Soldier, Sailor, Live or Die by Noel Davidson; Sign of the Fish by August Ericson; The Seer's House by John McCreedy; Missiles over Cuba by Tom White; The God who answers by fire by Margaret Cleator

SOLDIER, SAILOR, LIVE OR DIE Noel Davidson I have read quite a few books by Noel Davidson and they never disappoint! Real life testimonies in the pages of a book - it is like listening to a man or woman`s testimony from the pulpit! This is the story of Jackie and Mandy Dickey. Jackie grew up in Belfast and went to live with his grandmother in East Belfast at the age of 12. It was always his ambition to join the navy and see the world so that is what he did. During his travels he met Muhammed Ali in a hotel in Abu Dhabi (a very funny incident if you remember Muhammed Ali!) Jackie spent 6 years sailing the seven seas and then came home to Belfast to join the Ulster Defence Regiment. On one occasion he was appointed to guard the security gates outside the City Hall. These were the days when people were searched going in and out of the city centre and Jackie`s duty was to stand guard with his rifle. Then he served in south Armagh and County Fermanagh. Jackie became a total alcoholic and as a result hit depression attempting to kill himself several times. Jackie left the UDR and joined the Belfast shipyard of Harland and Wolff. One day some of his friends stated they were saving up to go on holiday to Spain. One of the group had dropped out and Jackie immediately asked if he could join them. The rest of the group were sceptical as they knew he could land them in trouble. They made him promise that he would not get drunk and disorderly which may get them thrown out of Spain. Jackie promised and his uncle lent him the money for the holiday. During the months before going to Spain Jackie did not drink alcohol saving all his money for the holiday. When he arrived in Spain on the first night all the lads in the group decided to hit the pubs and clubs. Before too long Jackie was drunk and in the middle of a busy road totally unable to move. That night Jackie ended up in a police cell with no memory of where his apartment was so could not find his way back to the group of lads he had come to Spain with. The police took him out the following day trying to find his friends. Eventually they found each other and Jackie went back to the apartment to clean himself up. Left alone in the apartment as Jackie had decided he couldn`t go out looking the way he did, he delved into the suitcase he had brought with him. It was a borrowed suitcase and there at the bottom was a Gideon New Testament. As Jackie read he remembered his days at Boys Brigade and verses he had memorised. He put his faith and trust in Christ that night through the memory of his grandmother telling him to recite the Lord`s prayer if he ever was in trouble. Having to tell the 3 lads he was on holiday with the next day was the hardest test of all but even harder was going home and telling his family and work mates. Jackie later met his wife Mandy, a widow at Christian rallies held in the Ulster Hall. Their first child was born premature and Mandy herself was very ill. Through the prayers of local people who attended Jackie and Mandy`s church, Mandy started to get better. Jackie and Mandy started to become involved with a youth club in their local church. Later Jackie felt he should start a ministry to soldiers in local barracks and in hospitals. A thrilling read of how God lead a young man from East Belfast to a ministry among soldiers. The book started with the story of welcoming home Jackie`s brother Alex from a tour of duty in the Far East with the Royal Ulster Rifles and ends with Jackie leading that same brother to faith in Christ as he died with throat cancer. Sign of the Fish An Adventure in Faith and Chips August Ericson with Noel Davidson This is the story of August Ebenezersson who later changed his name to Ericson. The book starts with the harrowing parting of August and his brothers from their father and mother. War had just been declared and the mother Gwen decided her children would be safer away from Grimsby in England so sent them back to her family in Iceland. August was separated from his brothers who went to live with his grandparents while he lived with his aunt. The one difficulty he had was he did not speak the native language so he cried himself to sleep every night. 4 years later they returned to Grimsby and August had to relearn the English language to communicate with his family. He was sent to school where he was bullied because of his name and dress. August retaliated with his fists. Then he was sent to public school and again mocked for being the son of a trawler skipper. August left school at 17 1/2 and found employment in an accountants office. He didn`t fancy spending the rest of his life cooped up in an office so ran away to London. There he found a job in a department store as a management trainee. His first marriage ended in divorce but six months later he decided to make a new relationship more serious. On his way to a date August was hit by a speeding car resulting in being bed bound for over a year. During his time in hospital he met a nurse who he later married. She also had a child from her first marriage. When August and Jill`s second child Victoria was born they realised she was both physically and mentally handicapped. Victoria died at the age of 2 despite prayer for her healing on the recommendation of a work colleague. August was by this stage moving up the management ladder but despite all the material trappings he accumulated something was missing in his life. He appeared to have everything that mattered in life and yet he had nothing that satisfied. One Good Friday night the family gathered to watch the story of Jesus of Nazareth on television. Could the life and death of Jesus Christ be related in some way to his constant quest for satisfaction? August remembered people in his life who had talked about Jesus with a strange intimacy that could amost be described