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Steve Hawthorne is Bert and Colleen’s nephew, the eldest son of Bert’s sister, Jane. He is a medical doctor who, with his wife, Mary, has served in Bolivia with SIM for about forty years. Here is his reflection about his aunt and uncle:

Gilbert mentions in Love So Amazing that for a time Lars and Elisabeth (Elliot) Gren would visit Bert and Colleen in Trujillo for three weeks each February. In 2008 Mary and I joined these two couples after a teaching invitation with HCJB in Quito, Ecuador. I read aloud to the group a funny story by P. G. Wodehouse called Something Fresh. Bert was in his recliner and would laugh so contagiously that it was impossible to keep reading.

I was reminded of a line from J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings: “The sound of that laugh had been gay and merry. Yet in the wizard’s face he saw at first only lines of care and sorrow; though as he looked more intently he perceived that under all there was a great joy: a fountain of mirth enough to set a kingdom laughing, were it to gush forth.”

Colleen writes: “There have been days when I thought Bert would just plain burst with joy.” Certainly Bert carried the weight of his care for all the churches he had started throughout the jungle and mountains of Peru. He helped to bear the burdens of countless people who poured out their woes to his listening ears. Yet he had a vivid awareness of being God’s co-worker in extending the Kingdom, and this gave him that sense of joy that drew me and so many others to him.

I went to see Uncle Bert and Aunt Colleen in Peru seven times between 1988 and 2011 to seek counsel and encouragement in my own missionary career. They came twice to see us in Bolivia. We shared many trips and conversations together. But the image that shines most clearly is that one of him laughing fit to bust, his eyes squinted closed in tiny crescents as happens with my mother also, radiating to all in that room the love and joy of the Holy Spirit that filled him.

 From Steve Hawthorne, nephew, SIM missionary serving in Bolivia

To read more of their exciting story, preorder Love So Amazing: The Missionary Biography of Bert and Colleen Elliot. You’ll be glad you did.

Steve and Lisa Twinem served as missionaries alongside Bert and Colleen Elliot in Trujillo and were valued colleagues. Steve writes,

As a young man intent on getting a Theology degree and entering the ministry, I ended up in northern Peru in 1987 for a summer mission trip where the Elliots were our hosts. I was struck by the sacrificial loving service of this couple that was inspired by their deep love for the Lord and their practical knowledge of His Word. Bert was so solid in what he believed and yet so open for others to participate and so it was there during that time that I actually preached my first message. A close bond was formed and for the rest of my studies and as my wife and I began in ministry in Canada, we corresponded regularly with the Elliots. We too believed we were called to overseas ministry and were aware of the need in Peru.

Bert asked if we would come to help in the area of training leaders and we thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to learn under their mentorship. The Lord delayed in sending us for a dozen years and then in his perfect timing He allowed us to serve alongside the Elliots for the last 12 years of their ministry on this earth. What a joy to see firsthand the humility and love the Lord nurtures in ones who are willing to walk closely with Him wherever He may lead. They were faithful in their daily time with the Lord and served others with a sacrifice that defied the honoured place they had in the hearts and minds of the people that they served. They always gave more than they received and only in their last years cut back on travel on rugged terrain to small out-of-the-way congregations and staying in rustic quarters. During our time with them we learned much, more than any one story could capture.

Some of the profound thoughts were these; "Discovering the will of God is a romance," as we only find it in relationship with Him. "I would rather err on the side of giving too much than giving too little." I remember him praying once before a training institute, "Thank you Lord for these courses to teach because we are lazy and need them to discipline us in our study." And of moral purity he said once to a group of younger men, "I am never too old to spoil the picture." On one bus trip, I remember sitting beside him as an inappropriate movie began to play and he put his coat over his head preferring to ride in darkness rather than dishonour the Lord.

We don't see this much today in ministry. Men and women who continue to be committed to unchanging truth principles no matter how much time they have had in ministry and no matter how others esteem them. Bert had the position of an elder statesman in Peruvian evangelical circles across denominational boundaries, yet he always served as though he was a young man, constantly asking the Lord what was next. He remained happy as a child to the end of his days, enamoured by the beauty of God's creation, His people and His goodness to them as a couple.

 Steve and Lisa Twinem 

Jorge and Donna Osorio worked alongside Bert and Colleen in Peru for almost twenty years, first in the jungle and later in the coastal city of Trujillo. Donna has provided a great description of what life was like on their river trips in the early 1980s:

 I have a fond memory of Bert and Colleen arriving at a port town far up the Huallaga River. A place where time had stood still with no electricity and only dirt roads.

 After dinner Bert would light a hissing gas lantern and Colleen would pull out her accordion. They would walk from their boat using flashlights to see the way. They were never alone as a group of children would be pressing in, watching their every move. They then set up for a meeting in the town plaza hanging the lamp from a tree, not too close or they’d be eaten by bugs attracted to the light. Colleen would start with the accordion and soon their powerful singing voices would join in. Their music seemed to reach the entire town.

Once people gathered Bert would preach with such authority and power. Colleen sat nearby nodding furiously and laughing at his jokes. They had been evangelizing together for decades in meetings just like this across the northern jungles, the Andes, and the dry deserts of Western Peru. Some came close to the light, others lingered in the shadows, but all heard the message of hope.

 By Donna Osorio Orcutt 

Thank you, Donna. You can read similar stories in Love So Amazing: The Missionary Biography of Bert and Colleen Elliot.

It is available to preorder now.