It is a book about the mission to evangelize. The author is the son of missionary parents. He speaks of stories that stir the passion for the mission to evangelize, stories that he has told around the world. Stories that make interesting reading.
In ‘Leave the Shore’, he says ‘the shore’ could be things like disappointment, self-pity, depression, comfort etc. He takes passages from the Holy Scriptures and situates them in the context of today’s life and mission.
For example, when Jesus says to Peter, “Go put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” The author compares the ‘deep water’ to miserable situations under the weight of which people are struggling to live, he compares the ‘nets’ to the talents and resources that God has endowed us with, with which we can lift the burden of their existence and help them in their struggles in life.
Here are some of the real-life struggles highlighted in this book:
- The city of Phnom Penh where thousands of children are forced every day to work on the streets for a living.
- The 10.8 million Pathan people of Afghanistan where only 0.01 per cent are known to be followers of Jesus.
- The 1.25 million souls from the Shuwa people in Chad who are living in complete darkness.
- The multitudes of souls living in slums like animals in cages.
- Christians across the Communist and Muslim world, who, because of their faith, have ended up locked in small, filthy prison cells. Over 100,000 Christians are now held in North Korean labour camps facing labour, torture and possible execution.
- The International Labour Organization estimates there are 50,000 girls working as domestic servants all over Morocco – some as young as five and six have been sent from the countryside to work as domestic servants in private homes in Casablanca alone. These children are often made to labour 16 hours a day, sleep on the floor and eat only scraps. Some girls have been chained up when their employers go away for the weekend. Other have been starved to death, burned with irons, or raped and thrown on the streets when they become pregnant.
The book is in keeping with the words of Pope Francis of how we are tempted to remain close to the shore, to do only what is comfortable (Gaudete et Exultate # 130, 131). The author speaks from his own experiences in evangelization. He also relates stories from the Bible, and other stories as well, in a way that stirs up the ‘spiritual fervour’ needed to evangelize – to reach out to lost souls. And it all makes very interesting reading.
For instance, he recounts a very interesting story from the 19th century. When thousands upon thousands of orphans in the 1850s found themselves caught in a miserable kind of life. They slept in dark streets, huddling for warmth in boxes or metal drums. To survive they mostly stole, caught rats to eat and went through garbage. Charles Loring Brace, a 26-year-old minister, horrified by their plight began the Foster Home Plan. When he ran out of homes, he organized a unique solution – The Orphan Train. The idea was simple: put hundreds of orphans on a train heading west. As the train passed through towns along the way, Christian committees would bring approved godly families to the train stations to claim a son or daughter from the Orphan Train. By the time the last Orphan Train steamed west in 1929, between 150,000 and 200,000 children had found new homes and new lives. What is most interesting to note, is that out of those children two became governors, one served as a United States congressman, the other became a U.S Supreme Court Justice.
Another interesting story is of A blind American woman who is on a mission in Mongolia. Not only is she serving the children living on the streets, but she is also raising servants for Lord from the Mongolian people to carry on the work she has begun. Later, she moves to Thailand to reach out with the love of Jesus to 500,000 slaves, young Thai girls sold into the sex trade.
There are also interesting stories from the Bible; The helplessness of the king of Samaria when he heard of mothers who were eating their children to stay alive (2 Kings 6:26-30); The story of Shammah who held his ground when the rest of the Israelite army fled and who beat back the Philistines (2Samuel 23:11-12); the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:1-15); Elisha who killed his oxen and followed Elijah (1 Kings 19:19-21).
This book is an eye-opener to elders to realize how God has blessed young people with so many talents and if they could only be inspired to give up their lives to serve in the missions then we will have succeeded in safeguarding those talents for the glory of God.
As mentioned earlier, through the plan of the Orphan Train 150,000 to 200,000 children found new homes and new lives. What is most interesting to note, is that out of those children two became governors, one served as a United States congressman, the other became a U.S Supreme Court Justice.
God is calling children and teenagers to be powerfully used in His Kingdom. It is up to the elders to prepare the way of the Lord for Him to bring our children and youth home to their Father in heaven, through their utilization of God-given gifts for the evangelization of humanity.
St. Pauls Publication 