PASSING BY SAMARIA BY SHARON EWELL FOSTER

PASSING BY SAMARIA by SHARON EWELL FOSTER is a beautifully written book in which we see man's inhumanity towards man portrayed very vividly.  We see people looking at the outside, instead of what is in a person's heart.  We see that true freedom only comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and in trusting Him for His protection.
Alena lives in Mississippi with her mother and father, Evelyn and Amos, who have brought her up to be proud of her heritage as a young black woman.  Their Christian faith and church life is everything to them.  They are a very close-knit family.  Alena loves her parents and her home, and is furious when they decide to send her to her Aunt Patrice in Chicago in order to be out of harm's way after her friend J.C.'s murder.  Alena loves to write.  She tends to be outspoken and is shocked that her father, who has always taught her to stand up for what is right, seems afraid to speak out against this latest racial crime.  
Aunt Patrice runs the Bread of Life Mission in Chicago, and, like her sister Evelyn, she is a very wise and godly woman.  She is patient with Alena's rebellious attitude and prays for her to not turn away from her Christian faith.  Alena loves her aunt Patrice, but is determined to dislike James, the young man who her aunt and her mother have been talking about as a marriage prospect for her.   Patrice tells James not to give up with Alena as she is confused.  In fact, at one stage, Alena is tempted to run away with the worldly Pearl, who she met on the train to Chicago, and to give up her Christian walk.
James' best friend is Jonathan, a young white man from a wealthy family, who together with his sister Dinah, help out at the Mission.  James and Jonathan run a printing shop where they hope to spread the truth of what is really happening in the country.  Although Alena is really interested in their work, she pretends disinterest, as she is angry with her parents for what she sees as cowardice on their part, and also manipulation.  She fails to see that it is their intense love for her that caused them to send her away to safety.
All the characters, whatever their race or situation,  have problems which are brought out very sensitively as they interact with one another.  The problems are seen from both sides - there is no judging who is right or wrong.  We see that they spring from man's sinful nature and the hatred and fear that grow in the soil of rebellion against God.
Back in Mississippi, we come across Miranda, Bates' wife, her children and her friends "of the different coloured eyes",  who are described by their various personalities.   Miranda is horrified by what Bates and his followers are up to, although she loves him very much. She tries to stand up for what is right, but is also confused.  She doesn't want her husband's bigotry to pass on to their children, Isaac and Amanda.  We see her struggle.  We also see the bravery of the minister who helps her do what is right.  We see her come into true freedom in Christ.
Bates' friends are also described by their personalities.  
Patrice says that Chicago is Alena's "Samaria".  It is while she is there that she realizes that God truly made all men, whether black, white or yellow, and that we all have the same things to overcome in life, and the same need to feel worth something to those around and about us.  She overcomes her distrust of Jonathan and Dinah when she comes to know them and sees the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
I love the way the author brings out so much Scripture throughout the novel.  It is a very thought-provoking book, written in the most beautiful prose.
The ending is beautiful.  We see love and forgiveness overcoming so much hatred and fear.  This is the first of Sharon Ewell Foster's books that I have read and it will most certainly not be the last.