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Troubled Mission: Fighting For Love, Spirituality, and Human Rights in Violence-Ridden Peru
What happens when, after a life-changing study-tour of Peru, a successful US attorney abandons his law practice to volunteer with a religious organization and travel to Peru to fight for human rights in the midst of a culture of violence and terror?
Not what he expected.
In his sometimes romantic, sometimes terrifying, always inspiring memoir, John Wagner searches for love, spirituality, and the chance to fight against injustice and oppression in a country not his own, while working for a religious organization he could not fully trust.
Wagner lives under a death threat from the fanatical Sendero Luminoso terrorist organization that he must keep secret from his religious community. He develops an on-and-off love affair with Bella, a beautiful but mysterious Peruvian teacher. He faces dramatic betrayals. He accidentally travels into the heart of the drug capital of the world. Day by day, he sees the increasing violence in Peru and overnight, he sees Peru's president become a dictator, shredding the rule of law. After a terrorist attack in a small town, he confronts Peruvian Army officers head-on to gain access to the scene. Then he must help prepare for burial the bloody, ravaged, body of a Campesina woman killed in that attack.
Wagner skillfully interweaves his inner struggles, including coming to grips with a new language, a new culture, a lower station in life, and a new perspective on his native Catholicism. Finally, he stumbles into what would become a landmark human rights case, stopping the Peruvian government from persecuting human rights lawyers.
Ultimately, Troubled Mission is the story of human redemption. Many people seek personal change only to find unexpected obstacles. Troubled Mission shows how we can find redemption--or redemption finds us--in so many unexpected ways.
Not what he expected.
In his sometimes romantic, sometimes terrifying, always inspiring memoir, John Wagner searches for love, spirituality, and the chance to fight against injustice and oppression in a country not his own, while working for a religious organization he could not fully trust.
Wagner lives under a death threat from the fanatical Sendero Luminoso terrorist organization that he must keep secret from his religious community. He develops an on-and-off love affair with Bella, a beautiful but mysterious Peruvian teacher. He faces dramatic betrayals. He accidentally travels into the heart of the drug capital of the world. Day by day, he sees the increasing violence in Peru and overnight, he sees Peru's president become a dictator, shredding the rule of law. After a terrorist attack in a small town, he confronts Peruvian Army officers head-on to gain access to the scene. Then he must help prepare for burial the bloody, ravaged, body of a Campesina woman killed in that attack.
Wagner skillfully interweaves his inner struggles, including coming to grips with a new language, a new culture, a lower station in life, and a new perspective on his native Catholicism. Finally, he stumbles into what would become a landmark human rights case, stopping the Peruvian government from persecuting human rights lawyers.
Ultimately, Troubled Mission is the story of human redemption. Many people seek personal change only to find unexpected obstacles. Troubled Mission shows how we can find redemption--or redemption finds us--in so many unexpected ways.
292 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2015
About the author
John Wagner
2 books7 followersJohn Wagner, one of the first Baby Boomers, has plenty of degrees and honors. He graduated from: Colorado Western University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin Law School. His favorite award is the “That’s Not The Right Question” Award created for him by his class at the University of Chicago. He loves all kinds of music, from the Grateful Dead to Richard Wagner (no relation). He has owned four Studebakers. A military kid, he traveled widely when young and still does. He is still clueless.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 12, 2018
A lawyer in America took a study course in Peru and decided to change his life. The lady he met there, Bella, had a lot to do with it, but so did his genuine motivation to help those with nothing but state-sponsored violence. This memoir starts with perhaps too much detail about the man before the move, explaining that he was divorced, middle aged, lapsed Catholic, aware he could not return to the law firm if he left. Then he explains the mission study tour and how it had affected him.
Was I wiser than him, or did the fact that the lady in Peru had been lying to him come as a surprise really? Did he never consider that she would have been married from an early age and would be delighted to get a visa to USA? This is uncovered quite early, and accompanied by a live bullet through the post.
There's also a good bit about the thology which even a lay missionary was obliged to learn, such as all the Gospels being a carefully curated selection for political purposes; probably the nicest part was a non-Mass celebrated by two women non-priests. They baked the bread themselves but were not allowed to speak the exact words of a Mass sacrament.
Peru was violent, murderous, stinking, thieving, corrupt, riddled with terrorists, and the author came out with various parasites. He also saw how hard it was to run a school with no books or paper, and helped take legal action against a corrupt government that wanted to crack down on human rights defenders.
If you were not cynical before reading this book you would be after it, and you would value your clean healthy life all the more. The author, who tries to stay objective, wonders how Peru is so poorly off compared to USA. Two words; colonisation and corruption. When your sole example of society is state-run theft, your nation has a long road to travel to grow healthy.
My e-copy is filled with words underlined randomly on every page. I have no idea why and it makes the book very hard to read. By now the formatting may have been corrected.
This is an adult read. Those interested in working in South / Central America or other developing nations, those considering journalism, medical / charity work and human rights work in developing nations, will find it revealing.
I received an e-ARC from the author. I chose to read and review. This is an unbiased review.
