Impossible Love

Craig Keener, Moussounga Keener Medine

Description

Gripping True Story of War and Romance, Hope and MiraclesWhen the odds are impossible, love goes to work. In this thrilling true-life story, readers follow the path of friendship that grows into a romance that spans continents and survives devastating hardship. Craig Keener, a respected white scholar, was cautious after a broken relationship. Médine, a well-educated African woman, met Craig through a campus ministry and the two became friends. Long after they parted for their respective worlds, Craig realized his love for her and began the arduous--and often supernatural--journey to be reunited. Médine faced terror and disease as a refugee in the war-torn Congo; Craig did not know most days if she was alive or dead. Their tender story of love beating the odds inspires readers to believe that God's own great love for each of us will always overcome.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 05 avril 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441229601
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2016 by Craig S. Keener and Médine Moussounga Keener
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2960-1
Scripture translations are provided by the author.
Some names have been changed in this story to protect individual privacy or safety. The following are pseudonyms: Maitre Bouka; Cass; Estelle; Manassé; Massala; Matai; Samuel Malonga; Oswardo; Raphael; and Zonzon.
Cover design by Dual Identity
Endorsements
“I was not prepared for how compelling this book is. It has all the ingredients of a spy thriller that will keep you turning the pages. Most of all, it is a testimony to the power, faithfulness and glory of the living God.”
Dr. R. T. Kendall, senior minister (retired), Westminster Chapel, London
“This is an epic story. It spoke to me deeply. Hope for suffering servants flooded my soul as I received a fresh revelation of the heavenly Father’s patient, long-suffering love. Everybody should read this and pass it on.”
John Dawson, president emeritus, Youth With A Mission
“ Impossible Love is faith building and motivating to an extreme, telling a story that will grip and strengthen every hungry heart that longs for God regardless of all opposition, pain and discouragement. This story gripped my heart as few books have and lifted me higher in Jesus than ever. Read it!”
Rolland and Heidi Baker, founding directors, Iris Global
“This book is powerful and unlike any other you have read. Craig’s and Médine’s stories couldn’t be more different, yet God’s impossible love weaves them together as they pursue Him. Reading this book kindled a flame in my heart to be a greater part of God’s story, and I am sure you will also be changed by encountering the Author of Life in a fresh, new way.”
Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, itinerant speaker, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries; New York Times bestselling author, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
“What happens when the world’s greatest New Testament scholar pens his incredible story with his wife in riveting prose? You get Impossible Love . Captivating and candid, this is a sobering narrative on the merciful power of God to restore and bless in the face of insurmountable obstacles and suffering.”
Frank Viola, author, God’ s Favorite Place on Earth , The Day I Met Jesus (with Mary DeMuth) and Jesus: A Theography (with Leonard Sweet); frankviola.org
“In my opinion, Craig Keener is one of the top five New Testament scholars in the world today. With Impossible Love , we get a glimpse of the man himself. But this book is no simple autobiography. It is a narrative filled with danger and tender love for God, seeking and standing courageously for Him in the midst of great sorrow, hardship and a sense of God’s absence. If you want to see an example of two people who faced great hardships in life—while a supernatural God was always with them and delivered them to a life of fruitful love, joy and ministry—this is the book for you.”
J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University; author, The Soul: How We Know It’ s Real and Why It Matters
“Dr. Craig Keener, brilliant biblical scholar, is known globally. Impossible Love introduces us to another Dr. Keener: Dr. Médine Moussounga Keener. Impossible Love is not just the inspirational account of a love between a man and a woman. It is an open and welcoming window into God’s grace that leaves the reader cheering while breathing a prayer of thanks for the goodness of God, who demonstrates His power most clearly in human weakness.”
George O. Wood, general superintendent, General Council of the Assemblies of God
“ Impossible Love is the kind of book we all need to read—to remind ourselves of the reality of God, His power and the way He supernaturally intersects our lives. This book changed my perspective on the power of God in the lives of His people.”
Mary DeMuth, author, Worth Living: How God’ s Wild Love for You Makes You Worthy
“What an incredible story! This amazing book is a real page-turner, full of hope and the character of Jesus in the midst of incredible challenges—and with a happy ending at that.”
