Congo Dawn

While former Marine lieutenant Robin Duncan is no stranger to corruption or conspiracy, she has always been able to tell the good guys from the bad, and the Congo jungle at first seems no different. But as her security team tries to track down an insurgent killer, Robin has to face a man who broke her trust years ago, and she discovers the gray areas extend farther in this jungle wilderness than she anticipated. A ruthless global conspiracy begins to surface, run by powerful men who canвЂTMt afford to leave any witnesses. Her life at stake, Robin doesnвЂTMt know who to trust and wonders how she can help protect innocent people. Why is God silent amid all the pain and injustice? And how do these people of faith continue to rejoice in their suffering? Review "Windle comes off a highly acclaimed pair of books on Afghanistan (Veiled Freedom, Freedom's Stand) and moves into the jungles of the Congo. . . . The author doesn't limit character development to [protagonist] Robin Duncan, but also deeply develops accessible and multidimensional African characters. Inverting the Heart of Darkness trope of self-discovery in the jungle, this story sheds light through a great faith struggle . . . " Publishers Weekly , December, 2012 "Congo Dawn marks another brilliant foray by award-winning Windle ( Freedom's Stand , 2011), a child of missionaries, into the ambiguous worlds of war-torn regions. She effortlessly blends journalistic objectivity, humanitarian interest, faith-based inspiration, and the struggle of individuals to determine what is right. Windle's writing is engrossing, and this tale of moral suspense is a must-read." American Library Association Booklist , January, 2013 From the Author If absolute power breeds absolute corruption, what happens when a multinational corporation with unlimited funds hires on a private military company with unbridled power? Especially in a Congolese rainforest where governmental accountability is only too cheaply for sale and the ultimate 'conflict mineral' is up for grabs? Set in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's war-torn eastern Ituri rainforest zone, Congo Dawn confronts former Marine lieutenant Robin Duncan with just that question. A veteran in handling corruption and conspiracy, Robin has never had any trouble В discerning good guys from bad. But as her private security team tries to track down an insurgent killer, Robin faces a man who broke her trust years ago and discovers that gray areas extend deeper into the jungle than she anticipated. As a vicious global conspiracy emerges, run by brutal men who don't leave witnesses alive, Robin must decide if there is anyone left she can trust. And where is God in the suffering and injustice? How is it followers of Yesu (Jesus) caught in the crossfire can still rejoice when everything they hold dear is ripped away? Why this particular story? Growing up in the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, I was captivated by missionary biographies from its second-largest African counterpart, the Congo. Among them the story of Dr. Helen Roseveare, who helped establish several mission hospitals and medical training centers in the Ituri rainforest despite violence and unrest of impending Congolese independence, herself held captive for five months during the 1964 Simba rebellion. The largest of those centers Nyankunde was in turned razed in 2002 during the continuing conflict that has taken more than five million Congolese lives in the last decade. Today's fighting is greatly aggravated by the value and pursuit of conflict minerals in that zone.В As always, it has been the mission pilots, medical personnel both expatriate and Congolese, and selfless humanitarian volunteers who have been first back into the conflict zones well ahead of United Nations, embassy, local law enforcement or any corporate interests. Their courage in shining bright the light of God's love in one of the planet's darkest corners gave voice to this story. For the story's actual suspense thread, I've had personal opportunity to witness what a multinational corporation is capable of in dark corners of the Third World when no one is watching (an experience in itself too unbelievable to write up as fiction). In Africa as elsewhere, both the protective and striking arm of such corporations has historically been hired foreign mercenaries. But today's private military corporations are vastly different, possessing more fire power than the average country. What struck me was the lack of any accountability to outside oversight beyond some paid-off local warlord. So what happens when a multinational corporation with unlimited funds hires on a private military company with unbridled power in a Congolese rainforest where the ultimate 'conflict mineral' is up for grabs? Coming up with one very plausible possibility birthed Congo Dawn . On a deeper spiritual level , Congo Dawn addresses the age-old question of how a world filled with such darkness, injustice and pain can possibly be the creation of a God of love. What intrinsic value in itself beyond our own comprehension might human suffering possibly hold that a loving Creator God permits it to continue? Could it be true that the coexistence of a loving Creator with human suffering is no oxymoron, but a divine paradox those refined in the fires of adversity are best equipped to understand? That the smallest flames of love and faith really do shine most brightly against the darkest night?