Made for the Journey ~ Review

Made for the Journey: 

   One Missionary's First Year in the Jungles of Ecuador
by Elisabeth Elliot

with foreword by Kay Warren
First off just for those who think they have all of Elisabeth Elliot's books this book was originally published in 1998 as These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge? For those who are unfamiliar with the previous title (which I was) this a most interesting and insightful look at Elisabeth Elliot's first year as a missionary (which I might add was before she married Jim Elliot).

All too often the life of a missionary is glamorized in the hard work and effort that goes into the life well Made for the Journey doesn't glamorize it. Elizabeth went to Ecuador with the intention to learn the language of the Colorado Indians and then work on developing a written language with which the Bible could be translated for them. But her first step was learning Spanish so that she could communicate with those who called Ecuador home. Which makes one realize just how valuable an understanding of languages truly is to those who serve in the mission field. 

The community to which Elizabeth and her colleagues settled was not home to the Colorados to whom the deeper jungle was home but it was an area which they frequented upon occasion. But obtaining the willingness of one of these individuals to sit with her for hours, days, and weeks was nearly impossible. The need for her to learn their language was not nearly as important to them as it was to her. And there were setbacks that made her at times question her work and whether she had misheard God's calling.

Through her efforts, successful and not, Elizabeth wondered at times what God's purpose for this year of her life was. Years later she had her answer (revealed at the end of the book) and we need to remember the truth that God, that Christ is sufficient for all our trials and sorrows - that was and is the purpose of the cross. We often don't know the "why" but that is not important in our journey only that we trust in Him and follow His leading.

This book is not long at only 166 pages but there is a lot of information and depth to be found within these pages. I wouldn't say this should be read as a devotional but rather as a welcome addition to one's daily readings. There are 19 chapters so this could even be read over a couple of months if one only has free reading time on the weekends. This is labeled as a memoir and most will find it to be so much more. 

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion.

About the Book:
In this deeply personal account of her first year as a missionary, Elisabeth Elliot shares the challenges she faced as she worked in the jungles of Ecuador to bring the Word of God to a people virtually untouched by the outside world. With fascinating detail, she captures the stark realities of life in the jungle, the difficulties she encountered while developing a written language for the tribe, and her confusion when God didn't "cooperate" with her efforts to accomplish what she believed was His will.

More than just a memoir, Made for the Journey is a beautifully crafted and deeply personal reflection on the important questions of life and a remarkable testimony to authentic Christian obedience to an unfathomable God.

My Israel Trail ~ Spotlight with Snippet and Giveaway

My Israel Trail
By Aryeh Green

About the Book:

Genre:  Contemporary, Historical, Inspirational, Non-Fic, Memoir, Self-help, Religious
Publisher: Plain Sight/Cedar Fort
Publication date: May 1, 2018

Mayim Bialik calls the book a “fascinating journey” and “beautiful exploration of self and identity”. Natan Sharansky celebrates Aryeh’s “engaging passion and persistence”.
After his devastating divorce, which rocked his world and confounded his deeply-held optimism, Aryeh Green’s goal was to get his life back on track. His hike along The Israel National Trail enabled the discovery of a number of universal truths for living based on Jewish tradition.
In a uniquely moving and uplifting book, Aryeh invites you to join him on his trek, as he shares with you both a new perspective on Israel – the land, the country, its history and people – and illuminating insights from the experience.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

About the Author:

Aryeh Green is a passionate lover of Israel – the people, the land, the country, and the idea. Residing in or around Jerusalem for the past three decades, Aryeh lives and breathes a vibrant and living Judaism, which affects all he does – including serving as Chief Strategy Officer of EnergiyaGlobal, a Jerusalem-based renewable energy platform for Africa; as Director Emeritus of MediaCentral, providing services for the foreign press in the region; formerly as a senior advisor to Israel’s deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky; as a backyard vintner; and as a writer, activist, husband and father.

BOOK FACEBOOK | AUTHOR FACEBOOK | TWITTER

INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | WEBSITE

Snippet

I’m scared, standing on a thin ledge on the side of a cliff. To my left is a sheer rough wall; to my right, a drop of 30 feet or so to the river bed below. But directly ahead an angry tree blocks the way. (How does it hold to the side of the rock?) It seems threatening as it jumps in the hot wind. With about 50 pounds on my back, I’m too afraid of falling to turn around. Turn to the right and my backpack hits the rock face; turn to the left and the weight of the pack puts me off balance. And the boulders down below aren’t very welcoming.

