Five men entered the jungle in search of a savage tribe...and never returned. In January 1956, a tragic story flooded headlines around the world. Five men, spurred by a passion to share the good news of Jesus Christ, ventured deep into the jungles of Ecuador. Their goal: to make contact with an isolated tribe whose previous response to the outside world had been to attack all strangers.

At an agreed-upon time, their five young wives sat by their radios, waiting for a message that never came.....

Through Gates of Splendor, the story of Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Jim Elliot, was first recorded in 1956 by Jim's widow, Elisabeth. Decades later, its story of unconditional love and complete obedience to God still inspires new readers. This edition contains subsequent developments in the lives of the familiesand the Waodani tribe.

The title of the book is derived from the fourth stanza of the hymn "We Rest on Thee". This hymn was famously sung by the missionaries before the men left for Waodaoni territory in September 1955. The lines read:
We rest on Thee, our Shield, and our Defender.
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.