as familiarity. Following a meeting with a friend who was a member of the Quakers August started to think over the question "Who is Jesus Christ?" Lying in bed he acknowledged his sin and accepted Jesus as his Saviour. August very quickly told his wife and children followed by his work colleagues of his decision to follow Christ. August remembered his friend who had been chaplain while he was in hospital. He made contact again and started to attend early morning prayer and bible studies at his church. Later he was advised to find a local church nearer home which led August to find a church that proved to be the beginning of an era of rapid growth in grace for the spiritually ravenous new believer. August, in an attempt to follow and worship God embarked upon a detailed analysis of the practices of the early Christian church. This led him to the decision to sell all that he had and donate the proceeds to the furtherance of Christian work. He decided to tell his pastor of this conviction who advised him that perhaps he should sell his house and buy a business and run it for God. When he told his wife Jill though she objected. Following her attendance at church with August she did become a Christian and was happy for August to sell their house to buy a business. August resigned from his job and was determined to work for the Lord. He started to search the classified columns of the newspapers and property vendors in the hunt for a business to buy. He found a small fish and chip shop and cafe in a dilapidated area of the city. Following a meal in the cafe August spoke to the owner and agreed a price - without telling his wife Jill! Surprisingly she took it all quite calmly! August and Jill had to learn how to fry fish and chips first. It took a team of volunteers to completely gut and clean the business for reopening. They changed the name of the shop as it was their aim that everyone who entered their cafe should be very conscious of its Christian ethos. The new name was SIGN OF THE FISH. August and Jill hoped that customers would ask the meaning of this name and would therefore afford them an immediate opportunity to speak of the formation of the early Christian church and then tell of the need for faith in Christ. The remainder of the book tells of many fascinating stories from owning the fish and chip shop - using tips from customers to sponsor children in the Third World, healing from a fire in one of the chip pans, producing a booklet "A fisherman`s tale" that led many customers to faith in Christ, marriages between customers and opportunities to tell his testimony in fellowships and meetings around the country and world. An amazing story of how putting God first in his life led to seeing how God could use him in a simple business venture with long lasting results. THE SEER`S HOUSE The remarkable story of James McConnell and the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle John McCreedy Many times I have passed the huge Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle on the outskirts of Belfast and marvelled at its size. The current building is actually the third building built by the congregation. James McConnell was born to Edward and Jean, Edward worked in the Harland and Wolff shipyard. Although neither of his parents were Christians he attended Sunday School and evening services each week at the Iron Hall. At the age of 7 James asked his Sunday School teacher to lead him to the Lord. Not long after this his mother died in childbirth and James went to live with his grandparents. His grandfather Joseph Anderson was a Christian and an elder at the Iron Hall. James loved to read to read his Bible as well as the story of William Carey the cobbler sent to India. He would often go for a walk in the middle of the night and preach to himself as he hurried along the streets of Belfast. At the age of 13 James lost his father Edward to cancer. This had followed after his sister Lila`s health had deteriorated to the extent that doctors gave her only a short time to live. James` grandfather had for a whole night lay prostrate on the floor of Belfast City Hospital asking God to spare her life. Lila did recover and returned to live with her grandparents. Around this time James began regularly to attend the Bible Pattern Church, a Pentecostal building. One morning as James opened up the church he took a hymnal and began to sing at the top of his voice. A woman burst into the room and made him the focus of a God-inspired prophecy that he would preach the gospel to many nations and God would give him a mighty work. James was stunned and certain he had locked the doors before coming into the church! One day the Bible Pattern Church arrived outside his house to conduct an open-air gospel meeting. James was called upon to give his testimony and it was the first time that he knew he was called to preach. He was asked to preach following the breaking of bread at one of the Lord`s Day services in the Bible Pattern Church and he chose the text from Psalm 22 "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me." It was the open air work that inspired James McConnell. At 15 he left school to work in Harland and Wolff as an office boy. 2 men came into his life at this time Pastors James Forsythe and Gordon Magee and they were influential in his future call to preach. At 18 years of age he witnessed 500 people coming to faith in Christ through his ministry. He went to Gateshead in England on the invitation of the minister who had to visit the USA. What started out as a few in the congregation grew into a multitude. When he returned to Belfast and took a mission over 35 people were saved and baptised. James was invited to start a church in the Greencastle area. He was told there were at least 10 people living in that area and he was asked to take on the challenge. A great and effectual door had been opened. Initially the congregation met in the old Orange Hall and it began with 10 people plus 12 visitors. In 1969 the congregation built their own