Dr. Michael L. Brown, host, nationally syndicated daily radio show The Line of Fire
“A genuinely epic encounter of two people coming together from two different parts of the world experiencing God’s grace in overcoming unspeakable obstacles. This is biographical testimony at its best because it is not merely a story of two people, but the story of God’s prevailing work in our lives.”
Timothy C. Tennent, Ph.D., president, Asbury Theological Seminary
“An epic love story that takes place in a time of war—a love story not just between Craig and Médine Keener but between God and His people. If you have ever wondered where God is in the midst of suffering and loss, you must read Impossible Love ! This is one of those rarest of books that inspires me to pray to want to know and love God better.”
Rich Nathan, author; senior pastor, Vineyard Columbus
“Packed with drama, adventure, danger, faith and hope. Be ready to experience a real-life story more incredible than any work of fiction. You’ll be inspired and encouraged by Craig and Médine’s story of impossible love.”
J. Warner Wallace, cold-case detective; author, Cold- Case Christianity and God’ s Crime Scene
“ Impossible Love has it all: conflict of civil war, danger, love, friendship, faith, miracles, deliverance supernaturally and the presentation of the faithfulness of God. I highly recommend it to all.”
Randy Clark, overseer, Apostolic Network of Global Awakening; author, There Is More! , The Essential Guide to Healing (with Bill Johnson), The Healing Breakthrough
Dedication
Lovingly dedicated to the memory of Mama Jacques (Antoinette Malombé) and Papa Jacques Moussounga
Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville)
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Dedication 7
Map 8
Preface 11
1. Keep Walking 15
2. Sharing the Faith 21
3. From Africa to the United States 28
4. Rejection 35
5. Starting Over 48
6. The Encounter 57
7. The Question of Marriage 62
8. In Black and White 66
9. Just Friends 72
10. Drug Dealers and White Supremacists 76
11. Conflict at Home 81
12. Dangerous Love 87
13. Escape from Brazzaville 93
14. Fleeing to Dolisie 101
15. Motherhood 109
16. Grasping the Ungraspable 118
17. Confronting Soldiers 123
18. Planning Escape 130
19. Life As Refugees Begins 134
20. On the Run Again 141
21. Mosquitoes in Moubotsi 147
22. Bracing Our Hearts 152
23. Zonzon’s Return 165
24. Life and Death in Mossendjo 175
25. The Outside World 182
26. Out of the Forest 191
27. Hope in the Ruins? 196
28. The Day Breaks 204
29. Leaving Congo? 211
30. International Affairs 220
Epilogue 233
About the Authors 239
Back Cover 241
Preface
Médine
Sixteen-month-old David, strapped to my back, sang exuberantly, as if celebrating the angry barrage of nearby gunfire and explosions. Whether he was enjoying the noise or acting oblivious to it, he was the only person in our small party of fugitives who could do either.
We were the last stragglers to abandon our neighborhood. A relative was pushing my disabled father, known to everyone as Papa Jacques, in a frail old green wheelbarrow. Although some fugitives had felt forced to leave aged or sick relatives behind, we would never have left without my father. That was why we had remained so long, even after members of the southern militia, the soldiers from our region, had warned all civilians to leave. Now our city, Dolisie, in western Congo, Central Africa, was burning behind us.
As my family and I trekked the dirt road up the hill, struggling with baggage on our heads, my mind wandered to a very different time, when I was finishing my Ph.D. in the West. That was where I had met my closest Western friend, Craig. Our affection for each other had not translated into successful romance, but we had remained intimate friends. We often confided our hearts to each other, as a close brother and sister would. That was why, despite the danger of discussing the political situation of a civil war, I had found someone leaving the country and sent Craig a letter a month before the city fell. I knew that if my letter reached him, he would never stop praying until he learned of my fate.
My mother’s shriek cut into my thoughts.
Thérèse, my big sister, spoke, her words little more than a gasp. “What is it, Mama Jacques?”
My mother raised her hands to her face. “In our hurry to escape, I forgot Papa Jacques’s medicines—I left them on the table.”
I felt sick as she spoke. Papa Jacques could not survive long without his medicines.
“I’ve got to go back,” Mama Jacques said.
Thérèse shook her head. “No, no! It’s safer for me to go back.”
My heart jumped. “No—let me go. Because I have my baby on my back, I’m the least likely to be raped or killed if found alone.”
We stood as though frozen. What should we do? We knew that other fugitives who had returned to their towns for forgotten items had been killed. And yet every moment that we delayed in this open place put us in greater danger from marksmen.
I could not imagine how we could all survive our situation. Nor could I imagine what the days that followed this one would bring. But before I tell you all that occurred in my life as a fugitive, Craig and I wa