Book
Review – Wild Indians and Other Common Misconceptions
A Real Life on the Mission Field
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Author —
Carol Martin
VMI
Publishers
Publicity through The
B & B Media Group, Inc
Review by Tom Gilbert — © April, 2008
Some people think missionary work is
a special and holy calling that only very devout people
are capable of doing. Others think it is an incredible
sacrifice with painful primitive living conditions. And
some think of the vocation as a wild and amazing adventure.
There is some truth in any of these observations, but
the real experiences revealed in Wild
Indians and Other Common Misconceptions
gives us a powerful insight into missionary life.
Carol Martin grew up in Michigan, in a Christian home.
In fact, her grandfather was a minister. But by the time
she was in college she was living a wild lifestyle full
of partying. She might have considered herself a Christian,
but she knew in her heart she wasn’t living like
one.
She met and fell in love with Jack, an intelligent and
mischievous man who also had no interest in being a missionary,
although he considered himself a true Christian. He even
agreed once to accompany some friends on a missionary
trip to South America in order to provide companionship
and to seek adventure. The trip further convinced him
that missionary work was not for him. He even made a private
deal with God that he’d become an architect, make
lots of money and support missionary work. But he wasn’t
going to be one. If God wanted him to do that he’d
have to send him a wife who wanted to be a missionary.
He was very relieved to discover Carol had no interest
in such work.
It is often said God has a sense of humor. Through a series
of events Carol eventually felt a strong call to be a
missionary and Jack agreed to join her in the endeavor.
Together they spent 17 years in Columbia, South America
living among the primitive Guayaberos. There goal was
to work with Wycliffe as missionaries and translate the
Bible into the tribe’s native language. At the time
they had no idea what an arduous task that would be, as
well as the challenges of preaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ to these people.
Over the years they discovered that life can be beautiful
as well as tragic, funny and sad, and that God moves in
mysterious ways to spread His message of love. Carol and
Jack raised four girls of their own and also grew to love
the Guayaberos. The book tells of many harrowing experiences,
and some very funny ones, too. Bats, snakes, monkeys,
parasites, dry and rainy seasons, primitive conditions,
communication barriers and an overall stretching and growing
of their spiritual lives make for a riveting story.
I really enjoyed this book for the honest look at what
foreign missionary life is like. In the end there was
success and heartbreak, both for the natives and for Carol
Martin and her family. The author is now retired and travels
the United States in an RV as part of another ministry.
But she continues to support missionary efforts. While
she and her family lived with the Guayaberos they never
had one convert and they only scratched the surface in
translating the scriptures. Years later their planting
has borne fruit and there are now believers among this
tribe. As Carol discloses, being obedient to God’s
call and continuing the efforts is all He asks. We must
leave the results up to our loving Creator.
One of the great insights I received from this book is
that missionary work is as much about transforming the
lives of the missionaries as it is about the people the
message of the Gospels is brought to. The author has given
us the gift of revealing her spiritual journey through
her accounts of missionary work, dispelling misconceptions
and offering evidence of God’s love through it all.
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| Tom Gilbert writes articles
and reviews about the Christian life and maintains the
e-ministry, Living the Solution (www.livingthesolution.com) |
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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