Marching With Joy by Sue Hungerford is the biographical account of Joy Crombie’s 45 years as a missionary with SIM in Ethiopia and Liberia. It’s an interesting story and begins with how Joy came to faith, her time training as a nurse and a midwife, her call to missionary service and then her journeys to the mission field for a series of 5 year terms.
Initially, she worked in various parts of Ethiopia, then escaped during the civil unrest in the late 1970s. Unable to return to Ethiopia, she accepted a placement in Liberia. Again, Joy worked in various parts of the country, nursing and training others.
Joy encountered many difficulties – ill-equipped medical facilities, assisting with difficult births, illnesses and diseases beyond her training, an earthquake, civil unrest in both Ethiopia and Liberia and the isolation of being away from friends and family. Yet her faith in God grew stronger through all these situations.
The book was written in 1998 by Sue Hungerford, a senior lady who writes in an older style. Sometimes it felt like you were watching Joy from a distance because there isn’t a sense of Joy’s emotional response to many of the problems she faced. Nevertheless, I found Joy’s story so interesting, I was able to enjoy the book anyway.
A good read.
