Heart-Cry

About the Book

Does God's heart cry out for cannibals? For that matter, does God's heart cry for suicide bombers or terrorists? Is the Christian message of God's love as valid today as it was in the past, or is it old and ineffective news?

Arlita Winston lived in the jungles of Sumatra, the child of missionaries David and Helen Morken. Decades later, she looks back and tells how her parents, aunt and uncle braved wild panthers and pythons, head-hunters, hardship and even death to bring God's love to the native people there. Heart-Cry is that story, but it is more than a missionary biography. In the remarkable story of the life of this one family and those they touch is a living picture of the way God pursues all people, of whatever race or creed. He pursues those who love Him and those who do not; He pursues the missionaries and the cannibals alike; and His faithfulness and divine preparation and intervention can be seen in the lives of each. In God's workings in their lives, the author finds timeless truths about God and faith that apply today as much as they did then.

Today after 55 years of marriage, 5 children, 28 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Arlita finds she is living in a world no more secure than when she was growing up. She is convinced of God's goodness which turns the worst experiences into good when we cooperate with Him. Heart-Cry is for every heart-sick child who has never been presented with the cry of God's love. It will resonate with children of ministers and missionaries and with anyone who suffered hardships in childhood and who yearns for a perfect Father. Heart-Cry offers insight, inspiration, and healing for God's children who have experienced unresolved conflict and suffering in service for Him.

About the Author

ARLITA MORKEN WINSTON spent her earliest years in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia, with her missionary parents until WWII forced them out. They escaped through the jungles and were able to board the last ship available. After dodging submarines for three months, they arrived safely back in America. From there they sailed to China where they lived until after Shanghai fell to the Communists. After a year under "house arrest" they were released and they moved to Japan to minister. She came back to America for her formal education and married a medical doctor who is the son of missionaries to Belgium. In 1965 Arlita and Joe sailed with their children to Hong Kong to help set up a missions hospital for the medically indigent refugees pouring into Hong Kong out of China.

The Winstons live in Moorestown, NJ, where Arlita teaches women's Bible classes, trains other women to teach, and speaks at conferences and retreats around the country. She is convinced of God's love and of His ability to take the worst and turn it for good, and she writes and speaks to give other women and parents this hope.