brutally killed your spouse and friends? Elisabeth Elliot, a passionate missionary
who ministered in both America and in the jungles of Ecuador, forgave the Acura
tribe who martyred her husband, Jim Elliot, and many others. Elisabeth was born
on December 21st, 1926, in Belgium, Germany to her missionary parents, Philip
and Katherine Howard. Her life in Germany didn’t last long, however when her
father accepted a job as a newspaper editor for the Sunday School Times in
America. Her family moved to the Philadelphia area when she was only five
months old. As Elisabeth grew up, missionaries were regularly visiting the
Howard household, having a profound impact on Elisabeth's choice to attend
Wheaton College, in order to study classical Greek so that she could work in the
mission field as a Bible translator. It was at Wheaton College where she met and
fell in love with her first husband, Jim Elliot. Jim was also interested in becoming
a missionary and studied Classical Greek. At first, neither Jim nor Elisabeth
pursued a relationship between each other because they were unconvinced of
God’s leading, and they feared their relationship might take their focus off of their
studies and missions. Elisabeth and Jim each debated for several years on which
country they should truly minister to. Jim had met a former missionary from
Ecuador who told him of the needs in that field and the challenge of the dreaded
Aucas. After asking God if Ecuador was where he should preach Jim felt he was
called to minister there. Two years later, Jim and his companion, Pete Fleming
travled by ship and arrived in Ecuador on February 21, 1952. They first stayed
in Quito, and then moved to the jungle. Elizabeth along with her friend, Dorothy,
eventually joined Jim and Pete. Their relationship grew strong, but they were not