Unfolding Destinies: The Ongoing Story the Auca Mission

I read the book Unfolding Destinies, by Olive Fleming and was very satisfied with the book. I have known about Pete Fleming, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Nate Saint for as long as I can remember. My parents introduced me to missionaries at a very young age, so I have known about them for a long time, but when you hear about the auca mission, you mostly hear about the men and their struggles, rarely about the women. Unfolding Destinies tells about all the struggles that Olive had with her relationship with Pete. Olive and Pete had grown up around each other all their lives, but Pete was a couple years older than Olive, so they weren't close friends. As they became older and Olive was in her teens, their lives seemed to be taking two different directions. To Olive and her friends Pete and his buddies were overly spiritual and intellectual and to Pete and his buddies, Olive and the rest of the girls seemed to be a bit confused about what direction they were taking in life. Then Pete fell in love with Olive who was, as she puts it, a teeny bopper. From that point on their relationship slowly grew and they became very close. But it was only to be interrupted by a sudden call to the mission field. Pete was leaving to be with Jim and go to Ecuador. This was hard for Olive, because she and Pete had already made plans for the future, then he suddenly tells her its over and that he believes he's being called to the mission field. For any girl that would be hard! But as time progressed and Olive began to be able to try and cope with the decisions that Pete had to make, Pete began writing to her and their relationship began to be brought into to focus more. For a couple years, while Pete was in Ecuador, Olive began to build her relationship with God and she realized that her and Pete's relationship was growing stronger. Finally they were able to get married and she moved to Ecuador with Pete. But Olive's adventures weren't over; she still had to endure adjusting to jungle life, having a couple problems here and there and finally her husband dying after only 18 months of marriage. For me Olive Fleming is a role model. She struggled with everything just like I would have. There were times when she didn't know how to handle what was going on, times when she doubted God. She struggled to keep her faith, but there were times when God seemed to hate her. But she learned to overcome everything and she saw that God really loved her. Unfolding Destinies is a really neat book. It helps you understand the pressure that the women were under and all difficulties that they had to go through. I think that every woman should read this book. I think it would profit "Christian" women to see the fight that Olive put up with and for some women; it may be an encouragement to push through with the similar struggles that they are facing, even if they are not Christian. A.P.

I enjoyed Olive Fleming Liefeld's book, Unfolding Destinies, immensely! The author realistically illustrates that the Christian walk is a marvelous adventure involving listening intently to God's voice for direction while traveling in the physical world of human emotions, needs, and societal pressures. Mrs. Liefeld does a superb job of presenting the joys, struggles, heartbreaks, questions, and blessings from God that she and Pete shared during their brief time together, as well as what God has done in her life since then. In addition, I was very moved by the forward in the book written by Mrs. Liefeld's husband, Dr. Walter Liefeld. This is a marvelous love story: the love between husband and wife, the love of God's people for those that don't know Him, and the love of a great God for all His people!I recommend this book very highly!

This was a great book! It kind of "balanced out" the story--the perspective is different than that of Elisabeth Elliot's.