Highfield A Time to Heal: Missionary Nurses in Churches of Christ Southeastern Nigeria (1953-1967)

The previously untold story of how a remarkable set of lay and professional nurses shaped Church of Christ (COC) missions in southeastern Nigeria. These womens decisions and actions occurred within a broader shift of COC perspectives away from missionary healthcare as incidental volunteer womens 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 goodwill 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 NursingHighfield 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 UniversityThrough informative and rich documentation Highfield records the actions of women who opened mission leaders 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 TheologyDr. 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