I had read the book many years ago and grew up hearing the account many, many times. Recently, we watched Through Gates of Splendor as a 35-minute documentary which told of the events leading up to the death of the five missionaries who were trying to bring the gospel to the Aucas in 1956 and how the Aucas were initially reached. The documentary was particularly interesting because it was narrated by Elisabeth Elliot herself as a young mother, based mostly on home-movie film footage and Life magazine photos.
I found the account of Elisabeth's and Rachel Saint's return to the Aucas to be a bit different than what I had understood it to be. My own misunderstanding, to be sure, but I had always envisioned these women tenaciously heading right back into the jungle, determined to do what their husbands had been thwarted in doing. Not exactly. The desire to reach the Aucas with the gospel message was, of course, their heartbeat, but how they ended up living in the village was more of God's direct intervention than that of their own sheer determination.
Once again I was reminded that it's all about God, not about us. It's not even about Elisabeth Elliott, as much as I am grateful for her life and writing. Neither is it about Rachel Saint, who lived with the Aucas until her death, translating the gospel into the Aucan language. Nor is it about Dayuma, the young Aucan woman who played a key role in bringing the gospel to her people.
God's purpose was to reach the Aucas, and Elisabeth, Rachel and Dayuma were simply willing instruments in the hands of the Redeemer. Dayuma's role in spreading the gospel among her own people was part of the story that I had somehow missed down through the years.
I do recommend the documentary, but you'll want to use discretion in its viewing. The Aucas are shown in their natural attire at that time, so there's nudity throughout.
