Victoria T. (justicepirate) reviewed on 8/13/2011 + 350 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

This book was a bit difficult for me to read because my uncle (Tim Van Dyke) was kidnapped and killed by the querrillas (FARC) in the mid 90s also in Bogata. Therefore, I tried to read it very slowly so I would be able to sleep at night or not cry.

Chet Bitterman's story begins where we learn about his upbringing a bit. You get a sense of understanding who he was when we learn about his college life and dreams. Once we finally get into the story about his family getting into Colombia, we learn abouthis desire to preach to tribes that had never been translated and how he had to stay where he was due to a car accident and trial dates. Once he is kidnapped you learn about what the feelings of those around him including his wife and even his daughter Anna went through while he was in captivity and his life was being threatened. I really enjoyed learning about him and the letter he wrote to Brenda was something really wonderful! I truly feel God really used Chet's death and his life to inspire MANY people. I don't know if my uncle knew of Chet's situation, but he became a missionary around the time that this occured, so perhaps it was an inspiration. Chet's life and death are a testimony to those who may not understand about God. Death can have a huge impact on those who do the killing, especially since it seems they saw his kindness and love from God as he was captive for about a month long. They were very kind to not torture him and to give him a sedative before shooting him once in the heart. I wish my uncle was as well treated in his 17 months of captivity. Every martyr has a way of really being used for God's glory. I know if it weren't for my uncle's captivity and death I probably wouldn't love Jesus and wouldn't have been so transformed by God. It hit me hard and helped me trust more in the Lord, and so I imagine the same occured for Mr. Bitterman and the people he knew.

Although the martyr's tale is always a sad one, you have to realize that The Lord uses every situation for God's glory in some way. They go into their work knowing that death could occur to them, and they take that chance in order to realize that there could be hundreds and thousands of lives changed by what they do to minister to others. I think that's why I admire missionaries so very much. They know this life is short and there is an eternal place for them, and they are willing to make so many sacrifices for the Lord who sacrificed so much for them

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