Grace at the Garbage Dump: Making Sense of Mission in the Twenty-First Century

Like many young people in his generation, Jesse Zink had long been eager to work overseas and make the world a better place. As a missionary working in a shantytown community in South Africa, he found all that and much more--in demanding, unexpected, and surprising ways. Grace at the Garbage Dump takes readers with Jesse through his years in South Africa: struggling with AIDS patients to get life-saving drugs, coaching women through a micro-credit program, and teaching preschool students to sing (and dance) to ＂＂Johnny B. Goode.＂＂ It’s a story that leads us to a deeper understanding of our world and is at once hopeful and uplifting while also being credible and serious. The headlines are dominated by disaster and despair but young people remain passionate about service to the least among us. Grace at the Garbage Dump is an invigorating call to respond to the difficulties of our time with an active and engaged faith. Whether you end up at the local soup kitchen or halfway around the world, you’ll be challenged to seek God’s grace in even the most adverse circumstances.

Jesse Zink is an Episcopal priest and a doctoral student in world Christianity at the University of Cambridge. A study guide for Grace at the Garbage Dump, suitable for use by church and other reading groups, is available at www.jessezink.com/guide.