Was I wiser than him, or did the fact that the lady in Peru had been lying to him come as a surprise really? Did he never consider that she would have been married from an early age and would be delighted to get a visa to USA? This is uncovered quite early, and accompanied by a live bullet through the post.
There's also a good bit about the thology which even a lay missionary was obliged to learn, such as all the Gospels being a carefully curated selection for political purposes; probably the nicest part was a non-Mass celebrated by two women non-priests. They baked the bread themselves but were not allowed to speak the exact words of a Mass sacrament.
Peru was violent, murderous, stinking, thieving, corrupt, riddled with terrorists, and the author came out with various parasites. He also saw how hard it was to run a school with no books or paper, and helped take legal action against a corrupt government that wanted to crack down on human rights defenders.
If you were not cynical before reading this book you would be after it, and you would value your clean healthy life all the more. The author, who tries to stay objective, wonders how Peru is so poorly off compared to USA. Two words; colonisation and corruption. When your sole example of society is state-run theft, your nation has a long road to travel to grow healthy.
My e-copy is filled with words underlined randomly on every page. I have no idea why and it makes the book very hard to read. By now the formatting may have been corrected.
This is an adult read. Those interested in working in South / Central America or other developing nations, those considering journalism, medical / charity work and human rights work in developing nations, will find it revealing.
I received an e-ARC from the author. I chose to read and review. This is an unbiased review.
March 9, 2016
Upon seeing the title of John Wagner’s book Troubled Mission: Fighting For Love, Spirituality, and Human Rights in Violence Ridden Peru, the potential reader may be deceived into believing a dry, historical documentary lay inside its cover. Definitely not so!!
John Wagner was a “middle-aged, divorced-with-no-kids, non-practicing Catholic” lawyer. He had reached what he felt was the time for him to make a major change in his life. Tired of his workaholic situation and no social life to speak of, he decided to become a human rights lay missioner with the Catholic order St. Joseph out of Sacramento and go to Peru during the time of its greatest unrest. Yes, it would be a dangerous undertaking, but he was a grown man with honorable intentions and legal education which could be of great aid to the people of this country! Others had gone before him; he could be their ally and together they would overcome the terrorism of the masses.
Unfortunately, before John could jump right into his human rights work there were a few hurdles to overcome. The first one would be to learn the Spanish language! During his “training” visit to Peru he meets other would-be missioners and makes many observations about what drew them to this way of life. He also becomes entranced with Bella, one of his teachers, who welcomes his advances but hides more than she reveals about herself. As the time for John’s missioner education ends, he is more determined than ever to continue on with his human rights mission; and his decision to continue to form a relationship with the intriguing Bella.
John’s choice to make a new life for himself also meant starting over in other ways. Along with the new language, new education and (hopefully) new love life came the hunt for a new job and a new place to live in his new country. Some of these acquisitions came more easily than others and not all of them were without some major hindrances. When John refers to himself as “Charlie Brown”, the reader will see the name is very appropriate. As is always the way when one “grows up” one must take the good and bad and make the best of both. In a country strewn with violence the bad oftentimes outweighs the good; however, John manages to shine in the capacity he knows “best” which is helping others.
Told in an open, candid and at times heart-breaking manner, Troubled Mission reveals much about John Wagner and shows how even a grown man with honorable intentions and a legal education can discover how naïve, clueless, frustrated (both sexually and professionally) and terrified a man can become when faced with heretofore unknown (and unexpected) situations. Much like “Charlie Brown”, John felt (and still does feel) like a failure at his mission. This reader does not necessarily agree. Finding out more about oneself and his/her capabilities makes one stronger. Asking thoughtful questions and seeking plausible answers shows intelligence. Enriching your life by witnessing the lives of others is a blessing and maintaining love as a priority over all is surely a triumph in and of itself!
John Wagner was a “middle-aged, divorced-with-no-kids, non-practicing Catholic” lawyer. He had reached what he felt was the time for him to make a major change in his life. Tired of his workaholic situation and no social life to speak of, he decided to become a human rights lay missioner with the Catholic order St. Joseph out of Sacramento and go to Peru during the time of its greatest unrest. Yes, it would be a dangerous undertaking, but he was a grown man with honorable intentions and legal education which could be of great aid to the people of this country! Others had gone before him; he could be their ally and together they would overcome the terrorism of the masses.
Unfortunately, before John could jump right into his human rights work there were a few hurdles to overcome. The first one would be to learn the Spanish language! During his “training” visit to Peru he meets other would-be missioners and makes many observations about what drew them to this way of life. He also becomes entranced with Bella, one of his teachers, who welcomes his advances but hides more than she reveals about herself. As the time for John’s missioner education ends, he is more determined than ever to continue on with his human rights mission; and his decision to continue to form a relationship with the intriguing Bella.
