Sixty-four years ago, on January 8, 1956, five men between the ages of 27 and 32 were speared to death trying to reach a violent, indigenous tribe in Ecuador with the gospel. They all left behind wives, and four had young children. The men knew the task was dangerous, even life-threatening. So, who were these men and what would cause them to willingly lay down their lives?
The Ecuador Missionaries
James “Jim” Elliot (Christian Missions in Many Lands) and his wife Elisabeth or “Betty” were both graduates of Wheaton College near Chicago. They had one daughter, Valerie, together. Jim and Elisabeth were both single missionaries to Ecuador before they were married.
Peter “Pete” Fleming (Christian Missions in Many Lands) was married to Olive. He studied philosophy at the University of Washington before becoming a missionary. Pete and Jim Elliot went to Ecuador as missionaries together in 1952 before they both got married in 1954. They continued their attempts to reach the Huaorani together with Ed, Nate, and Roger.
Edward “Ed” McCully (Christian Missions in Many Lands), also a graduate of Wheaton College, married Marilou (graduate of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago) and was father to Stephen, Michael, and Matthew. (Marilou was eight months pregnant with Matthew at the time of Ed’s death.)
Nathanael “Nate” Saint (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) was married to Marjorie and father to Kathy, Stephen, and Philip. He had also attended Wheaton College. According to From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian History Missions, “Perhaps the best-known missionary pilot has been Nate Saint, whose role in the Auca tragedy made him a household name in evangelical circles.” It was due to Nate Saint’s skill as a pilot that the five missionaries were able to land on “Palm Beach.” Nate served in World War II with the Army Air Corps.
Roger Youderian (Gospel Missionary Union) attended Montana State College, enlisted in the U.S. Army, was a paratrooper in World War II, and afterward attended Northwestern College to prepare for missions. He married Barbara and had two children, Beth and Jerry.
The Mission
The interdenominational, evangelical missionaries, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian, were speared to death by the very people they were attempting to reach with the gospel. The five men left behind five widows. The Huaorani Indians (otherwise known as the Waodani, Waorani, or Auca Indians), totaling around 500 tribe members in 1955, were a violent tribe of indigenous, Amerindians living in the Amazonian region of Ecuador.
The tribe was fearful of outsiders and had been known to kill any that entered their territory. They were also internally violent. The missionaries chose to go to the Huaorani tribe because they were known to be completely “unreached” by the gospel. The tragedy was featured in the January 30, 1956 edition of Life Magazine which was the first time the Huaorani tribe was ever photographed in their natural surroundings.
According to that 1956 edition of Life Magazine, the missionaries discovered the “Aucas” or Huaorani “as they and their wives were ministering to Quechua-speaking and Jivaro Indians.” The term Auca means “savages” in Quechua. They physically found the tribe flying over Auca territory in Nate Saint’s plane. The men spent weeks dropping gifts from the plane to the Aucas in a bucket before finding the courage to land the plane on the shore of the Curaray River. They believed the Aucas to be friendly when they finally landed on the riverbank that they referred to as “Palm Beach.”
“Between October 6 and December 23, Saint, accompanied by either McCully or Elliot, made 13 flights over the Wao clearings. Fleming provided prayer and financial support from his station. Saint lowered gifts to the ground. First, they sent down an aluminum cooking pot decorated with floating ribbons, then buttons, pants, shirts (the Waorani wore only cotton G-strings), an ax head, knives, photos, machetes. The Waorani received these gifts with smiles and laughter. They began to return gifts: a headband, woven thread, smoked monkey tail, two squirrels, a parrot. During these exchanges, the men shouted carefully mouthed phrases in the Wao language, which they had picked up from Dayuma, a young Wao woman who had fled tribal violence only to live in servitude at a nearby hacienda.”
To Lay Down One’s Life
In early January, all five men, believing that God was providing an “open door” to reach the Huaorani with the good news of Jesus Christ, landed on the banks of the Curaray River in Nate Saint’s plane. Although initial contacts seemed friendly, all five men were ultimately speared to death by the Huaorani (who believed that all outsiders would eventually shoot them with guns). Elliot, Fleming, McCully, Saint, and Youderian, of course, had no intention of shooting the Indians but, instead, were hoping and praying to be able to share with them the hope of eternal life that they had in Christ.
Again, what would cause five young men with families to willingly lay down their lives? Did they truly believe that their mission to reach the Aucas was worth risking everything? They absolutely did. They believed the story of the New Testament that Jesus Himself had laid down His life to save those who were spiritually lost. The Aucas, or Huaorani, had never heard of Jesus’ love and sacrifice on the cross. They didn’t have a Bible in their language and had not heard the message of salvation. They needed someone to come tell them, and yet that required great courage as the Huaorani were known for violence. The five men who went believed it was what Christ would have done and what Christ wanted them to do!
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved…. for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:9-15, NIV).
Not in Vain
So, did the men die in vain? Did the Huaorani ever hear and receive the message about Jesus? It turns out that the men weren’t the only courageous ones. Following their deaths, with the help of Dayuma, Jim’s wife, Elisabeth (along with daughter, Valerie), and Nate’s sister, Rachel, returned to live among the Huaorani, offering them forgiveness and completing the task the men had begun. This led to the conversion of many in the tribe, including at least one of the murderers. Ultimately, the New Testament was translated into the Wao language. “Nate Saint’s eldest son, Steve, and his family lived among the Waorani for a year in 1995.”
Sources
https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/martyrs-to-the-spear/
https://www.inspirationalchristians.org/evangelists/jim-elliot-biography/
“Shadow of the Almighty” by Elisabeth Elliot
“Through Gates of Splendor” by Elisabeth Elliot
“These Strange Ashes” by Elisabeth Elliot
©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Kalistratova
Kristi Walker has been a missionary in Berlin, Germany for over 15 years working with an international church as the Director of Student Ministries. Her birthday is January 8, and the story of the five missionaries who died in Ecuador has greatly impacted and inspired her. She is the author of two books: Disappointment: A Subtle Path Away from Christ and Convinced. Applying Biblical Principles to Life’s Choices.
Kristi Walker has been a missionary in Berlin, Germany for over 19 years working with CrossWay International Baptist Church. She is the author of three books: Disappointment: A Subtle Path Away from Christ, Convinced: Applying Biblical Principles to Life’s Choices, and Big Picture: 66 Books, 1 Message.
