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1 obres 107 Membres 4 Ressenyes

Obres de Lisa Misraje Bentley

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2.75 stars

A Chinese baby is badly burned and left in a field to die... but God intervenes.

This true account is not the most well-written. There's a lot of 'telling' instead of 'showing.' It easily could have been reduced in length by 30-50%. The timeline is not very clear in the beginning, and the author begins to tell her own story of conversion to Christianity but never finishes. There are several typos.

But Bentley does record many of the ways in which God connected people and resources to provide what was needed at any given time - in that regard, it's an encouraging read.… (més)
 
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RachelRachelRachel | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Nov 21, 2023 |
Focus on the Family is an American registered charity, an NGO. It is based in a group of Evangelical churches for volunteers and support. It address a wide range of family-oriented problem in several countries.
 
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brendanus | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Jul 20, 2017 |
The story makes for interesting reading but it isn't as dramatic as the write up suggests. A Christian couple with 4 children move to China for 3 months to see what it would be like to relocate due to the husband wanting to work with Chinese orphans. The wife (and author) is reluctant but agrees having been given the option to veto a permanent move at the end of the 3 months. On arrival the author meets "Levi" a severely burned baby suffering painfully having been left for death in a field probably due to China's likely medical costs. She becomes emotionally and physically involved in trying to save this child and basically forgets all of her other responsibilities in the process. She decides she will do "whatever it takes" to rescue Levi including trips back and forth to the USA for medical treatment, she proceeds to do this at great financial cost to various charitable organisations that end up getting involved. They become famous as their story spreads across the globe; they carry out speaking engagements and fund raising for various medical costs. Many people give financial gifts. Levi survives and they later adopt him.

This is a hard one to call. It seems that had the author not gone to all of this effort "Levi" would more than likely have died. I cannot put a price on the life of a child so I'm not going to categorically state that what she did was wrong, but what of the cost to her own family? I am going to suggest that if the author had not gone to all of this trouble and God had wanted this child to live then He would have found another way. The author does not appear to be following God's leading in relation to her decisions but more acting on emotional impulse and apart from her husband. She seems to be doing all of this in her own strength.

Arguments began during the author's "obsession." The author's husband told her that she was spending too much time outside the home and neglecting her own children. The author states that she and her husband had become like business partners due to the stressful situation of adopting and caring for Levi. The author became emotionally unwell and the family took an enforced 1 year furlough in the US. The husband also wanted to adopt another Chinese child. They couldn't really agree about this so ended up adopting both children. They had marriage counseling and seemed to have partially stabilized by the end of the book, albeit now with 6 children including 2 Chinese. They co-founded a charity Harmony Outreach to care for orphans in China.

On going to the website http://harmonyoutreach.org/ I was surprised to see the husband as the sole director/leader of the charity. In fact, I couldn't find any mention of the author (his wife) anywhere on the website at all. His testimony reads as if he went to China as a single in order to work with orphans.....I found this a bit strange. From reading the website it seems as if he has just cut his wife and six children out of his life and then continued with his "Christian" charity work as if they don't exist and have never existed.

Further research reveals this article which confirms that the couple were divorced and the author is now raising the 6 children alone. I was not surprised to read about this as it was clear they were struggling in the book.

http://www.pe.com/articles/levi-623083-china-bentley.html

This is meant to be a Christian book. The couple are claiming to be Christians. There is a doctrinal statement of faith on the charity website. However, the Gospel is not contained in the book and there are only brief references to God and prayer mainly at times of desperation. Despite this the author takes verses out of context to support her actions in relation to the adoption of Levi. She states that Jesus says that when he comes back he will separate people into two groups; one group will contain those who helped people (like Levi) and the other will contain those who walked on by. This doesn't appear to be biblical as the separation will be of believers from non-believers, it has nothing to do with good works.

"Jesus Christ is the great Shepherd; he will shortly distinguish between those that are his, and those that are not. All other distinctions will be done away; but the great one between saints and sinners, holy and unholy, will remain for ever."- Comments on Matthew 25 vs 32

[b:Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible & Nave's Topical Bible|15299564|Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible & Nave's Topical Bible|Orville J. Nave|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|20955268]

This book is free of bad language, violence and sexual content. Some of the initial descriptions of the injuries to Levi may shock some readers. I am not recommending this book as I don't think it contains good principles for Christians to follow in relation to any type of adoption international or otherwise.



… (més)
 
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sparkleandchico | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | Aug 31, 2016 |
Story of a young boy, badly burned and left to die in a village field, whose rescue ultimately brought people together from around the globe.
 
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gnbclibrary | Hi ha 3 ressenyes més | May 25, 2008 |

Estadístiques

Obres
1
Membres
107
Popularitat
#180,615
Valoració
½ 3.5
Ressenyes
4
ISBN
4

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