Neither Here nor There, and Fully at Home

I enjoy memoirs, so when I heard Jewel Showalter had written hers, Finding Home, I was eager to read it. I briefly attended Richard and Jewel's church plant in Ohio in 1980, and more recently I knew Jewel through her connection to Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM). Jewel's mission stories in EMM's publication, Missionary Messenger, were some of my favorites. Richard and Jewel's lives were rich with mission experience, and I wondered: what was the fuller story of Jewel Showalter?

Finding Home is a fascinating read of 265 pages, plus some extra treats in two appendixes. Jewel is a delightful storyteller. The memoir opens with her childhood, lived between Ethiopia and the Mennonite culture of Virginia and Pennsylvania. In Part 2, the adult Jewel takes the stage, and her life with husband Richard continues to unfold across various locations and cultures. These stories shaped the woman she is today.

Third culture kids (TCKs) are children raised in a culture different from their homeland. TCKs tend to be highly adaptable to new environments, yet can simultaneously feel like misfits, not truly being at one with either place. Jewel's life, and her memoir's title, reflect that reality. In the preface, she names the home of her soul by quoting Psalm 90:1: "Lord, you have been our dwelling place…" That thread runs throughout her story.

Jewel's childhood spanned two very different worlds, and she had wise, loving parents who helped their family navigate both. She loved the peach orchard, two-room schoolhouse, and farmhouse of Virginia, and the dusty, exotic landscape of Ethiopia. Less pleasurable was the boarding school she began attending at age eight, a sacrifice many missionary parents and their children were required to make for mission compliance.

In school, Jewel grew creative in the face of harsh adult supervision. In one memorable episode, she organized the girls to spank themselves with hairbrushes in order to preempt a punishment that was coming. I applaud that spunky Jewel and the girls who did escape a further spanking! She also cherished weekend and holiday visits home with her large family.

As a sophomore, Jewel transitioned from Ethiopian culture to Mennonite culture at Lancaster Mennonite School. Dress requirements for women, big houses, teenager-owned cars, and somber church services were among the things she bumped up against. The constraints and excesses of Mennonite life felt uncomfortable, and she would continue to grapple with some of their ways; yet, these were her people. Their hymns, faith, and emphasis on community were vital to Jewel’s shaping.

Part 2 of the memoir captures Jewel's adulthood: college, marriage, motherhood, mission assignments in Turkey, Kenya, and China, the years Richard served as president of Rosedale Bible College and Eastern Mennonite Missions, and ultimately Richard's death. Jewel is honest about her struggles as a young wife and mother—meager finances, her own failings and weaknesses, and the ongoing sense of being a "misfit" within certain aspects of Mennonite culture. I was moved by how Richard and Jewel continually worked to discern how they could best live out the missional heart of God.

In the Showalters' numerous moves, I saw the hospitality and connection Richard and Jewel created wherever they landed. Their ability to listen, break down walls, and walk alongside others in difficult, even dangerous, circumstances speaks to a deep commitment to the way of love and peace in their own imperfect yieldedness to God.

Jewel is a listener — to God, to her own heart, and to others. As a world traveler, she has known loneliness, grief, adventure, deep love, and connection across many cultures. She has seen God's provision. Her memoir makes clear that Jewel has found her home in God.

Jewel's voice is worth hearing. Her life story is captivating and inspirational. It’s a reminder to notice our own unique faith journeys and to know the God who is our home.

Cheryl Hollinger

James Street Mennonite Church

Lancaster, PA

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