An Asian Harvest by Paul Hattaway

Hattaway has finally told his own story. It is an amazing one. He relates his conversion and his later experience of smuggling Bibles into China, God directing and providing for his needs. He also transported Bibles within China in the 1980s. He tells of traveling in Asia and of a near death experience. He lived in a storage shed on a chicken farm, a cheap residence so he could spend his money and time on getting Bibles into China. He also tells of his journey to marriage, facing unfounded attacks against him and his future wife. I was shocked that some Christian ministers (and ministries) were willing to cover up the sexual abuse of the accuser because the man was well liked on the mission field.

While Hattaway went to a year of Bible college, he says that his travels gave him a much better education. He learned many lessons, including not getting trapped by the schemes of Satan. He also experienced miraculous provision. His stories of God's intervention are really encouraging.

This is a great autobiography in itself but it also gave me much to think about. Would I deny my faith to preserve my family? Would I support a $40 million dollar church expansion here in the U.S. when tens of millions of believers in China struggle to survive without God's Word? (275)

Even after a recent stroke, Hattaway is still very active in seeing Bibles provided to believers in China. In 2016, the Asia Harvest organization passed the milestone of producing ten million Bibles for China. (284) I really appreciate the structure of his organization, keeping the staff expenses low.

Hattaway's story is an inspiration. He was willing, early in his life, to continue cleaning toilets for the rest of his life if that was where God wanted Him to be. Such a devotion to serving God is encouraging. While he acknowledge that his life is not to be a template for every Christian, it certainly made me think of my own dedication to service.

You can find out more about his organization and the work it does at https://asiaharvest.org/.

My rating: 5/5 stars.

Paul Hattaway, a native New Zealander, has been a Bible courier and missionary for most of his life. He is an expert on the Chinese church, and the author of The Heavenly Man, Operation China, and many other books.

Monarch Books, distributed in the U.S. by Kregel Publications, 320 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Kregel. My comments are an independent and honest review.