Martha Farrar Highfield. A Time to Heal: Missionary Nurses in Churches of Christ, Southeastern Nigeria (1953-1967). Sulis Academic Press, 2020. ISBN: 978-1-946849-82-3. eISBN: 978-1-946849-83-0. 367pp. $19.95 (pbk). $15.99 (eBook).
The previously untold story of how a remarkable set of lay and professional nurses shaped Church of Christ (COC) missions in southeastern Nigeria. These women’s decisions and actions occurred within a broader shift of COC perspectives away from missionary healthcare as incidental volunteer women’s work, and toward healthcare missions as a Christian duty. For each being a missionary nurse meant delivering healthcare as part of Christian evangelism. To that end they executed multiple roles: healer, educator, revolutionary, advocate, good-will ambassador, protector, administrator, evangelist, role model, fund-raiser, friend, and colleague. We did “everything that needed to be done that there was nobody to do,” reflected missionary Nancy Petty RN.
This book is a fascinating look at the lives of women who bore great responsibility for Christian mission.
—Barbara Mann Wall, RN, PhD, Thomas A. Saunders III Professor in Nursing, University of Virginia School of Nursing
Highfield takes the reader on an exciting journey that fills a long-standing void in the literature about the origin of medical missions in Churches of Christ.
—Jerry Rushford, PhD, Director of Churches of Christ Heritage Center, Pepperdine University
Through informative and rich documentation, Highfield records the actions of women, who opened mission leader’s eyes to nursing as an integral part of missionary work.
—Dr. Tove Giske PhD, Professor in nursing, VID Specialized University, Norway; President, Nurses Christian Fellowship International
As I read this book, I laughed out loud and was moved to tears. I saw missiological principles emerge as missionaries faced a host of worldview challenges. At a personal level this book serves as a powerful testimony for the necessity of a holistic mission that integrates the proclamation of the kingdom with the care for the sick.
—Evertt W. Huffard, PhD, Missions Resource Network; Retired Dean/Professor of Missions at Harding School of Theology
Dr. Highfield has written a rich, powerful history that has not been told, but strongly deserves to be. She probably knows more about this topic than anyone living today.
—Dyron B. Daughrity, PhD, Professor of Religion, Religion & Philosophy Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu,
California
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About the Author
Martha F. Highfield, PhD, RN, is Professor Emeritus of Nursing at California State University/Northridge and Advisor for the Research Fellowship Magnet Program at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and serves on the Board of the International Health Care Foundation/African Christian Hospitals.
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