God is Waiting in the Silence: A Review of my Book

Guest post by Dwight Roth, Wichita, Kansas

Donald Clymer’s Coming of Age in Honduras is a memoir about his experience as a volunteer-conscientious objector to fulfill his Selective Service obligation in the years 1968-1970.  He parted from his provincial Mennonite  home to travel to Honduras at age nineteen and returned shortly before turning twenty-two. 

This narrative provides a unique look at the  intersection of Clymer’s sheltered Mennonite background and the cultural diversity during the rapid social change that was the nineteen sixties and early seventies. His gifts of anthropological insight and communication skills; especially his ability to speak Spanish, contribute to the narrative’s uniqueness.   

This distinctness is multifaceted in at least two ways. One, is the story itself.  A story about a young man, seemingly unprepared for difficult cross-cultural experiences.   Amidst his work in credit unions he knows the pathos of being tested by sexual desire and sees the pain of poverty and warfare. Clymer’s entrance on the Honduran stage is as an unknown. His exit is that of a folk hero, a Jesus man.

The other way this book is unique is largely implicit. The reader needs to look carefully and closely at what Clymer doesn’t say. The critical part of what is unspoken, is based in the best of his Anabaptist – Mennonite heritage. Too many words, the wrong words can negate narration. 

As with many people, Clymer is inspired by the Sermon on the Mount with its emphasis on peace and non-resistance. But Clymer’s life as a young adult and now as an elder and grandparent is distinguished by his Christian intuition in concert with his other gifts.

This is evidenced by his seeing God in everyone no matter their position. When the younger or older Clymer sees the face of a beggar, a woman of the night or others defined as marginal people, he sees the many faces of Jesus. 

Indeed, Clymer’s Coming of Age In Honduras is insightfully well written. Again, for me, the best part of his story is unwritten. Words are necessary - occasionally beautiful, but always limited. Without trying, Clymer connects with the collective soul. 

God is waiting in unlimited infinity. Clymer’s story given our linguistic necessity is an excellent way to hear the unhearable – to see the  unseen. Therefore, I highly recommend this insightful yet entertaining memoir. 

Link to purchase book at Masthof Press