THE MEETING PLACE BY JANETTE OKE & T. DAVIS BUNN

THE MEETING PLACE by JANETTE OKE and T. DAVIS BUNN is a story of reconciliation, forgiveness, and overcoming heartache through faith in God and His goodness.
Catherine Price and Louise Belleveau are two young girls from neighbouring villages in Acadia, one of them English and the other French, whose friendship and desire to study the Scriptures and have a living relationship with the Lord, not only affects their lives but the lives of their husbands, families and communities.
The French village of Minas consists of a community of Huguenots who left France due to religious persecution. They are hard working and have no desire to fight, either for France or for England. The English are afraid of the alarmingly large number of Frenchmen in Acadia, and have the misguided idea that they will join with the Indians to fight against them. This is why the French have been ordered by the British to sign a declaration of allegiance to the British throne, promising to fight on the British side in any war. This they refuse to do.
Catherine marries Andrew Harrow, a captain in the British regiment, and they live in the village of Fort Edward. On the same day Louise marries Henri Robichaud. The women's friendship grows in leaps and bounds and they meet regularly in a beautiful clearing. Catherine, who has learnt some French, takes out her grammar book and studies it throughout the winter in order to be able to better communicate with her friend. Both women are open with their husbands about their meetings and their friendships, not wanting to go against their husbands' wishes, and this leads to a strong bond between the two men as well.
In this novel we see two godly couples who dare to be friends, and who are literally prepared to lay down their lives for one another, in contrast to the bigotry and hatred shown by others towards those they consider a threat.
It is a well known fact that the two countries, England and France, have hated one another for a long time, and in this book we see how brave and godly people follow God's commandment to love one another, no matter the cost.
It is a beautifully written book in which the struggles and heartaches of the characters are well portrayed and the message of the Gospel shines through. I can highly recommend this novel.


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