building not far from the Orange Hall. This was 12 years after they had first started out. The new building seated 450 with its own balcony. This was just at the start of the troubles and the faith of many was certainly tested as sectarian violence, bloodshed and bombing reached unprecedented levels. A local revival in 1973 led to the numbers who attended the church soar from 150 to 700 and the church was packed to capacity. For the next 20 years the crowds would continue to grow. Walls were knocked down to increase capacity to over 800 but still they came in their hundreds. It was time to build again and this time the capacity of the church was changed to 1,500. The new church was officially opened at the end of October 1981. The work continued to grow until there were over 2,000 converts attending regularly. The problem of where to seat people became such an issue. James was given a vision by God back in 1963 that one day he would be used to build a huge sanctuary in North Belfast. From a basic hall the Whitewell people would now have a building which seated over 4,000 people with an extra 1,500 catered for by way of a minor hall. In February 1994 the Metropolitan Church opened its third church. The church details various individual conversions and miracles, the working of God`s Holy Spirit on the work at Whitewell and looks to the future as new leaders need to be discovered. This book was first published in 1997 and there is another chapter yet to be written of how James has retired from the work and passed the mantle to others with a vision to see the work progressed. MISSILES OVER CUBA The Tom White Story Foreword by Sherwood Eliot Wirt Editor Emeritus Decision Magazine Written in 1981 this book tells the story of Tom White who survived to tell the thrilling story of God`s suffering church behind the Sugar Cane Curtain. For 7 years Tom led a massive gospel invasion of Cuba to bring the peace of God to this downtrodden island in the Caribbean. More than 4,000 pieces of Christian literature, missiles of love, were either dropped from the sky or carried ashore by the sea. On 27 May 1979 his plane crashed on a Cuban highway. Brutal treatment from the secret police, months of solitary confinement and 24 year sentence of a kangaroo court form the backdrop of this fascinating story. In this school of suffering, at Combinado del Este Prison, the author met and worshiped with the suffering Cuban church. This is not a story of the triumph of a person over a system. It is a dynamic eye witness account of God`s conquering love, of God`s faithful protection and of God`s patient instruction in Castro`s hell. This was a book that really made me think! It is so easy to take for granted our faith and the ability to share that faith openly with others in day-to-day living but imagine if you lived in a country where you were not allowed to even speak the name of Christ. Having heard many stories of the brutality of Fidel Castro over the years it was no surprise to read of the violence to men and women particularly those who were thought to be American spies. I had never heard of the underground church in Cuba before reading this book so it was interesting to read of many who struggle to find and grow in faith in such a country. One of those books that has horrific accounts of torture which will live long in your mind after reading the last paragraph! THE GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE A young sadhu`s search for spiritual truth Margaret Cleator This is the story of Arjun Bhaskar, a young student returning home from college to discover his 6 year old sister was sick and later died the same day. He questioned his life and wondered if there is a God. He became a sadhu, a person who has renounced the worldly life. He wanders for a year across central India searching for the truth only to find it within a short distance from his own home. He returns home after his long search determined to forget about God, get a good job in the city, send his brother to college, marry an educated wife and build a nice house on the outskirts where his parents could live in their old age. On the road home someone offers him a lift. He is asked by the driver where he is coming from. Arjun tells him from everywhere and he has wasted his time. He then outlines his travels, hopes and disappointments. The driver tells him he found God 5 years ago. Arjun begs him to tell him more. That night the driver, Santosh brings him into his own home and introduces him to God. I love the expression Santosh uses "Many people think that Christianity is another caste, that because they have been born into a Christian family they are Christians. But God has no grandchildren. To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. You have to be born into God`s family by the Holy Spirit to become a child of God. That`s what it means to be born again." Such a simple book to read but you have to keep in mind that this is a book written in India with its many caste systems. It was hard for Arjun to discover and accept the truth, to become a Christian as it meant being cast out of his family. By the time he returns home he discovers his father and mother penniless depending on family to support them. Then the person who took his father`s land is found to have cheated others. The story has many twists and turns as Arjun in his new found faith brings the message of the gospel to those who are seen as his enemies. It is through everyday life that God works things for his purpose in Arjun`s future. This is what I would call a "light" read but it challenged me about how much I value my faith and whether I would be willing to stand up for my faith if I was under pressure. It was difficult for Arjun to realise that his future was not all neatly sewn up with having a good education but he could be used if he let God have full control. I was amazed by the simple belief in healing and seeing it becoming real to the villagers. Truly God does move in amazing ways to bring his own people to faith!