Farewell, Four Waters by Kate McCord - REVIEWED

About the Book:

Day 14: It should have been the beginning . . .

All she needed were stamps and signatures. Marie and her translator stood in the government offices in Kabul, Afghanistan to complete the paperwork for her new literacy project. The women in her home town, the northern village of Shehktan, would learn to read.

But a spattering of gun shots exploded and an aid worker crumpled. Executed. On the streets of Kabul. Just blocks from the guesthouse. Sending shockwaves through the community.

The foreign personnel assessed their options and some, including Marie's closest friend, Carolyn, chose to leave the country. Marie and others faced the cost and elected to press forward. But the execution of the lone aid worker was just the beginning.

When she returned home to her Afghan friends in Shehktan to begin classes, she felt eyes watching her, piercing through her scarf as she walked the streets lined in mud brick walls.

And in the end . . .

It took only 14 days for her project, her Afghan home, her community-all of it-to evaporate in an eruption of dust, grief, and loss. Betrayed by someone she trusted. Caught in a feud she knew nothing about, and having loved people on both sides, Marie struggled for the answer: How could God be present here, working here, in the soul of Afghanistan?

My Thoughts:

“Love in our community.  Sorrow in our loss.  Grace in our grief.  Hope in our words.  Comfort in our songs.  Companionship in our steps.  Love in our moments.  Protection in our storm.  Deliverance in our danger.”  (p. 354)

Marie wrote these words at the end of a very significant event as she served the people of Afghanistan.  Serving the Afghan people – setting up literacy groups for women in that country – Marie had seen life from a totally different perspective.  She had learned to live among the Afghan people and share her faith in real, tangible ways while showing respect for their belief system and their way of life.  Marie was able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to many who had never been introduced to His mercy and grace.

What I appreciated most about this very amazing story is the tender, yet bold way Marie shared the gospel with the people she came in contact with.  You were able to witness God’s hand of salvation in their lives while Marie just faithfully loved and worked alongside these people.  This story is based upon real life events, and the reader is able to get a true sense of what life as a Christian aide worker looked like, smelled like, felt like….Kate McCord creates a very realistic experience as she builds on her own time in Afghanistan.

This story relays a very frightening look into a culture that is riddled with civil war and religious in-fighting.  The danger of being in the daily presence of such hatred and constant sensitivity to every single movement around you creates a very tense, very terrorizing sense of what daily life can be like in the cities of this country. 

Yet God’s presence is with Marie.  Every moment.  Through every trial.  Through the joy and the pain and the loss.  God's presence is real, and the reader feels the transformation in Marie’s heart and mind as she experiences His presence in the story. 

This is a POWERFUL BOOK!!!  God speaks through this story.  He challenges His children to love like Jesus.  To be the hands and feet of Jesus to a lost and dying world.  What an amazing journey this has been for me!  I can’t recommend this book highly enough!!  Everyone needs to read this book!!  It is AMAZING!!

About The Author:

KATE MCCORD lived and worked in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2010. During her years in country, she worked as a humanitarian aid worker, delivering projects to benefit the people of Afghanistan. She also learned the local language and developed deep and lasting friendships with local Afghans. After a evacuating from her home in Afghanistan, Ms. McCord transitioned into a mentoring, training, consulting and coaching role to other workers serving in the region.Prior to moving to Afghanistan, Ms. McCord worked in the international corporate community as a business process and strategy consultant.Currently, Ms. McCord serves the Christ through writing, speaking, mentoring and conducting workshops and seminars. She is the author of In the Land of Blue Burqas published by Moody Publishers in 2011.