The Elinor Young Story
Elinor Young nearly lost her life to polio at the age of 5. Though the Lord preserved her life, her body never fully recovered. Despite her physical limitations and discouragement from people around her, Elinor felt the Lord calling her to serve as a missionary in a foreign field.
She would eventually go to Irian Jaya, Indonesia. There, she lived among the Kimyal tribe for 18 years and helped translate the New Testament into their language. In a beautiful display of God’s glory, God used Elinor Young’s “bad legs” to show the greatness of God’s love for the Kimyal people.
Chapter-By-Chapter Interviews with Elinor
Executive Director Tom Luttmann joins Elinor via Zoom to discuss each chapter of Beautiful Feet Upon the Mountains
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapters 3-5: COMING SOON!
Christianity in Indonesia
Elinor Young took the gospel to the Kimyal Tribe in Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia comprised of over 17,000 islands! With a population of over 280 million people, it is also the fourth most populous country in the world. Sadly, less than 15% of these people know Jesus. The majority religion is Islam.
However, thanks to God’s work through people like Elinor who were willing to follow God’s call to hard-to-reach places, over 70% of the Kimyal people today are professing Christians. Praise God!
Resources for Further Learning
Want to learn more about Elinor Young and her ministry to the Kimyal tribe? We’ve rounded up some great resources for you!
Bad Legs: An Elinor Young Documentary
A 21 minute documentary on Elinor produced by Dianne Becker in 2015 for WorldTeam.
Running on Broken Legs: My Journey to Joy
Elinor Young’s memoir, published in 2022, records her story in her own words.
Learn More at
Elinor’s Website
Behind the Scenes
Unboxing Video
On November 19, 2021, we released our new mission story, Beautiful Feet Upon the Mountain. The subject of the story, Elinor Young, joined us via Zoom for the unboxing. She was joined by Katie Zappitella (author) and Del Thompson (illustrator).