Ben Patrick Johnson

If the Rains Don't Cleanse Ben Patrick Johnson First edition

In IF THE RAINS DON'T CLEANSE, Ben Patrick Johnson takes the reader on a cross-continental adventure with well intentioned but sheltered Eva Dunagan, an American Christian missionary bound for 1950s Belgian Congo. Inspired by his mother's experiences, Eva's story will resonate with anyone who has ever found themselves beyond the comforts of their own domain or dogma. In Eva, Johnson has created a multi-dimensional heroine who self-identifies as a woman to be reckoned with, all the while walking into a world entirely unlike her own or one she could imagine. But through her missteps and brutal discoveries, Eva remains steadfast in her resolve to stay the course and spread a faith that even she begins to question more every day. Based on extensive family interviews, news accounts, and letters, IF THE RAINS DON'T CLEANSE was meticulously researched over a 14-year span. What results is a powerful and rich narrative that is at once heart-wrenching and triumphant. The novel climaxes as Eva and her family find themselves caught in the crossfire of a violent revolution torn between the people they have grown to love and a bloody uprising that threatens their very lives.