Singing through the Night

May 1, 2007
Companjen, along with her husband, Johan, is known as a writer and volunteer for Brother Andrew's Open Doors International, an advocacy group for persecuted Christians worldwide. This book, like Companjen's previous effort, "Hidden Sorrow, Lasting Joy: The Forgotten Women of the Persecuted Church", conveys women's stories of persecution in the modern era. Here are 11 women from the disparate circumstances of nine different countriesamong them, China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iraq, and Perusharing their experiences of torture, fear, and sorrow. Their accounts are interspersed with liberal doses of inspirational biblical encouragement and conclude with questions for individual or group reflection. Some of the stories are to be expected: repression under atheistic or totalitarian regimes, along with the accompanying violence and loss of basic human rights that no longer surprises. However, the more disturbing tales chronicle Christian-on-Christian violence wherein competing established denominations prey upon evangelical or Pentecostal newcomers with the same violence and mistrust usually associated with corrupt military regimes. Recommended for libraries with evangelical and missionary collections.Sandra Collins, Duquesne Univ. Lib., Pittsburgh, PA

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