Jungle Doctor Stings a Scorpion

Title: Jungle Doctor Stings a Scorpion
Author: Paul White
Series: Jungle Doctor
Major Themes: Doctors, Missionaries, Tanzania, Tanganyika, Spiritual Warfare
Synopsis: Wendwa wants to be a nurse at the mission hospital, but her father the chief wants her to marry the witchdoctor—who will win the contest?

There are two subjects that have always fascinated me—stories about doctors, and stories about missionaries. The Jungle Doctor books combine the two. Back when I had a bookstore, I stocked one of the books, but I’m not sure any others were in print at that time. They are apparently back in print now, even though the original publication date of Jungle Doctor Stings a Scorpion is 1955. As a point of interest, I came across a nonfiction book awhile back by Paul White, Jungle Doctor’s Progress, about the mission hospital he started in Tanganyika. In it, I learned that he wrote the Jungle Doctor books to raise money for his hospital! They are based on things that actually happened.

Jungle Doctor Stings a Scorpion features Wendwa, a young African girl who wants to become a nurse. She has a terrible nosebleed at the beginning of the story, and then comes down with mumps and goes into a coma. After recovering from that, as a result of prayer, she enters the nursing program with the grudging approval of her father, a chief, who has an allergic reaction every time he eats goat stew. Despite the fact that his life was saved, during a reaction, by the doctor and mission hospital in Tanganyika, now part of Tanzania, he hires a witchdoctor to try to destroy the hospital. Will he succeed? Or will God’s power prove to be stronger than that of Shaitan, the devil?

Hyenas, scorpions, and spells—there is constant excitement and danger throughout this story. You will see the power of prayer and learn that God’s children have nothing to fear from the devil. The story moves quickly, with a lot of dialogue, which includes frequent African words as the Bwana and his native helpers converse.

WARNING: The spiritual warfare might be a bit much for very young children.