num_pages: 288
description: Dr. Rick Hodes arrived in Africa more than two decades ago to help the victims of a famine but he never expected to call this extremely poor continent his home. Twenty-eight years later he is still there. This is a Soul tells the remarkable story of Rick Hodess journey from suburban America to Mother Teresas clinic in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.As a boy Rick was devoted to helping those in need and eventually he determined that becoming a doctor would allow him to do the most good. When he heard about famine in Africa thats where he went and when genocide convulsed Rwanda he went into the refugee camps to minister to the victims. When he was told that Ethiopia was allowing its Jews to emigrate to Israel he went to help. While there he was drawn to Mother Teresas mission in Addis Ababa. It was there that Rick found his calling when he began caring for the sickest children in one of the world's poorest countries. But he did more than thathe began taking them into his home and officially adopted five of them.Marilyn Berger went to Africa to write about Dr. Hodes but while there she became involved with the story. When she came upon a small deformed and malnourished boy begging on the street she recognized immediately that he had the exact disease Rick could cure. She took him to Rick who eventually arranged for the boy to have a complicated and risky surgery which turned out to be incredibly successful. The boys storyintertwined with Ricks and Marilyn's as wellis unforgettable in its pathos and subtle humor.This is a Soul is not just a story of the savior and the saved it is a celebration of love and wisdom and an exploration of how charity and devotion can actually change lives in an overcrowded unjust and often harsh world.
language: English
title: This Is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes
publisher: William Morrow