by Jody Pederson, reviewed by Melissa Meyers
For this month’s book review, I am delighted to bring you a story written by our own Jody Pederson. Jody and Garth have been Calvary supported missionaries for many years. Being back in Minnesota, they are an active part of our congregation. Garth is on the leadership board. You can visit with them on Sunday mornings at church or invite them over for dinner and fellowship.
Jody and Garth spent twenty-one years in the Democratic Republic of Congo working for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). The Lost Years of My Life: the insignificant missionary wife is a book about their journey written from Jody’s perspective and experiences. She has a warm and inviting writing style that will make you feel like you are right there with her, looking over her shoulder. Photographs are strategically placed throughout the book, that add to the stories being told.
In the book, Jody explores themes of calling, sacrifice, endurance, and finding your purpose on the mission field. Except for the first chapter of the book, which gives a concise background into Jody’s early life and their call as a couple to the mission field, the chapters are thematic. This style works well since Jody had to process such a wide span of time.
In chapter two she writes, “…a well-meaning, but perhaps insensitive lady asked me, ‘Are you a missionary too or just Garth?’ I was taken aback by her question and hurt by the insinuation that I wasn’t important in our ministry.” Clearly, Garth’s purpose as a pilot was well-defined, but Jody held many different roles throughout her time on the mission field. We get to read about many of them.
My favorite was hearing how God brought her full circle. Jody shares her life-long love of music starting at the beginning of the book, and the fact that she studied music in college for two years before marrying Garth. Years later, this opened a door for her to become a music teacher at TASOK, an international school in Kinshasa. This is a position she held until they moved back to the United States and she became the band and strings teacher at Schafer Academy in Rochester. Jody wrote a beautiful devotion for The Stir called, “The Composition of a Life,” which covers some of this journey.
We also get to read about the many challenges that the Pederson’s faced throughout their time in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You’ll read about the daily struggle of food preparation, some dangers that they encountered, the modified holiday celebrations they had, and “the year of the boils.” If you ever thought boils were just a Biblical disease, you need to read Jody’s chapter titled, “In sickness and in health.” It will appropriately have you squirming.
There is so much that shines through in this book, like Jody’s love for her family, her support of Garth and their ministry, and the little nuggets of truth that she learned. She writes, “Life in Congo was often difficult and sometimes stressful. I complained a lot and wasn’t always the most willing servant, but now I can see how God used it all for good in my life. I can identify blessings mixed in with the trials, roses among the thorns.”
The Lost Years of My Life: the insignificant missionary wife can be bought on Amazon in print and eBook format.
Melissa Meyers is co-editor of The Stir, wife to John, and mother to Malcolm (20) and Emily (17). She is a Neonatal Nurse and Creative Writer, who is always looking for ways to communicate God’s truth through stories. She is the author of, Beneath the Ancient Dust: Inspirational Stories from Nine Years in Afghanistan and The Snow Trillium. Her hobbies are drinking coffee, reading, and taking long walks. She will accept an invitation for coffee anytime and loves to hear how God is working in your life.