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Hardship. Hard work. Determination. Love. And Jesus.
Inashood, which means “man in long black robe,” is not what I pictured as I read the book. Many of the first Apache missionaries needed to be carpenters, pioneers, and later mechanics. The missionaries, new graduates with no ministry experience, lived with the Apache people in tents. They built their own homes and churches and schools. The people they served were spread across the vast rugged land. The Apache people were still considered prisoners of war. Life was difficult. Why did the Inashood stay and continue to serve the Apache people? Just like us, “they [Apache] are for whom Jesus gave his life. . . . They are God’s children” (p. 66). The missionaries loved their Lord and the Apache people.
I enjoyed reading the detailed history of the missionaries’ lives, the challenges they faced, and the souls won for Jesus. I liked the later chapters about the school and nursery too. Because of the overlap in the years the missionaries served, there are some stories and facts repeated. However, you can tell the author did a great deal of research to write this book and has personal experience—childhood and adulthood—playing and working with the Apache.
If you have visited or lived on the Apache reservation, Inashood: The Story of the Arizona Apache Lutheran Missions and Their Pastors is a must read. If you love and support mission work, this book is a must read. Thank you, God, for the first missionaries and teachers on the Apache reservation, for gifting them with incredible talent and love. Continue to bring more people to know their Savior.
A look at books published by Northwestern Publishing House. For more information, visit nph.net or call 800-662-6022.
Author: Emily Kom
Volume 110, Number 6
Issue: June 2023
