Out of the Jaws of the Lion

by Homer E. Dowdy

This account of the Congo missionary martyrs takes the same form that the author used in his earlier Bamboo Cross. It deals with the fate of Congo missionaries during the rebellion that followed the withdrawal of United Nation forces from that country. The narrative gives intimate details of the experience of the missionary group, mingling what appears to be well-substantiated fact with material that could be known only by an eye witness or participant, and dialogue and description of interior feelings that can only be accepted as fictional reconstruction of the scenes and events. The result makes for vivid, even stirring, reading, but leaves the reader guessing as to where the facts end and the fiction begins.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenged me! Reconstructing the events of the Simba (Swahili word for "lion") Rebellion in 1964, this journalist/author began to gather the material for this book when he flew to the Congo, anticipating the attempted rescue of missionary hostages. It was an invitiation from Ralph Odman, general secretary of Unevangelized Fields Mission, that propelled him: "I want you to go along...there's a story in Congo to be told, not just of what man is doing to man, but of what in the midst of terrible happenings God is doing for man."

The suffering of so many of the missionaries in Congo, the courage they showed, and the comfort they experienced from their Heavenly Father kept me steadily reading. But, as one of the missionaries stated, "I don't think it strange--not strange at all--what we have had to go through. When we give our lives to Christ, we say that He knows best--and we mean it. He doesn't expect us to be foolheardy, but hardy; and if we suffer in serving, well, others before us have suffered."

A sobering book filled with examples of great sacrifice and sincere devotion to their Lord.

[Yibbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is rough… There isn’t enough time to get to know so many of the people and then you read about their deaths. It’s one long chronicle of misery, fear, uncertainty, torture, and death. There is hope. They were shining witnesses to God’s power and forgiveness, but so many died in a short time.
It was written within months of the main rescue, and we only learn of the final rescue in a footnote at the end. The Gospel was there, but very briefly. Doctrine, even Salvation wasn’t the point of this book. It was simply a chronicle of the events surrounding the missionaries in the Congo during the Simba Revolt.
It was worth reading, but be warned, it is rough.

[Caleb Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story of the Simba rebellion in the Congo. The devotion of the missionaries is just shocking, and the tale of Paul Carlson tear jerking. Highly recommend to anyone who loves missionary biographies. What will surprise you even more is the Providence clearly evident in this book. God's hand is seen throughout with the what the Simba's discover and do not, who dies and who doesn't, and how this leads to the conversion of many Congolese.

[Tim Wester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent reminder if sacrifices and those who went before