Mission. Impossible? by Reginald Hall
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with retired missionaries and missionary children, current leaders of the Congolese church and other previously unpublished personal material.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.
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.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781789633498 |
| ISBN 10 | 1789633494 |
| Title | Mission. Impossible? |
| Author | Reginald Hall |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | The Choir Press |
| Year published | 2023-01-10 |
| Number of pages | 256 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |