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Listen to Where is God Not?

Book cover of "Where Is God Not? An American Surgeon in India" by Forrest C. Eggleston, featuring images of children, the Taj Mahal, and medical scenes.
Author:Dr. Forrest C Eggleston
Read by Fredrick Dreyer
From back cover:  When surgeon Forrest Eggleston and his wife, Barbara, arrived in India in 1953, their two children in tow, the impoverished country had only been independent for six and a half years.  The family’s destination as Presbyterian medical missionaries was the Lady Irwin Tuberculosis Sanatorium in he tiny village of Jubar, high in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains.  There, surrounded by breathtaking views, cultural mores often inimical to healing, and mind-numbing primitive conditions, Eggleston served as the medical superintendent with skill and compassion.  During this period of time, he also developed a general surgical residency program at the Christian Medical College in  Ludhiana, on he plains of the state of Punjab, which allowed him the particularly satisfying activity of teaching.
 
In a voice still filled with a sense of wonder and gratitude for the incredible adventure in which he and his family took part.  Eggleston reflects on his medical mission.  Although, as he describes it, “We wept for the poor of  India and felt helpless,” he and his dedicated staff made a vast difference in the quality of health care available on the plains and in the mountains of North India.  They offered all their patients loving Christian care, curing those who could be cured and not being afraid to be with the incurable as they died.
 
Eggleston recalls the story behind the simple but profound words that sustained his faith–“Where is God not?”–spoken by Rev. John Lowrie the first Presbyterian missionary to India, in response to a Sikh ruler’ challenging question, “Where is God?”  Through vignettes of village life and individuals, he gives a human face to India’s epic political, religious, and social upheavals as it struggled to become a self-sufficient and peaceful democracy.
 
Providence House Publishers, 1999 (All profits were used to benefit medical missions in the developing world)

 

Portrait of Rick Dreyer, a smiling man with a beard, wearing a light-colored suit jacket, shirt, and striped tie.

Read by Fredrick Dreyer

We are thankful to Rick Dreyer for taking the time to help us digitize Dr. Eggleston’s book so that all might listen to it.

Rick is a mechanical engineer working for companies specializing in crushing equipment for mines, power plants, and industrial minerals. For the last sixteen years he has served out of St. Louis as Director of International Sales, which has taken him to 35 different countries. He loves traveling and experiencing other cultures. India is a particular favorite. While in India, Rick and Eileen, his wife of 43 years, especially enjoyed attending the wedding of one of his associates in Rourkela. He and Eileen attend Concord Trinity United Methodist Church in St. Louis.

He has six rules for travel:

  1. Be a student and feel and absorb the rich history of other cultures.
  2. Look for beauty.
  3. Be adventurous.
  4. Respect and celebrate our differences.
  5. Talk to local people.
  6. Be prepared for ANYTHING!

Rick responded to an appeal in our Ludhiana CMC US Review (newsletter) and has devoted many weeks of spare time to this project. We are pleased and proud of the final product.

LISTEN TO ALL OF PART ONE, CHAPTERS 1–12

LISTEN TO ALL OF PART TWO, CHAPTERS 13–29

LISTEN CHAPTER BY CHAPTER

Part One — Jubar, India

  1. The Road to India
  2. Welcome to India
  3. Christmas
  4. Jubar
  5. Help Comes
  6. The Hand of God
  7. Holy Cow
  8. A Clubfoot
  9. Strikes and Unions
  10. Don’t Tell My Wife
  11. It Takes Two to Have an Argument
  12. Closing Jubar

Part Two — Ludhiana, India
13. Ludhiana
14. Where Is God Not?
15. Lost
16. “Fatal Operations”
17. See One, Help One, Do One
18. You Choose
19. They Will Kill Me
20. Kali’s Agent
21. Yusuf
22. Balbir
23. You Are Not Alone
24. Unrest in the Punjab
25. Operation Blue Star
26. Assassination
27. No, You Would Never Do That
28. You Have Ruined Me
29. Live in a Goldfish Bowl

Epilogue:  Mission Accomplished