Jim Elliot

Jim Elliot met Elizabeth Howard in Wheaton and was attracted to her, but they remained friends for a long time. They married in 1953 in Quito, Ecuador, and had a daughter, Valerie.

He was killed by the Huaorani warriors along with his four other companions on January 8, 1956, at the age of 28.

Elizabeth published two books, ‘Shadow of Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot’ and ‘Through Gates of Splendor’, which described the life and death of her husband.

Jim Elliot was born in Portland, Oregon to Fred, a traveling preacher, and Clara Elliot, a chiropractor. He had two elder brothers, Robert and Herbert, and a younger sister named Jane.

His parents were practicing Christians who raised their children to follow their beliefs, with emphasis on obedience, honesty and piety, and encouraged them to live for Christ, read the Bible and go to church regularly.

In 1941, he joined an architectural drawing course in Benson Polytechnic High School. There, he was a member of the football team, contributed to his school newspaper, and exhibited an outstanding talent for oratory.

In 1945, he joined Wheaton College, a private Christian college in Illinois. He considered subjects such as, philosophy, politics and anthropology, unnecessary for the one following God, and joined the wrestling team to condition his body.

Jim Elliot started his career as a member in the ‘Student Foreign Missions Fellowship’ and discussed with an ‘InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’ group about the significance of Holy Spirit in missions.

In 1947, he and his friend, Ron Harris hitchhiked to Mexico and stayed with his friend’s parents who were missionaries there. He spent six weeks in Mexico and began to study Spanish.

He participated in the ‘International Student Missionary Convention’ at the Illinois University in 1948, where he realized the immense potential that lay in working among the tribal community of the South American jungles.

In 1950, he joined Camp Wycliffe to study linguistics. The ten weeks course taught him to break down native language into written symbols. Here he heard about the Auca Indians of Ecuador.

In 1951, he made arrangements to travel to Ecuador, trying to convince the authorities about the necessity of working among the South American tribes, and sought financial help for his trip.

Realizing the importance of the local language of the Indians, Jim Elliot began translating the ‘New Testament’ into the language of the Quichua Indians, which was finished after his martyrdom by his wife.

‘The Journals of Jim Elliot’ are volumes of documents written over many years by the missionary in which he details his mission work. His journals were published in 1978 unabridged.