Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsFar from easy and progressive
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2017
Dragon Ride shattered all my pre-conceived ideas of life in China. Far from easy and progressive, it is hard, frightening and, for an American missionary, lonely. After one particularly grim ordeal, the author became aware that this was her initiation into being accepted as Chinese, where one “always faced a brick wall, and was never given a solution for making life work”. A sense of humor was helpful, if not required. Food was unusual (stir-fried silkworms anyone?)
This is an amazing book. A 21st century missionary is making missions real for today. Read it aloud with your family – from your mid-elementary aged children to the oldest senior in your home, everyone will be drawn into the struggles, intrigue and suspense written here. You will share in the fears, disappointments, rejection and humiliation of Chinese Christians who are arrested and often jailed for their faith. Ministry was slow, cautious; demons were real; threats were daily; prayer was imperative.
The author’s own background as an atheist, and her own search for truth, became a starting point for conversations with university students during those years in China and Hong Kong. Grace Jacob doesn’t pretend to know all the answers. She shared her doubts, imperfections, anger, questions, and the heartache of having to leave China for the safety of her family, and the safety of the Chinese believers. In all the years spent living there, this truth stood out: God was faithful. He could be trusted. He always answered prayer.
