Muriel I. Elmer Archives

Night of the Fireflies

Night of the Fireflies, Muriel Elmer. Independently published (ISBN: 9798196399244) 2026.

Summary: A memoir of growing up as a Missionary Kid with her widowed mother in Zimbabwe, both painful and formative.

I grew up hearing stories like these from missionaries who visited our church. And there was a period of time during and after college when I read a number of missionary biographies. But I never read an account of a “missionary kid.” From the few MKs I met, their story was usually less glorious than the ones I read. And it has been too long since I’ve read any such accounts. That is, until Muriel Elmer’s memoir of growing up as a child of missionaries in Africa came along.

Trained in nursing, she has directed relief efforts for children, taught nursing, and educational studies. I interviewed her several years on a book she co-authored, titled The Learning Cycle. So it was a pleasure to hear from her again, and even more to read this account of her early life. She recounts her childhood at a mission station in Msengedzi in the Zambezi Valley of present-day Zimbabwe up through when she enrolled in nursing studies at Wheaton College, spanning a period from 1942 to 1958.

Rudy and Mary Danielson heard a call from God to go to Africa and departed for there in 1942, along with their toddler, Muriel. Working with another couple, Orv and Helen Dunkeld, who would play an important role in Muriel’s life, they established the mission station. But Rudy died just a year later, in November of 1943. Muriel recounts their trip back to the States in 1944, on a blacked out ship during the war, evading enemy submarines. When the war ended, Mary and Muriel returned.

The years after their return were magical, though challenging. The Dunkeld’s boys were co-adventurers with her. She describes encounters with baboons, the rains, and a unique experience one night of fireflies invading their hut. But the magic years did not last as her mother made the decision to send her to boarding school. In addition to a cruel housemother came the cost of fitting in, the beginnings of struggles with self-doubt and shame her mother never quite grasped.

Eventually, she moved to another school and stayed in a home with the Dunkeld family and several others. This was a healing contrast to her earlier boarding school experiences. But her experiences and that of living in three different cultures left her wondering who she was. The latter part of the memoir traces her growing understanding of God’s working in her life amid a troubled childhood. She writes:

“And so, as I think about the circle of my life, it is like a set of pearls on a string. Each pearl represents yet another strange place where a gracious God has designed new experiences, each adding to my perspective and my character in the service of others. Those cross-cultural relational skills so unconsciously bred into me as a child became my gifts to build his Kingdom.”

She describes her mother’s work of teaching and sometimes basic medical care as well as the mission community of which they were a part–both the precious friendships and the losses. During her teen years, she grew deeper in her faith, especially under the influence of the Dunkelds. She also had a growing sense that she needed to pursue nursing training. This resulted in the decision to finish her high school training at Wheaton Academy before going on to nursing training.

The narrative describes mission work embedded among people, learning from them and serving them and gaining their trust. It contrasts with accounts of Western missions as imperialist and colonial efforts. Elmer addresses this specifically in an epilogue, citing the research of Robert Woodberry showing countries with mission presence were more economically developed, had better health care, lower corruption and higher educational attainments.

Elmer writes this memoir in a way that imparts a sense of the wonder, the pain, and growing self-understanding she experienced. She writes honestly about difficulties and shortcomings. She also profiles godly women and men of great integrity, courage, and humility. And she traces the gracious workings of God in her own life from this childhood to her life today.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author for review.

The Learning Cycle, Muriel I. Elmer and Duane H. Elmer. Downers Grove: IVP Academiv, 2020.

Summary: The Elmer’s propose a five level process for learning that is not a transfer of information from the teacher to the student but the transformation of the life of the learner.

Most all of us remember cramming for an exam where we learned the information we needed just long enough to take the test. A week, maybe even a day later, it was gone. Part of the problem, according to the authors is that we often consider learning only a cognitive process, engaging our minds. Drawing on recent findings in neuroscience, the authors propose a learning process that engages the mind, the emotions, and our actions.

They propose a five step or level process, all build around the idea of recall, the remembering the information, and building on that:

Level 1: Recall–I Remember the Information. They look at how learning involves short, working, and long-term memory. Critical is getting to long term through rehearsal. One of the tools they talk about is the “memo to self,” a short note on one meaningful idea from a presentation. In this section, they also discuss lectures that transform. A key point is realizing that attention peaks at 10-12 minutes and then declines (a good time a change of pace, such as discussion or an exercise) and then rises again (a good time for summation). They offer a number of ideas for vibrant, memorable lectures and dealing with cognitive overload (like being the last speaker of the day).

Level 2: Recall with Appreciation. The aim here is for the learner to value the information. This introduces the affective aspect of learning, how one feels about the content of the learning. This happens in a setting that is safe, with a teacher that is credible, and where the learning experience is positive and self-affirming.

Level 3: Recall with Speculation. A learner who retains and appreciates the information then takes the step to consider how they will use the information. It involves visualizing how one might use the information in one’s life. This involves connecting new information with past content and thinking about how it may be incorporated in one’s life. It might mean adding, modifying, eliminating or strengthening a behavior.

Barriers to Change. Before moving to changed behavior, it is important to identify barriers and how to overcome them. They discuss the Reasoned Action Approach, which identifies the specific beliefs that control why and when we change our behavior and how convinced we are that the change will be beneficial. They then propose several learning tasks to overcoming barriers: the memo to myself again, role playing, accountability relationships, avoiding dangerous contexts, managing negative thoughts, and depending on Scripture and prayer.

Level 4: Recall with Practice. This is where one begins to change one’s behavior. It is important to recognize that practicing new behaviors may be uncomfortable at first and learning that at worst, we can’t do a new behavior yet. It takes time and repetition, dialogue and discussion in a community. This may be done through simulations, skill-training with practice, and the alternation of practice and debriefing, consolidating what is learned.

Level 5: Recall with Habit. This is moving beyond learning to act out a new behavior well to do that behavior consistently, where learning becomes habit. Habits involve a feedback loop of cues, routines, and rewards that we continue to practice long enough that we don’t give them conscious though. The authors discuss replacing bad habits with good ones and the importance of “keystone habit,” a small change that leads to other habitual changes. The author illustrated this with using the sound of a gecko to cue prayer.

While this learning cycle is useful in many learning settings, the authors, both committed Christians apply this to learning Christlikeness as habit becomes or forms character. They argue that no part of the learning cycle should be neglected if this is to happen:

Overemphasis on recall or remembering can incline people toward hypocrisy.
Overemphasis on valuing or emotion can incline people toward instability.
Overemphasis on barriers or obstacles can incline people toward paralysis.
Overemphasis on speculation or transfer can incline people toward inaction.
Overemphasis on practice or changing can incline people toward activism.
Overemphasis on habit or consistency can incline people toward empty routine.

The authors give us a biblically informed, and scientifically grounded approach to learning that transforms. I appreciate this, because the true aim of all education is the formation and transformation of learners in some way. Even more, the form of education that is Christian discipleship is far more than acquiring biblical knowledge, or even emotional dispositions toward the Christian faith and life. Unless truth transforms our thoughts, affections, and habitual actions toward Christlikeness, discipleship is just a bookshelf full of books, a notebook full of notes and a head full of ideas. The Elmers argue that so much more is possible, and shows the way for those who teach, and those who learn.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. The opinions I have expressed are my own.