In Japan the Crickets Cry, by Ronald Clements and Steve Metcalf

Steve Metcalf is a name that sounds so familiar to me but I can't place it. I don't think I recognize him as being the missionary to Japan whose story is told in this book. A Google search didn't help me out either. So I'm stuck. Maybe I knew one once. Anyway. (That distracted me throughout the book. And so now I will distract you with that incredibly useless fact! You're welcome.)

In Japan the Crickets Cry is a recent release from Kregel Publications. Written by Ronald Clements and Steve Metcalf, it tells the story of Metcalf's life's work (beginning in China and ending in Japan.) The tagline on the front of the book is, "How could Steve Metcalf forgive the Japanese?" As a teenager, Metcalf was one of 1,500 prisoners of war held by the Japanese in a camp during World War II. Metcalf's parents were missionaries in China and he had been sent to the Chefoo boarding school in China for his education. While at the school, he and his fellow classmates were taken captive. Due to his capture, he did not end up seeing his parents again until the end of the war (seven years later!), after the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. As a side note, he was held in the same prison camp as Eric Liddell and Mr. Liddell had given Metcalf one of his old pair of running shoes. Liddell ended up dying in the camp and Metcalf (as well as the other camp prisoners) were among the few in the world who were able to attend his funeral.

Metcalf relays his personal history from his growing up years in the Taku village where he grew up in Yannan, China, to being sent away to boarding school. We learn of his life as a former POW in Australia and his eventual calling to the mission field in Japan. Along the way we also learn about his family, his sister, his various romantic encounters and disappointments, language barrier issues, his marriage to Evelyn and eventual retirement. This book gives us a basic overview of his life and challenges.

I've read a few books on missionaries and I have to say this one didn't really impress me very much. While I can appreciate the dangers and struggles Metcalf and his family experienced, I read a whole lot of "Me, Myself and I" and not a whole lot of, "Look at what God has done." Oh sure, it's there, but he tone of the book reads more like a pat on the back of some sorts. I realize that is very harsh and certainly Steve Metcalf has sacrificed a great deal to lead the life he has. I would say it is clear that he is very interested in following God's leading and call on his life. But throughout the book I heard more of Metcalf's voice than a testimony of the greatness of God - which is what I would typically expect to read in such a story. Due to not feeling as if Metcalf was pointing me towards the cross - I didn't feel overwhelmingly inspired by this book as I have over the stories of other missionaries.

I have to say that the one thing that bothered me the very most with In Japan the Crickets Cry is Metcalf feeling the need to share his interactions and relationships with members of the opposite sex. When he was in Australia after the war he fell in love with a young lady who eventually decided she couldn't marry a missionary. (This is not something I would hold against a person.) He spent a lot of, what I think is unnecessary time, on this story and told us of his depression and devastation and how, despite the fact that she soon became engaged to some one else, he was still focused on trying to salvage this relationship. Then he told a story about how he was pulled aside by a fellow missionary and chastised for "leading a(nother) girl on" when he had no such intentions towards this female. He shared of her devastation in realizing that Metcalf harbored no romantic interests in her. I thought that story was uncalled for and just plain weird to include. (Truthfully, I thought that story was in very bad taste and he could have discretely brushed past that part of the story without affecting the rest of his testimony one iota.) Metcalf mentions several times that at various points in his life he seemed to be a "hit with the ladies" and this just really turned me off. It came across as egotistical and simply ill-advised and indiscreet to be making so much of his intentional and otherwise romantic interests. I was very much not amused and very much turned off by such confessions. There was simply no need.

I think Metcalf exercises some additional indiscretions in talking about some misunderstandings between his support base in the UK and his missionary organization in Japan. I guess I just don't think Metcalf exercised a lot of caution in telling his story and at times it felt as if he wanted to prove his innocence and wanted to justify his own actions and behaviors. I got more of that out of the book than I did about the mission work itself. True, he does share instances and occasions where the Gospel was shared with the Japanese but I rather felt those stories were few and far between. I was also taken aback by the idea that he would send his own children off to boarding school after he expressed his own distaste for his personal experience in such a setting. He mourned the loss of getting to grow up as a family with his parents present and yet he made his children endure the same thing. That just doesn't make sense to me at all!

I should probably stop talking. Suffice it to say, the premise of this book is really interesting. If you are looking for a personal story of one person's experience during and immediately after World War II in post-war Japan - this is a very interesting tale. If you are looking for an inspiring story of missionary work then I would have to suggest that you look elsewhere. I might have enjoyed this book more if I had not had pre-set expections as to what this book was going to be about. I'm going to label this book a memoir because that's what it felt like to me.

I will point out that in the acknowledgment section at the end of this book, Clements makes it clear that this book is told from the perspective of Metcalf alone and that no one else mentioned in the book was interviewed prior to publication. He expressly states that these are the reflections of Metcalf and also that he (Clements) takes full responsibility for their presentation. I appreciated that. It seemed the wise, logical and honorable thing to do at the end of such a story.

Anyway, there you have it. I was hoping for a hit, but this book ended up being a miss for me. Take it for what you will.

Thanks to Kregel for sending me a copy to read. Obviously, all opinions in this post are entirely my own.