What to do?

The trail leads into an abyss. Literally. I guess I’ve lost the path, which, while it’s happened before, has never been such a problem. Usually you just retrace your steps, find the last trail marker, and then pay a bit more attention to discover where you missed the next one. But here, on a cliff in Nachal Amud, the Stream of the Pillar connecting the holy city of Tzfat (Safed) with the Kinneret, the Sea of

Galilee, it’s just not that easy. Even with the backpack on (including the small guitar hanging from its side), just a minute or so ago I pretty nonchalantly leapt over a three-foot gap in the ledge a few paces back. But I just know—with all my casual confidence built up over the preceding weeks of hiking through Israel’s desert mountains and northern reaches—I can’t do it again.

That is, if I can even turn around on this one-foot-wide ledge.

It may be the perfect metaphor.

Sometimes you reach an impasse. Not only is it unclear what the next step is, but you’re also not sure how the heck you got there and are too scared to move. All the alternatives you can imagine are dangerous, or unpalatable, or frightening. You’re stuck, and the panic starts to rise.

Times of personal hardship, relationships, work situations, and other challenges we face test our mettle. Rabbi Herschel Schachter taught that the biblical “value” of a person in Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, is calculated by his or her response to suffering and adversity. Elie Weisel and Victor Frankl took the personal and national horror of the Shoah/Holocaust and translated their experiences into timeless lessons for humanity. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl stresses the importance of having a goal to strive for, pushing us to move ahead, to take the next step, and the next.

My goal that day was to get to the Kinneret by nightfall (and not to plunge down the cliff face onto the rocks below). My grander goal was to finish what I’d started, hiking the Israel National Trail (“Shvil Yisrael”) from one end of our tiny country to the other. (It’s not that tiny—the Shvil runs some 1000 kilometers or 600 miles from the Red Sea in the South to the border with Lebanon in the North.) And after my devastating divorce, my ultimate goal was to get my life back on track, or to find a new track for myself.

I take three deep breaths—thank you, Thomas Crum—to calm down, focus, and discover the possibilities open before me; then I make a decision. Not moving my feet an inch, I lower the pack slowly to the ground, managing to lean it against the rock. Freed from the weight of the bag, I turn carefully and retrace my steps along the narrow path on the side of the cliff—jumping over the breach—and yes!—find the trail-marking high up on the rock face above an almost invisible foothold carved into the cliff. I did that ledge once with the pack, I know that; all I have to do now is convince myself I can do it again, this time in the opposite direction.

Retracing my steps, it’s funny, but when I (carefully!) heft the pack on my back, it seems somehow lighter, more manageable. It hasn’t changed; I have changed. Or rather, my attitude, my sense of self and sense of direction and purpose, my confidence and belief in my ability to walk the path, has changed.

It’s not that I’m no longer afraid; I just know I have it in me to keep going.

Sometimes we need to set aside our baggage and re-evaluate. My hike along the

Israel Trail—or my Israel Trail as I’m calling it—enabled the discovery, or rediscovery, of a number of essential truths for living. All come from the ancient wisdom of the

Torah and the rest of the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition, but at the same time they are universal and universally relevant for anyone seeking inner peace.

I was overwhelmed by the daunting challenges facing me—on the Trail, in my life, and at the national level. Every day brought a new difficulty, from scorching heat and impossible inclines to aching loneliness and crises of confidence, from news of family problems to news of terror attacks. I meditated on mountaintops and cried in dry creek beds; I wrote anguished journal entries and composed songs to lift my spirits. I looked back, and inward, and up to the night sky, and over the valley to the next mountain range, and down at the ants in the dirt, and back along the trail to see how far I’d come.

What I discovered on the Shvil was a sense of self, a sense of personal and national history…and a perspective of sorts on the human condition. These are my reflections, a meditation as it were on existence, relationships, happiness, challenges, and hope.

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Tour Schedule:

July 16-Blooming with Books

July 17-Why Not? Because I Said So!

July 18-Paulette’s Papers

July 19-Singing Librarian Books

July 20-July 21-Heidi Reads…