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The book is short and simple, written at a basic level for a broad audience. The publishing quality does not exactly come across as first-rate, with ink that smudges easily on the glossy pages. But never mind all that--consider the subject of the book. Father Andrew Campbell is a modern-day living St. John Bosco. He has spent his 50 years of pastoral care in Ghana frantically doing as much good as he can with next to no resources to fall back upon. When I first met him, he said, "I can beg for them, so I do." I figured he meant persuading people in Ghana and around the world to help with his many worthy causes, such as leprosariums (yes, leprosy is still a thing this far into the 21st century), soup kitchens, flophouses, schools, etc. Actually, in addition to doing just that, Father Campbell will sit with an actual begging bowl and beg for pennies too.
So for those who perhaps have had a diet limited to the scandal and bad news that for-profit media corporations use to maximize revenues, a simple little book like this reminds one of the good really happening in the world and how regular people can make a major impact, in whatever little corner of the world they find themselves.
The author, Father Stephen Kofi Sakpaku, captures the spirit of Fr Campbell with this answer from the latter when asked what his mission in life was: "To bring hope and love to people." (p 5) Fr Campbell has done just that for decades. Fr Sakpaku reminds us that, "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow." (p 60) He goes on to show in just how many ways Fr. Campbell does this. One can conclude the meat of Fr. Campbell's impact on people with these words of Fr. Sakpaku:
the Lord's absence leaves a void, a vacancy, a hole in our heart that can never be filled with anything material or anyone else. Furthermore, the absence of God in our lives hinders our search for closeness with others. IF we are very close to God, we learn to be closer to humanity...when man is disconnected from God, he dies. God is our natural environment. We were created to live in His presence...God without man is still God but man without God is nothing. (p 91)
If you're looking for something monumental and sublime, perhaps stick with The Imitation of Christ. If you're wondering if there are still any people like the St. John Bosco you read about in Give Me Souls!: Life Of Don Bosco, then the answer is yes, there is, and it's Fr. Campbell living among us in Ghana. A simple little book, but oh what an inspiration of a man!