When God Says Go: The Amazing Story of a Slave's Daughter

This book is a biography of an amazing black American woman who worked as a missionary in the jungles of Liberia from 1913 to 1972. The story briefly covers her parent's lives as slaves, her childhood, and her education. It also briefly describes the founding of Liberia and the history of Christianity there. Most of the story details the many challenges Eliza Davis-George faced, the work she did in Liberia, and how her efforts helped the people of Liberia. The biography initially jumps back and forth in time, which sometimes got me a little confused about where everyone (like her husband) was. It was a little slow in spots, but most of the story was vividly written, bringing life in the bush alive in my imagination. The book doesn't hide her faults, yet it's still quite clear that Eliza George was truly an amazing woman. I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes amazing missionary stories and who is interested in Liberia (i.e. if this story sounds interesting to you, I think you'll enjoy it). Different Time, Different Place Book Reviews http://differenttimedifferentplace.blogspot.com/

What stands out in When God Says Go is how many people do just that. While Eliza Davis George remains the book's center countless others: co-missionaries, mission boards, mission teachers, national workers and even a husband come and go, leaving Eliza to carry on. This is so since Eliza Davis George marked out a 65 plus year missionary ministry in Liberia, and at age 99, one year before her death, was still itinerating to raise funds and create missionary awareness. The others had to come and go, who else has that kind of track record? I was impacted by how much was going on in and through Davis' life, and realized that only half the book was finished. The author starts by stating that the Eliza Davis George story must be told. Davis-George (1899-1979), the daughter of former U.S. slaves, sensed a call to Liberia to share the gospel with Africans, and through an indomitable, indefatigable, almost incredible endurance prayed and labored her way in the interior of Liberia, starting a mission, establishing schools, training nationals, evangelizing a multitude, and being Christ to many tribes with no gospel contact, all the while facing such severe hardship and limited resources that only her strong faith in God and a true grit kept her there. Lutz begins the book by recounting a number of memories and stories as Eliza walks, in vain as it turns out, 200 miles to try and retrieve a money order for badly needed funds. These opening chapters set the stage for what was a long life dedicated to prayer, fasting, great disappointment, hard work and, through it all, belief. By the end her life her labors had yielded a boarding school for tribal children, various other schools, and over 150 churches supported by different denominational entities. Probably what stands out most is Eliza Davis George's prayer life. Her stamina was only equaled, even surpassed, by her remarkable life of prayer. How did she do it all? Prayer and fasting were a way of life for Eliza Davis George, and the accolades given to her in the latter part of her service for her dedication to Africa reflected a life-long commitment that rested on prayer. What would improve this fascinating account, what would make it more helpful as a missiological study and not only an inspiring missionary biography, would be a more specific focus on what did not go right for Eliza Davis George. George went with little backing and no training, and this to her credit, yet one wonders how these educational and practical limitations may have caused a rupture in some working relationships that, had the people remained, would have furthered the work sooner. As well, Eliza's giving spirit caused the mission to operate on credit, and in the red, for much longer than it should have. Had she learned to be more firm in saying no, not only would the mother mission have been on better footing, but her ministries in the bush would have been better realized and financed. Most tragic, and discussed in som

This book examines the life of a very courageous black American women at a time in our country's history when she had an uphill battle to do what God told her to do. Mrs. Lutz has done the research, including traveling to Africa, to make the whole time period come alive from those who knew this amazing lady personally. The book should encourage any woman who feels called to step out in faith no matter what the circumstances.