Cathy

by Elva Schroeder

Christian teen or adult fiction.
Cathy Gray arrived in the Eastern Highlands of Papua-New Guinea as an idealistic young missionary. It was not long before her ideals were to be sorely tested. Among the many new challenges Cathy had to face were tribal warfare, rape, murder, death adders, tortuous roads, fatal accidents and tropical illnesses along with distressing personality clashes with other missionaries. But perhaps the most challenging aspect of Cathy's new life was her growing relationship with an agnostic young Patrol Officer.Cathy finally has to make the heart-wrenching choice between her love for Graeme and being true to the call she believes God has placed on her heart.

266 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2010

Reviews

[Linsey Painter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book immensely. The descriptions of Papua New Guinea in the late 1960's fascinated me. Cathy is a young idealistic woman who travels to PNG to work with a mission organisation. Along the way she falls for a government Kiap who is not a Christian. Cathy's journey and agony as she tries to genuinely do what is right before God and her surrounding colleagues is very true to life. Elva Schroeder has captured so many of the struggles of ex-pats who live overseas and are striving to live out the call that God has placed on their lives. They are real people who make mistakes and are flawed like everyone else.

[Omega Writers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cathy Gray has left behind a loving family in Australia to follow her heart’s desire and work as a missionary in Papua-New Guinea. It is the beginning of the school year of 1966 when she arrives to take up her posting at Bethel Mission in the highlands above Goroka.

Life at the Mission produces many testing times for Cathy, not least being the often painful relationships that exist within the mission. The life she is living is far from the idealistic life that she had imagined, and which is made more difficult by her growing friendship with a young Australian Patrol Officer.

It's a vibrant and informative journey with Cathy as she works through the many and varied aspects of life and survival in the remote villages of Papua-New Guinea forty years ago. Cathy is a very readable book and can be read for either enjoyment or understanding. It should have appeal to people with a PNG missionary background.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Cathy. Having been on a short term missions trip to Lae, PNG, recently I found it very interesting to see PNG 40 years ago. This novel isn't a pious unrealistic mission story. It shows real people struggling with real issues as they work out their faith and their calling. I thought I'd read this book aver a few days, but it sucked me in and i had to finish it before I could put it down. Thanks Elva for a great read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I revelled in the story of Cathy. Having gone to live in Papua New Guinea the year after the setting of this story, I identified on many levels and felt at home in the places Cathy went. This is an enjoyable 'must read'.