No Solitary Effort describes how members of the China Inland Mission engaged the tribes of Southwest China as part of their comprehensive plan to evangelize all of China from 1865 to 1951. That endeavor required the combined lifelong efforts of numerous missionaries, spanned several generations, and was invariably affected by events and decisions that occurred thousands of miles from where the actual ministry was taking place. The task was incomplete when the missionaries were forced to leave, but the foundations for the Church which were laid have stood. This book addresses the great challenges to cooperation that faced the missionaries. It also reveals the rich rewards that were obtained by the united efforts of committed Christians who had no timetable for withdrawal, but only an unwavering commitment to work together until the task was accomplished.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. By what miracle can an assortment of seemingly unrelated particles come together and correctly assemble to form a human being? Amazingly, once aggregated, these atoms, molecules, and compounds manage to interact reasonably coherently during our lives but seek to return to their dusty state when death occurs. Of the billions of our species who have existed on earth over the millennia, most have quietly and inexorably returned to ashes and dust when their term of life expired. This book tracks some of the misadventures of selected corpses, including burials that went awry to body snatching, exhumations, human-relic collection, and assorted desecrations. Over the years, it seems that a remarkable number of bodies have failed to enjoy the admonition to “Rest in Peace.” Whether these aberrations in the burial process have disturbed the afterlife of the departed, everyone is dying to discover the answer.