I’ve long admired Jim and Elizabeth Elliot’s work as missionaries in Ecuador. I thought I knew their story, then stumbled upon other books Elizabeth had written while listening to Amazon’s Audible programs. In one book, Elizabeth recounts her early days as a missionary before she and Jim married and in another she reads aloud from Jim’s journals.
The books sound simple, but they are profound because they recount God’s work in their individual lives. The lessons they learned taught and encouraged me and are not easily forgotten.
As I listened to hours of these recordings while washing dishes and mopping floors, my heart was stirred to worship God and praise Him for the amazing things He did in their lives and the things He has done in mine.
I realized as I listened that spiritual truths become so clear when they are illustrated in a story. When a Biblical principle is demonstrated in someone’s life, it is easier for others to see how God might be working in their own life.
I’ve been told several times by different people over the years that I should write a book sharing my own story, but I’ve always disregarded such comments as nonsense. I’ve doubted that anyone would want to read it and being introverted, I like my privacy.
Listening to those books by the Elliot’s, finally gave me the nudge I needed to write and share my own story. The book I’m writing focuses on God’s leading in my life and how I ended up on the mission field in Uganda. It’s the story of a changed heart and how God overwrote my selfish desires for myself.
I’ve shared bits and pieces of my testimony at different church meetings and have received a lot of feedback from others about how God inspired them through my story. One young woman even followed God’s leading onto the mission field after hearing me speak.
This book is an offering of obedience. This book is an effort to stir believers into surrender to their King and follow Him wherever He leads.
To God be the glory forever. Amen.