John’s choice to make a new life for himself also meant starting over in other ways. Along with the new language, new education and (hopefully) new love life came the hunt for a new job and a new place to live in his new country. Some of these acquisitions came more easily than others and not all of them were without some major hindrances. When John refers to himself as “Charlie Brown”, the reader will see the name is very appropriate. As is always the way when one “grows up” one must take the good and bad and make the best of both. In a country strewn with violence the bad oftentimes outweighs the good; however, John manages to shine in the capacity he knows “best” which is helping others.
Told in an open, candid and at times heart-breaking manner, Troubled Mission reveals much about John Wagner and shows how even a grown man with honorable intentions and a legal education can discover how naïve, clueless, frustrated (both sexually and professionally) and terrified a man can become when faced with heretofore unknown (and unexpected) situations. Much like “Charlie Brown”, John felt (and still does feel) like a failure at his mission. This reader does not necessarily agree. Finding out more about oneself and his/her capabilities makes one stronger. Asking thoughtful questions and seeking plausible answers shows intelligence. Enriching your life by witnessing the lives of others is a blessing and maintaining love as a priority over all is surely a triumph in and of itself!
February 24, 2016
John Wagoner, a retired U.S. attorney, has written a memoir of his two years in Peru working as a missioner for the lay program of the Catholic order St. Joseph. The story is interesting on many levels, not least of which is why he gave up a satisfying and lucrative law practice to attempt living among the poor of Peru and helping them with human rights issues. Wagoner is almost embarrassingly candid about his feelings toward the Catholic church and its teachings, yet many of his readers, whether Catholic or not, will identify with his theological observations and his journey toward finding himself and his place in the world.
Wagoner was no youth when he left for Peru. Divorced with no children, he'd practiced law for many years. He was also a bit of an adventurer, travelling to remote areas of the world, but none captured his attention as did the situation in Peru with its poverty, violence, and political upheaval. It wasn't easy to be accepted as a lay missioner, and harder still to find a placement once he got to Peru. Choosing a rural placement over working for human rights in the city of Lima, he felt that he would get to know the people of Peru themselves rather than merely workinging in an office filing court papers. He had been offered both jobs and felt that he was wanted and would be valued in both places. He was wrong.
Wagoner studied Spanish and became fairly conversent in it, but once at Nolape Hope, his rural placement, he discovered that the people there spoke a different dialect, so he was left to struggle with his Spanish with the staff at Nolape Hope who hadn't really expected him and had no work set up for him to do. Further, the Director of Nolape Hope not only did not assign any work to Wagoner, but ignored his presence whenever she could. He had an incredible dilmemma on his hands. How could he get on with what he felt was his calling: working in human rights in Peru when everyone, not only here but back in Lima was giving him the run-around.
How Wagoner handled his situation and how he finally justified his time in Peru makes fascinating reading. He is so honest that it is almost painful to read at times, especially when he writes about the budding relationship that develops between himself and a married Peruvian woman.
This memoir should be a wake-up call to anyone who believes that they can go to a third-world country where they don't speak the language, don't have a clue about the nuances of the culture, don't look like the general populace, and yet expect to be accepted as an equal.
Those readers who have lived in a Latin American country (as I have) will find much to discuss with others who also have had that experience.
Wagoner was no youth when he left for Peru. Divorced with no children, he'd practiced law for many years. He was also a bit of an adventurer, travelling to remote areas of the world, but none captured his attention as did the situation in Peru with its poverty, violence, and political upheaval. It wasn't easy to be accepted as a lay missioner, and harder still to find a placement once he got to Peru. Choosing a rural placement over working for human rights in the city of Lima, he felt that he would get to know the people of Peru themselves rather than merely workinging in an office filing court papers. He had been offered both jobs and felt that he was wanted and would be valued in both places. He was wrong.
Wagoner studied Spanish and became fairly conversent in it, but once at Nolape Hope, his rural placement, he discovered that the people there spoke a different dialect, so he was left to struggle with his Spanish with the staff at Nolape Hope who hadn't really expected him and had no work set up for him to do. Further, the Director of Nolape Hope not only did not assign any work to Wagoner, but ignored his presence whenever she could. He had an incredible dilmemma on his hands. How could he get on with what he felt was his calling: working in human rights in Peru when everyone, not only here but back in Lima was giving him the run-around.
How Wagoner handled his situation and how he finally justified his time in Peru makes fascinating reading. He is so honest that it is almost painful to read at times, especially when he writes about the budding relationship that develops between himself and a married Peruvian woman.
This memoir should be a wake-up call to anyone who believes that they can go to a third-world country where they don't speak the language, don't have a clue about the nuances of the culture, don't look like the general populace, and yet expect to be accepted as an equal.
Those readers who have lived in a Latin American country (as I have) will find much to discuss with others who also have had that experience.
March 2, 2016
John Wagners memoir of his two years in Peru working as a missionary a lay worker for the Catholic Church.John gave up a very successful legal career to live among the poor.None of this was easy he embarked on a difficult journey where he could not speak the dialect&'twas not really excepted.An eye opening look at volunteering in a foreign country that turned into much more of an adventure then John had expected.Difficulties with the church the people the dialect an eye opener for anyone considering following in his steps.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews