Chosen & Loved

Fires Of Injustice by Kendy Pearson is a powerful Christian historical novel that is grounded in facts. The tale is set in 1880’s America and concerns the plight of the Chinese people in America who were persecuted and rejected by many. The reader is educated as we read. It was a time in history that I knew nothing about. I was horrified at the dreadful prejudices and cruelty.

As the story opens, it is twenty years earlier than the main tale. We are in China where the reader witnesses the dreadful practice of disposing of baby girls (also called ‘go-away girls’). An American couple with a heart for the Chinese people, rescue an orphan girl believing “God has given us a precious piece of China to have with us always.”

Though the baby was rejected by man, she is known by God. His hand has been on her life from the start. “She was… a beautiful gem, a precious treasure in God’s eyes.”

In the main story, the baby is now grown, and has a heart to open a home for abandoned and neglected Chinese girls. The white women in America are enthusiastic about helping the girls, until they find out that they will be Chinese and not American girls, and then all offers of help are rescinded. The leading character declares “our home is a home to all who need a home.” The Chinese girls have been brought to America by unscrupulous and greedy men who see the girls as commodities and put them to work in brothels. “These were God’s precious children, but evil called them merchandise. Evil called them disposable.”

Rescuing the girls requires courage to stand up to the evil men. But when God is with us, we cannot fail, even if we run into trouble.