When Carol and Jack arrived in a village in Colombia, South America in 1971, they had visions of translating the Bible, holding literacy classes, and reaping the reward of watching the whole village be transformed by God's love. But four years down the road, the young couple still had no one even willing to help them learn the language. This is an engaging account of a life full of triumphs and discouragement. Carol's story of persistent faith and courage will inspire you to step out in faith. 176 pages, softcover from VMI Publishers.

In Wild Indians, Carol Martin tells her story of real life as a missionary and reveals the most common misconceptions of life on the mission field.

When asked what she thinks are some of the most common misconceptions people have about missionaries, Carol Martin answers, “people commonly assume that missionaries are super-spiritual, certainly more spiritual than the average Christian. Missionaries are so spiritual, they can’t be bothered with what kind of clothes they wear. They probably won’t notice, and—even if they do—they won’t care if you give them a used bag to make their tea. I had the common misconception that missionaries were the happiest people on earth, and that once we became missionaries, we would live happily ever after. These misconceived ideas gave me no reliable basis for counting the costs of following Christ anywhere, let alone the mission field.”

Carol continues, “The truth is, missionaries are just people like anyone else. And things don’t always turn out ‘happily ever after,’ even when you follow the Lord where he leads. After seventeen years with the Guayaberos, my husband Jack and I had built loving relationships with the people and had translated parts of the Bible and compiled a hymnal—but we still had no known converts.”

That’s not to say that the Guayaberos didn’t have a few misconceptions of their own. Sometimes the members of the tribe did not always understand Carol and her family’s thoughts and actions. Their misconceptions of foolishness were also something that Carol struggled with. In the book, she writes:

“After months of struggling with this issue, I decided then and there to give this completely to God. How foolish I had been. What freedom washed over me as I truly trusted God. If God wants us to look smart, wonderful. However, if we need to be fools, so be it. This was no longer in my hands, but in the hands of the One who made me and called me. This was one of the hardest lessons I had to learn. I didn’t have to prove what I was. I didn’t have to worry about what I wasn’t. I had simply to present the truth of the gospel and let God do the rest. How great the relief when we finally turn a situation over to God in complete surrender. Then I prayed that God would help me love all these people all the time, even the obnoxious ones.

Carol’s vivid memories of life in Colombia run the gamut from the comical (Carol’s first encounter with a bat) to the tragic (the deaths of three Guayabero children in four weeks). She answers some of the most common questions about the lives of missionaries, describing her family’s living arrangements and medical issues, the missionary kid experience and the acceptance of the possibility of martyrdom. With unaffected sincerity, she holds nothing back, even describing Jack’s deep depression after their 17-year ministry came to an abrupt end—an affliction that culminated in Jack’s taking of his own life.

Carol’s engaging and transparent narration makes a lasting impression, particularly as she debunks the common myths about missionary life.

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