Fire on the Mountains - Raymond J Davis
A non-fiction book, Fire on the Mountains tells the story of the spread of Christianity among the Wallamo people of Ethiopia, particularly during, and after World War 2. Western missionaries had been in the Wallamo region leading up to the war (with early parts of the book unpacking this season), but found themselves banned from the country by the occupying Italians, leaving only the small number of partially trained native believers behind, without even a completed bible in their language.
The majority of Fire on the Mountains highlights stories of how these native believers spread the gospel, leading to a massive increase in Wallamo people accepting Jesus into their lives. Chapter 12 opens with a native believer telling the returning missionaries: "When you missionaries left, it was difficult to find a Christian in Wallamo country. Now it is difficult to find a man who is not a Christian" (page 109). The author, who was himself one of these missionaries, then unpacks some statistics: "Yes, great numbers of Wallamo people had turned to the Lord...There were now perhaps 100 separate churches, and probably 10,000 believers in Wallamo. From 48 to 10,000 - an increase of 20,000%!" (page 109).
The book is not a 'thrilling' book - it is told in a straight-forward, almost dry manner - and yet it is still very interesting, and inspiring. Because of the expulsion of the Western missionaries so early, the Wallamo church managed to avoid a lot of the 'western culture' that some missions adopted, instead ending up with an authentically 'Wallamo' style faith. On the other hand, certain erroneous beliefs needed clearing up once the missionaries returned - for example, the Wallamo believers thought Christians shouldn't have dogs in their homes because Paul had said "beware of dogs" (in a metaphorical sense). "When the [missionaries] explained the meaning of that phrase, they began to realize that even the simplest statements in the New Testament would need to be talked over with the Wallamo Christians, who took everything at face value." (page 112)
The last third or so of the book is made up of chapters highlighting the stories of individual Wallamo Christians, and this is the part I found the most interesting. It is always inspiring to read the stories of how God has changed someone's life, and the amount of change that happened in this region is worth highlighting.
It might not be a gripping book, but it is still one I'm glad I read.
Completed 27 September 2026.
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