Billy Ng

Witnessing to Dracula by Dr Billy Ng is another great book about missions, this time in Romania. The book opens with Billy's decision to obey God and go to Romania as a missionary. Selling all of what he has, he sets off to a land where he knows no one and has to trust strangers to help him reach the lost.

The book is funny and yet sad in many ways as you see people who are lost spiritually and have no hope in a land of poverty, superstitions (Dracula) and don't have any problem with dishonesty or hurting others.

One of my favorite scenes in the book opened early on. Billy Ng has a "friend" who is to help him with translations, meeting people so he can hold meetings to meet people and minister to them. Some of the adventures these two have are so funny and bizarre - they could only happen in another country, where the customs and traditions are different from what you are used to.

Imagine...
- getting stuck on a corner because cars are driving madly around you and you can't figure out how to cross the street.
- having your new car stolen in a strange land.
- having a former spy for the soviets burst into your apartment and start going through your things - looking for something, anything....
- having to put two chairs together as a bed.

I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading about other people's adventures, stepping out in faith and seeing the hand of God move in other people's lives.

You can read the questions I asked Dr Ng on my blog at:
http://familyliteracyandyou.blogspot.com/2011/02/witnessing-to-dracula-memoir-of...… (mais)

Witnessing to Dracula chronicles the journey of Dr. Billy Ng to establish a church in Romania. It is an entertaining, often funny story of how Ng takes Romanian culture head-on. The chapters are short and offer poignant glimpses into Romanian culture. The book starts off with the recounting of his trying to break into the school where they were supposed to hold their Christmas Eve service, only to have virtually every detail of the evening go wrong. Ng takes us on the journey of how he got to this point and the lessons learned along the way, including some brief Romanian history sketches.

There are a couple of issues that I had with the writing. First, the book focuses more on the “Dracula” part than the “Witnessing” part – that is, more on the Romanian culture and Ng’s escapades than the actual ministry itself. The reader will learn very little of the church itself, even with a chapter highlighting a few of the believers at the church. I felt like the book would have been more accurately subtitled, “A memoir of culture shock in Romania.”

The second issue and perhaps a more minor point, is the matter of the time frame. As far as I could tell, Ng never mentions when he was in Romania. This made putting things into historical perspective difficult. Further, the events seemed to jump in time. One chapter has him in one place working on a crusade, the next has him finished with the crusade (with scant details of it) and working on something else. I was left with the impression that he wasn’t in Romania very long at all, which I know isn’t true, but that is the impression I was left with nonetheless due to the lack of time references.

The book overall is an entertaining, suspenseful, quick read. The stories about Ng’s encounters with the Romanians make you marvel at his tenacity to stick things out even in the face of incredible hardship. I imagine that his next book will be just as entertaining.

(Thanks to Dr. Billy Ng for providing a review copy of this book. I was under no obligation to post a positive review.)… (mais)

I have read quite a few books about missionaries on the field, but I have never before read one that was this entertaining and honest. In his story of his mission to Romania, Billy Ng puts on no pretense. You see his discouragements, his problems, and his humor. There is never once an “I am so holy” attitude. He is an honest guy trying to serve the Lord in the middle of a culture shock.

The book is easy to read as each of the 61 chapters has its own short story. In one chapter he takes us through a city overrun by stray dogs. Then there are the painful experiences with dishonest people. I loved his attitude as he endured a six-hour search by border guards, sharing his faith the entire time.

Billy Ng explains much of the daily life –and death- in this unique country, along with a little history of the real Dracula and the culture of the Gypsies. He shares his conversations with God about the mistakes he made and how he learned what it means to have a meaningful ministry.

I highly recommend this engaging story. It is well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.… (mais)