Tears filled his eyes, and deep disappointment filled his heart. What would he tell the missionary society? So much work awaited him half a world away. He must get to India - and soon!

William's amazing journey to India would prove to be just the beginning of a missionary quest filled with hardship and heartache as well as tremendous victories.

Often referred to as "the father of modern missions," William Carey displayed a single-minded determination to set his face like a flint to the task of bringing the gospel to those lost in darkness. His life of service and sacrifice is a guidepost to Christians of all generations. (1761-1834)

I enjoy every single YWAM missionary biography I read. This book is no exception. I have always enjoyed the story of the woman who went by herself to a country that was fighting a war! Her diligence and untiring work serving the people of China is encouragement for all.
My only note is that there was a lot more violence and romantic content than I had anticipated (see below).

Notable Quotes:
“If I must die, let me not be afraid of death, but let there be a meaning, O God, in my dying.”

Things to be aware of in “Gladys Aylward: The Adventure of a Lifetime:”

Violence:
-Many executions is witnessed (sensitive readers may not appreciate it)
-Fingers are blown off by bombs
-A woman and her children’s house is boarded and then set on fire.
-There is a prison riot involving blood, machetes, and other violence (details are given that sensitive readers may not appreciate)
I wouldn't consider myself a sensitive reader, but some of the violence was very gruesome. It is all true and I do believe it is important to include it, but just keep that in mind when recommending this book to younger/sensitive readers.

Romantic Content:
-A male character is alone in a room with Gladys and says, “You forget you are a woman alone in a strange country. I can do what I like.”
-Women’s clothes are ripped off multiple times.

Spiritual Content:
Obviously, this is a Christian biography so there is a lot of great spiritual content!

Additional Notes:
-There is detailed explanation of China’s foot-binding law. (Sensitive readers may not appreciate it)
-Gladys preaches

History

Olympic hero, WWII bombardier, plane crash survivor and the amazing power to forgive.

Her Life (1902 - 1970) is one of the truly great missionary stories of our era. Easy to read.

Quite a few years ago, Mom read Gifted Hands to our family. It was an excellent book, but I always wondered what happened after the book ended. I assumed Mr. Carson went on and did more successful separation surgeries, but since I didn’t have access to any of his later works, I didn’t know for sure. Until this book. This was our most recent audiobook for traveling as a family, and I found it to be another gripping story—even though I was already fairly familiar with a lot of the events.

The Benges write with a passion and ability that I admire. They don’t just spit facts and dates out on the page; they take you along to the individual’s life to watch things play out, as you see sometimes in a novel. As far as I can tell, this is a factual account of a good portion of Ben Carson’s life, but it’s written in a very engaging manner.

As far as Mr. Carson himself, it was inspiring to see how he chose the difficult path of learning and choosing obedience to his mother over his own wishes. Her influence changed the course of his life, and watching him struggle and learn—and learn to rely on God—was quite a blessing. If you enjoy biographies about Christians who choose to take God at His word and do their best to live in obedience to Him, this would be an excellent choice—even if you already know something of Ben Carson’s story!

Inspiring!

excellent overview of Corrie's life and ministry. I highly recommend it to everybody. Easily read in two or three days. Essential reading. Valuable history.

Betty’s desire to be a pilot blossomed at the very young age of 8 years old, and that dream never diminished. Her mother pushed her into enrolling in nursing school, but after two years she dropped out. All she wanted to do was fly! In 1940 she was visiting a 70 year old neighbor, and poured out her frustrations about what to do with her life. The wise old woman asked her what she loved doing the most and Betty’s answers were flying and helping with the youth group at church. Her neighbor pointed out she could do both by helping by flying for Christian missions. Once she got home she prayed and told God that although she had never heard of anyone flying to spread the gospel, if it was what He wanted her to do, He would work it out. Just a few weeks after her prayer, she heard of a civilian pilot training. She enrolled and was accepted. From that point on God continued to move with opportunity after opportunity in training and experience. Being an eager student Betty excelled in everything she did. She flew for Women’s Airforce Service in World War 2. She is honored with the title of the first woman to fly over the Andes and also to be allowed to fly over Sudan (women pilots were not allowed at that time). With 3 other men she helped found and Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship. Now the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Her adventures were incredible; flying to isolated jungle areas, staying with missionaries, hiking through the jungle, and repairing planes in remote areas. She even coordinated and flew missions across many continents which was no easy feat with numerous stops for fueling plus time to rest, all in different countries! I found all she did mind boggling, but the planning and knowledge it took to accomplish this was incredible. She had so many close calls, emergency situations, illness and just downright scary circumstances. Betty loved every minute of it and never wavered. I won’t even travel to another state alone in a car! What I found most impressive was all of this was done with her intense devotion to God and desire to serve Him. One amazing lady!
Thank you to YWAM Publishing for a providing this book for me to review. The opinions stated are my own.

