Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Acknowledgments and dedication

Foreword

1. A load of rubbish: Scilly story

2. Roots and rootlessness

3. Teaching and learning in Bradford and Devon

4. Cracking up

5. Riding the roller coaster

6. Urban dreams: The birth of A Rocha UK

7. The vision unfolds

8. The miracle of Minet

9. A team and a centre

10. The vision expands: A Rocha beyond Southall

11. Lessons in lifestyle

12. Coming home

Afterword: Unfinished

God Doesn’t Do Waste is a fascinating title that resonated with me when I saw it, since I had recently received a beautiful pair of earrings made from recycled plastic bags found on a rubbish dump in one of the poorest areas of Peru, crafted by women living there. It was an illustration that God can make something beautiful out of what we call rubbish!

I knew nothing of the content of this book, but, as I read the first few chapters, I became excited as God’s plan for Dave Bookless’s life emerged.

Through a long sequence of events, including very difficult personal circumstances, Dave persisted in seeking God’s way forward towards realizing his dream. He relates his journey from a distinct concern for the environment to the founding of A Rocha UK, a Christian nature conservation organization. He describes his involvement with A Rocha as a defining moment which brought together many of the threads of his life that had become important to him.

This book is challenging on many levels. It is easy to focus on successes, but while Dave is grateful to God for them, he is also honest about his struggles, the many family health issues, and the necessity of ‘hanging in there’ when prayers are not answered in the way he would have hoped. He and his wife Anne remain realistic in their understanding that

God works through pain and suffering, as well as through healing.

God Doesn’t Do Waste is eminently readable; it will raise the awareness of its readers that we can all do something to care for and preserve the beauty of God’s world.

Fiona Castle