Book Review- "Through Gates of Splendor"

Sunday Night, May 15, I finished Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, Jim Elliot's widow. This book is about five martyred missionaries in Ecuador. Their names are Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Jim Elliot. Each of them were married. Their widows names are Marj Saint, Barbara Youderian, Marilou McCully, Olive Fleming, and Elisabeth Elliot. Jungle Pilot by Russel Hitt tells the same story but focuses more on the pilot Nate Saint. I got this book (Through Gates of Slendor) through Insight for Living; Jungle Pilot I got as a gift.
The missionaries were killed by the Auca Indians, now known as Waorani. Before going to the Aucas, these men were missionaries of the nearby area. Ed, Pete, and Jim preached to the Quichuas; Roger preached to the Jivaros and Atshuaras; and Nate (the pilot) served each of these missionaries. Their wives worked with them. Each missionary family lived in one of five towns at the time of going to the Aucas. The Elliots lived in Shandia, the McCullys in Arajuno, the Flemings in Puyupungu, the Youderians in Macuma, and the Saints in Shell Mera.
I think that each of these men set an example that we all can follow.
First, they were dedicated to God and God's Will. They came to Ecuador out of obedience to God and they went to the Aucas to fulfill God's Will.
Second, they were dedicated to their families. These men included their wives in their plans and let them work with them. The also let their families back home pray for them.
Third, they had a plan that worked and stuck to it. After prayer, they formed a plan that would cause the Aucas to convert. Nate Saint before going to the Aucas came up with a technique that would lower objects in a bucket from his plane to a person on the ground. They used the same technique with the Aucas. I believe this was one of the first seeds of change of the Aucas. After some time, they landed in the Auca territory to preach to them.
Fourth, they were willingly to sacrifice their lives to preach the gospel. These men, like Paul and Martin Luther, went into the territory even after being warned that they would be killed. At times we would need to sacrifice in order to do what's right. Their reward is Heaven.
I am almost done with this review. To find out more about the men and their widows, read the book. Then when you finish, try to model their character.
The next book I plan to do a review on will be "Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance" by Charles Swindoll, which I took a break from when I started this book.