Betty’s desire to be a pilot blossomed at the very young age of 8 years old, and that dream never diminished. Her mother pushed her into enrolling in nursing school, but after two years she dropped out. All she wanted to do was fly! In 1940 she was visiting a 70 year old neighbor, and poured out her frustrations about what to do with her life. The wise old woman asked her what she loved doing the most and Betty’s answers were flying and helping with the youth group at church. Her neighbor pointed out she could do both by helping by flying for Christian missions. Once she got home she prayed and told God that although she had never heard of anyone flying to spread the gospel, if it was what He wanted her to do, He would work it out. Just a few weeks after her prayer, she heard of a civilian pilot training. She enrolled and was accepted. From that point on God continued to move with opportunity after opportunity in training and experience. Being an eager student Betty excelled in everything she did. She flew for Women’s Airforce Service in World War 2. She is honored with the title of the first woman to fly over the Andes and also to be allowed to fly over Sudan (women pilots were not allowed at that time). With 3 other men she helped found and Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship. Now the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Her adventures were incredible; flying to isolated jungle areas, staying with missionaries, hiking through the jungle, and repairing planes in remote areas. She even coordinated and flew missions across many continents which was no easy feat with numerous stops for fueling plus time to rest, all in different countries! I found all she did mind boggling, but the planning and knowledge it took to accomplish this was incredible. She had so many close calls, emergency situations, illness and just downright scary circumstances. Betty loved every minute of it and never wavered. I won’t even travel to another state alone in a car! What I found most impressive was all of this was done with her intense devotion to God and desire to serve Him. One amazing lady!
Thank you to YWAM Publishing for a providing this book for me to review. The opinions stated are my own.

Betty’s desire to be a pilot blossomed at the very young age of 8 years old, and that dream never diminished. Her mother pushed her into enrolling in nursing school, but after two years she dropped out. All she wanted to do was fly! In 1940 she was visiting a 70 year old neighbor, and poured out her frustrations about what to do with her life. The wise old woman asked her what she loved doing the most and Betty’s answers were flying and helping with the youth group at church. Her neighbor pointed out she could do both by helping by flying for Christian missions. Once she got home she prayed and told God that although she had never heard of anyone flying to spread the gospel, if it was what He wanted her to do, He would work it out. Just a few weeks after her prayer, she heard of a civilian pilot training. She enrolled and was accepted. From that point on God continued to move with opportunity after opportunity in training and experience. Being an eager student Betty excelled in everything she did. She flew for Women’s Airforce Service in World War 2. She is honored with the title of the first woman to fly over the Andes and also to be allowed to fly over Sudan (women pilots were not allowed at that time). With 3 other men she helped found and Christian Airmen's Missionary Fellowship. Now the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Her adventures were incredible; flying to isolated jungle areas, staying with missionaries, hiking through the jungle, and repairing planes in remote areas. She even coordinated and flew missions across many continents which was no easy feat with numerous stops for fueling plus time to rest, all in different countries! I found all she did mind boggling, but the planning and knowledge it took to accomplish this was incredible. She had so many close calls, emergency situations, illness and just downright scary circumstances. Betty loved every minute of it and never wavered. I won’t even travel to another state alone in a car! What I found most impressive was all of this was done with her intense devotion to God and desire to serve Him. One amazing lady!
Thank you to YWAM Publishing for a providing this book for me to review. The opinions stated are my own.

