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50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truth is stronger than fiction, October 18, 2006
This review is from: Bruchko And Motilone Miracle: How Bruce Olson brought a Stone Age South American tribe into the 21st century (Paperback)
After hearing Bruce Olson speak over a year ago and reading his first book, Bruchko, I have researched every magazine article and other source I could find on the life of this very special man. So when the sequel came out I was very excited to order my copy. It does an excellent job of filling in the later years, right up to the present.
The gripping story of Olson's unorthodox life in the Amazon jungle challenges every stereotype we may have of missionaries. As a passionate and driven 19-year-old, he left a comfortable, bookworm existence in Minnesota and followed his God-given dream to travel to South America, where he was violently captured by a reclusive, murderous tribe of stone age Indians. And he has lived with them ever since!
Bruchko and the Motilone Miracle unfolds all the events that have happened in Olson's life with the Indians, who are now transformed into a productive and positive cultural force in Colombia. It covers the account of Olson's unbelievable response to his kidnapping and captivity in 1988 by one of the armed rebel groups using the jungle as their base of operations.
There are so many reasons why I was attracted to this story. It's a high adventure journey filled with love, suffering, resurrection, social redemption, and victory over evil. I'd like to see the movie made -- and made on a big scale, because it would enthrall audiences more than the most elaborate Hollywood action film. In this case, truth is stronger than fiction!
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Visit With an Old Friend, August 4, 2007
This review is from: Bruchko And Motilone Miracle: How Bruce Olson brought a Stone Age South American tribe into the 21st century (Paperback)
The original Bruchko book is one of my favorite books of all time. So when I heard he had written a second book which updated his story into the present day, I purchased it quickly. It was like getting reacquainted with an old friend. You see Bruchko grappling with the losses of Gloria and Bobarishora. You see his spirit rekindled after hearing a couple of the younger Motilones speaking at a peace conference. You feel his joy as the nation of Columbia recognizes that 420 acres of jungle land belong to the Motilone people (truly known as the Bari people).
The first 36 pages rehash the first Bruchko book, while the rest of the volume brings the story into the present day (with occasional looks back into the past).
You get to read the details of Bruce's entanglements with terrorist groups and drug dealers. You get his first person account of his brutal 1988 abduction by the ENF and his mixed feelings about the current direction the Motilones are taking. You get the sense that the younger Motilones want to modernize more and to forego some of the tribal traditions that Bruce has been trying hardf to safeguard. Yet Bruce is confident in the Lord that God will continue to raise up Motilones who walk in our Lord's trail.
If you love the first book, you'll definitely want this one, too. But this is also a good place to start even if you have never heard of Bruchko.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of My Favorite Books of All Time, January 10, 2010
This review is from: Bruchko And Motilone Miracle: How Bruce Olson brought a Stone Age South American tribe into the 21st century (Paperback)
Bruce Olson is a modern legend. If you are looking for a great autobiography and missionary story, this is it. I read a lot and there are very few books that I give a 5-star rating.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. It will change your life. I think this man has had a great impact on the Motilone Indians in South America. Bruce, an American, has lived in the jungles of of Columbia and Venezuela for most of his life, giving up all the creature comforts of modern day culture. His story is remarkable.
I recommend reading the first Bruchko book first, which tells about his early life and how he got to the jungle. This book gives a review of the first book in the first few chapters, and then picks up where the last one left off.
You will not regret buying this book. It also makes a great gift.
High school students and college students will also enjoy it, as well as those bound for seminary or the mission field.
I guarantee you they will make a movie about this man one day. You simply can not make this stuff up.
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