Edith Schaeffer (1914–2013)

I loved this book!

Edith Schaeffer writes about how she and her husband, Francis Schaeffer, came to begin L'Abri Fellowship, a community where people can come and wrestle with their questions about God and spirituality.

One of the hallmarks of this community is that Edith and Francis aren't official missionaries and don't receive traditional financial support. They also don't advertise their needs widely or ask for funds. Instead, they pray and trust God to provide for their needs - and He has.

As with other accounts of God's provision, this was an incredibly encouraging read. Something that really struck me is that they also prayed for God to keep people away, those people who would only be taking advantage of the free accommodation near a skiing area (they are in Switzerland), and not actually interested in spiritual matters.

"If God exists, He is the One with infinite intelligence, infinite wisdom, infinite knowledge, infinite judgment. He would know how to plan a work, how to use lives, beyond any human being. We felt then that it would be possible to place our individual lives, and our 'work' of the future, into His planning. We felt it would be possible for Him to communicate day by day, week by week, month by month, this plan of His to us." p 127… (altro)

4.5 stars

Schaeffer wrote letters to her family and "ministry family" while living and working as a missionary in Switzerland, and this book is a collection of 12 years' worth of those letters.

She details her family's ministry efforts that result in many salvations and the creation of L'Abri Fellowship, a place where people seeking spiritual truth can come to converse freely and wrestle with their beliefs (or lack thereof) about God.

Because these letters were penned between 1948 and 1960 in Europe, there are many interesting historical tidbits - for instance, real meals they ate during rationing after World War II are mentioned.

Schaeffer is very detailed in these letters, and so this book is not for those who just want the 'big picture.' (If that is you, I recommend reading [b:L'Abri|338211|L'Abri|Edith Schaeffer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348570739l/338211._SY75_.jpg|2132648] by Schaeffer instead.)… (altro)

3.5 stars

I was excited that this book covers the period of time before and after [b:L'Abri|12072672|L'Abri|Edith Schaeffer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388196974l/12072672._SY75_.jpg|2132648] was written but, honestly, the after became somewhat boring as the Schaeffers' ministry increasingly was wrapped up in speaking at conferences and writing books, and less was written about the community life.

Of course, it is always encouraging to read about answered prayers, but the book was pretty lengthy and I didn't feel that there were as many answers to prayer included in this book as there were in the first one.… (altro)