These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?

Elliot, author of numerous books (including A Path Through Suffering) as well as a conference speaker and host of the ""Gateway to Joy"" radio program, treats readers to more than a bare-bones description of her first year (1952) as a missionary to the Colorado Indians in Equador. Elliot tells her experience so vividly that readers will likely envision the cockroaches climbing the walls, the next-door latrine field's noxious odor, the fight against food spoilage, rusting utensils and molding walls. More acute, however, than these descriptions are the many spiritual lessons and feelings of inner gratification that she found in this jungle setting. The author speaks freely of her own joys as well as her heartfelt struggles to accept losses in life, in materials, in work. Although she encounters many obstacles in her mission to translate the Colorado language into written form, she is able to complete a substantial body of work by year's end. In her own engaging, plainspoken style, Elliot concludes each chapter with a spiritual insight she gained from the event recounted. (July)