Elisabeth elliot biography
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An In-Depth Biography on the Life and Work of Missionary Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Elliot (1926–2015) is one of the most widely known Christians of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. After the death of her husband, Jim, and four other missionaries at the hands of Waorani tribesmen in Ecuador, Elliot famously returned to live among the same people who had killed her husband. Her legacy, however, extends far beyond these events. In the years that followed, Elliot became a prolific writer and speaker, touching the lives of countless people around the world.
In this single-volume biography, Lucy S. R. Austen takes readers on an in-depth journey through the life of Elisabeth Elliot—her birth to missionary parents, her courtship and marriage to Jim Elliot, her missions work in Ecuador, and her private life and public work after she returned to the United States. Through Elliot’s example of love for God and obedience to his commands, readers will ponder what
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A Balanced Portrait of a Flawed Saint
What many may not realize is that Elisabeth Elliot was a reasonably talented linguist, though the best of her work was lost due to a theft and much of her effort in deciphering the Waorani language was frustrated by Rachel Saint, Nate Saint’s sister. Recent biographies have helped flesh her story out.
Several children’s biographies were written while Elisabeth Elliot was still alive. However, the first real biography of Elisabeth Elliot was not published until 2020. Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn is the first volume of the authorized biography; the second volume releases in late 2023.
Becoming Elisabeth Elliot provides the overall narrative of Elliot’s life and gives good insight. But, despite the obvious talent of the author, the story reads like there is something missing.
Some of the something missing becomes apparent in Austen’s single volume biography. The something missing makes the story much better.
A Convoluted C
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Elisabeth Elliot Was a Flawed Figure God Used in Extraordinary Ways
Elisabeth Elliot was one of the most extraordinary and controversial evangelicals of the post–World War II era. Anyone even marginally affiliated with the American missionary community knows the stirring and tragic story of Elisabeth and her first husband, Jim Elliot, who was killed in Ecuador by Waorani tribesmen in 1956.
Perhaps even more remarkably, Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint (whose brother Nate also died in the attack) went to live among the Waorani in 1958. Before returning to the US, Elliot had become one of the best-known evangelicals in America, with coverage of Jim Elliot’s death and of her endurance on the mission field appearing in major national outlets like Life magazine.
Lucy S. R. Austen’s Elisabeth Elliot: A Life is a biography worthy of its subject, diving deep into Elliot’s vast body of correspondence and other writings to present an exceptionally detailed