lifesong
Everyone needs compassion
Love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The hope of nations
Saviour, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave
So take me as you find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender
Shine your light in
Let the whole world see
We're singing, for the glory
Of the risen King
Jesus, Shine your light in
Let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory
Of the risen king
Thursday, July 29, 2004
-8:19 pm
I've just finished reading a really wonderful book I borrowed from *surprise* the RGS library! Though the story was set in a land far far away- Zimbabwe, Africa- it was no less moving and engaging. "The Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer is about this young African girl who was forced to flee from her rural village to Zimbabwe to look for her estranged father, who abandoned her mother while she was pregnant with her (the girl- Nhamo). Because Nhamo's fellow villagers believed that she brought bad luck upon them by being the daughter of a murderer after a village-wide epidemic of cholera, she was forced to marry this old chee-ko-pek guy in some other village as a ngozi-bride (payment for a dead person).
Though most of the second part of the novel was about her lonely voyage to Zimbabwe in a leaky boat, it was filled adventures of wild encounters, her fight for survival as well as her strange luck of being guided by her mother's, a dead neighbour's and water spirits. The writer's craft was most laudable in the way she narrated the plot in a story-telling way. The language included frequent use of the Shona language, one that is spoken in that area of African as I have learnt. It added an authentic native cultural flavour to the book and was most educational to me. I credit the author for doing obviously an extensive amount of research to equip her with the background knowledge to write this book in context of the people the story represented.
The description of how Nhamo survived on her own in the wilderness of African islands really intrigued me. As a really fortunate youngster to be living a comfortable life in safe Singapore, I really could not imagine and understand the kind of suffering the protagonist went through. How Nhamo managed to make baskets, pots for water, scavenge for and cook her own food etc. really filled me with awe and respect for her. Throw any of us into that kind of situation and we would have starved to death. With ferocious baboons and crocodiles after her, Nhamo was brave, believing, although in a childish way, in her strong spirit and made up poem-songs about her own greatness. I suppose it did serve to boost her self-esteem and spur her on in such a desolate and discouraging predicament, however silly it may sound. The stories she told were of spirits and pagan magic, but it was still an enriching reading experience for me. I travelled the wilderness with Nhamo and feared for her life just as she had when she encountered a pack of aggressive hounds. She was definitely a champion and a survivor.The ups and downs in the stories were told with such emotion that I could just feel how Nhamo was feeling in a certain situation.
I hope I have not spoiled the story for those who are planning to read it. If you are, then good for you; if you're not, I strongly encourage you to because it is honestly worth all the time I've spent reading it. I definitely am more thankful for being born into such a country with all the modern conveniences available. It is truly this heartwarming story of a gem of a book that made me appreciate who I am and celebrate the human spirit of courage and adventure.
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