Helen was raised in family of financial means. Her father placed great importance on her receiving a good education. She worked hard and acquired a medical degree, not to make money but to use the skills as a missionary. She was a rarity in her time, not only as a female physician but also as a doctor on the mission field. I loved how the Lord guided her through sermons, scriptures, and the guidance of other Christians. He led her to the Congo. Here women were not respected by the nationals. She had many hurdles to overcome in addition to the dangerous political upheaval of the country and how impoverished the area was. Upon her arrival she was put the work the very next day. The clinic had 500 – 1000 people waiting for medical help. Many had traveled long distances on foot. There were diseases and injuries she had never seen or been trained for in medical school.
Her energy and motivation amazed me. She didn’t just serve as a doctor but also trained medical workers, established nursing schools, and built hospitals in her career. This is quite astounding considering how little there was to work with regarding supplies, materials and workers. Her strong willed attitude which aided in success also caused on going struggles and conflicts with her colleagues. This distressed her greatly. When a civil war broke out and other missionaries were leaving, Helen stayed. At one point rebels destroyed her clinic, and was held hostage. She was violently physically, emotionally and sexually abused for 5 months before she was rescued. In spite of this after recovering at home in England she returned to the Congo. She was broken hearted at the destruction of all she had built and condition of the people. Memories and fear of what she endured were always with her. She continued there 7more years trying to rebuild even making further improvements.
I was shocked at all the suffering Helen faced during her time of service. Her courage, faith and strength left me in awe. What incredible situations she went through and still desired to serve God. She left after 20 years of service, returning once to see how her work still flourished. God truly created a legacy through her.
Helen Roseveare is a missionary I had not heard of. This one thing I like about the Benge’s Christian biographies. They write about incredible people that many do not know of.
Thank you to YWAM Publishing for a providing this book for me to review. The opinions stated are my own.

Lillian Trasher’s story reminds me of Proverbs 16:9. “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Seventeen years old and filled with the hope and zeal of youth, Lillian wanted to spread her wings and fly! She set out to pursue her dream of becoming a sketch artist for the Georgian Newspaper in Atlanta. While on the train she just “happens” to sit by a woman who ran the Faith Orphanage in North Carolina. As they chatted the woman offered Lillian a job as her assistant. Working in an orphanage, ridiculous! She was going to have a career with the newspaper! She politely listened and promised the woman she would remember her should things change.
After submitting her sketches to the art editor, who assured her there was a very good chance landing her dream job she left to return the next day. Through a series of events that were most unusual she was not hired. Seeing God’s hand in this disappointment, she headed for Faith Orphanage. There she served tirelessly not knowing God was teaching her many lessons and preparing her for His plan.
After 5 years she felt the Lord’s calling to the mission field, in Africa. Having no money and no church to support her was not a deterrent to this faith-filled woman. She trusted God and He furnished all her needs in incredible ways. It wasn’t long after she arrived at the mission house in Egypt; a dying baby was given to her. She was given the choice by the leaders of the mission house to return the baby (whose mother had died) or leave. This is when she learned there were no orphanages in Egypt and the baby would be thrown into the Nile.
With no money and no support once again, she left with the infant. You have to realize this country was a dangerous place for a woman alone. She didn’t even know the language! Once again she trusted God and as always He provided. This was just the beginning of His amazing care and provision for Lillian and the orphanage she established. She had many setbacks and serious problems throughout the years: no food, catastrophes, illness, no clothing for the children. Every time God was faithful to furnish whatever was needed. At the time of her death, she had lovingly cared for 10,000 children and widows. None of which could have been done without her obedience, faith and trust in God. This is an incredible story! Lillian reminded me of a cross between George Muller and Gladys Aylward!
I love Christian biographies. Learning about men and women who have given their lives to serve God is inspiring to me. Although this book is for readers 8 to 12 years of age, I encourage adults to read it too!
Thank you to YWAM Publishing for a providing this book for me to review. The opinions stated are my own.

This is a fantastic book to introduce children to William Wilberforce. An interesting read the book tells the story of William Wilberforce's life, his conversion, and his life long pursuit of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery.

interesting story about a great man.

Good synopsis of Taylor’s amazing life.

Excellent narrative; faith-building biography

Excellent narrative; faith-building biography, good for young and old. Perfect way to get to know the founder of Methodism in a fast read.

Excellent narrative; faith-building biography

While I liked the writing style of Benge (and I've read her other missionary stories) I am ambivalent about Hudson Taylor. While inspiring in some ways, I felt his risk taking was more testing God than trusting Him. His selflessness in reaching out to the people of China and his devotion to the Lord is admirable, yet he took enormous chances with not only his own life but the lives of his family (he lost several children b/c of disease, etc ramapant in the country) and those of his fellow workers. I found the other Janet Benge missionary stories to be more balanced.