The Poisonwood Bible Notes

• The story is set in 1959 when a family of baptist missionaries travel to the Belgian Congo. Nathan Price, the main character, is the main missionary on their voyage. 
• He took his wife, Orleanna, and his four daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. When they arrive in the Belgian Congo the family is assigned a little town called Kilanga. Upon arrival the family quickly realized they had misjudged what to bring along for supplies. 
• They were unprepared. Out of all four daughters Rachel is the only one that dislikes living in the Congo. One night the town's schoolteacher, Anatole, visits for dinner at the Prices' house and claims that the villages chief is displeased with the church the Price family has built. At this news Nathan becomes angry and asks Anatole to leave. 
• Soon after Ruth May breaks her arm and must be taken to a doctor in Stanleyville. While at the doctor, Underdowns warn the Price family to leave because of elections and independence. However, the Price family stays. 
• Later, Orleanna and Ruth May became sick and were confined to their bed. The three healthy daughter soon realize how difficult it is to run a house. After a month Orleanna is better, but Ruth May is not. 
• The Price family is now struggling to feed themselves in cause of a drought. The chief of the village offers to marry Rachel to make less mouths to feed, but the family doesn't want this. 
• They pretend to engage Rachel to a pilot who lives in the area. Brother Fowles, the missionary before the Prices, visited the village with his wife and Orleanna and her daughters are surprised on his approach with his teachings. It's much more general and nonrestrictive than Nathan's.
•  One night a swarm of ants cover the land and eat up everything. The Price family try to escape. Adah was disabled and sad when her mother chose to save Ruth May over her. The same night Leah lets Anatole know that she is in love with him. 
• One Sunday Tata Ndu interrupts Nathan's sermon and asks for a vote on if Jesus is the village's God or not. Jesus didn't win. The chief decides to have a huge hunt for food. Anatole wants Leah to participate, so the village holds a vote and Leah wins. 
• One of the village people tries to kill Anatole by putting a poisonous snake in his bed, but it fails to kill him. A fight breaks out because of Leah and the chiefs son. 
• A poisonous snake that one of the village people put in the Price's servants bed strikes and kills Ruth May. The footprints show that the witch doctor planted the snake because he has six toes. 
• At the funeral of Ruth May many kids and women show their appreciation and come out. It starts to rain and Nathan baptizes many of the people. They did not realize what he was doing. 
• Orleanna takes her daughters and leaves Kilanga. 
• On the way to the plane in another city, Leah falls ill due to malaria. Orleanna leaves Leah with Anatole and takes Adah to be flown back to the United States. 
• When Leah is well enough to travel she stays with Anatole and have four kids. They then move to Angola. Brother Fowles informs Leah that her father was killed by angry villagers who blamed their childrens death on him. 
• Adah lives in the United States where she becomes a doctor in Atlanta. While in medical school a neurologist helps her with her limp. Then she went to work for the CDC and becomes well known for her discoveries with AIDS and the Ebola virus.