The first thing you may be asking is “What is a WAO Vision trip?”. Let me first begin this exciting adventure with the “why” behind the desire to go! The journey of my heart began approximately 11 years ago in the evenings as I read a book detailing the stories of many missionaries whom had given their entire life to the work of our Lord.  That was a fact I had never realized. Yes, I was 39 years old and I hadn’t ever known of people that gave their whole self to our Lord. Their stories captured my heart. So when my friend, Susan and I attended the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania’s (CHAP) yearly homeschool convention, I was extremely excited to see the wonderful stories of so many missionaries. While at the convention, I purchased quite a few of the Christian Heroes: Then & Now books. Each of these books detail the accounts of missionaries and the wonderful work that our Lord has done in their lives. I was so enthused and could not wait to begin reading these stories with my young sons! Of course, I could tell you many interesting details from each of the books; however, I want to focus on the exact books which are pertinent to our WAO Vision trip.

One of the books which was so inspirational to my heart was the book “Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer”, written by Janet and Geoff Benge.  I had never heard of Nate Saint, and each chapter of this book tugged at my heart. I was both confounded and excited to see how this young man gave himself to our Lord. He served our Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. He gave all of himself to Him. And, I thought, Nate Saint was not born that long ago. He was born in the year 1923. I wondered why I had never known of people who gave their lives each and every day so willingly to serve our Lord. I wondered how it is that I missed such an important detail during my short time here on earth. Perhaps I will never know why my Lord chose to show me such stories as these so late in my life. And to then put an unquenchable fire, desire, and passion within my heart. I can not really explain the feeling in my heart when I contemplate what these missionaries have given to our Lord.

While nearing the end of the book about Nate Saint, we read the chapter entitled: Operation Auca. Operation Auca was a mission which involved reaching a native tribe in the interior Amazon jungle of Ecuador with the gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Operation Auca was devised by five missionaries: Nate Saint, Jim Elliott, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian. The Aucas, the name given to these peoples by the outsiders, were the people to whom the missionaries intended to bring the gospel. The Aucas were caught in a cycle of revenge killing. And many, many killings took place through the years giving way to the concept of a grand-parent not being known.  These five men planned to bring God’s love to them. And so, they each pledged to each other that if the Aucas attacked, they would shoot shots above the Aucas heads. They pledged to each other that they would rather die at the hands of the Aucas than to harm one of them. And so, on Tuesday, January 3, 1956, the team flew to “Palm Beach”. And while on the way, they flew over the Auca village to invite them to come over for a visit. Nate Saint touched the yellow Piper airplane down on the very narrow strip they named “Palm Beach”. They waited and waited and called and called into the jungle inviting the Aucas( in Aucan language, of course) to come for a visit. Finally, that Friday, one younger Aucan woman, one older Aucan woman and one Aucan warrior did come for a visit. They stayed the day and the day went well with the missionary team.  But, when evening came the warrior and the young woman left the camp, while the older woman chose to stay in the camp. The next day, the Aucan warrior and the young woman were seen by the other Aucans. And, unfortunately, they were seen without, basically, their escort – the older Aucan woman. This caused both the warrior and the young woman to be in danger of being speared. Because of this situation, the Aucan warrior lied and stated that they had been attacked by the “cowodi”, the outsiders. So, this lie began a very fateful day for the missionary team. I must say that while reading the book regarding these exchanges, my heart grew heavy, my eyes filled with tears, and I found it very difficult to read. So, on Sunday, January 8,1956, Aucan warriors then headed to the camp of the five missionaries. They were not going to the camp for a visit; they were going to the camp for revenge killing. When the warriors reached camp, they speared each missionary man to death. These men had guns, but they had chosen to die rather than live. These five missionary men knew that their very own souls would forever be with our Lord. They had chosen life for the Aucans rather than life for themselves. They wanted the Aucans to hear the good news of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They knew that if these Aucan warriors died without knowing Jesus as their Lord, their souls were doomed for an eternity in hell.    

Works Cited : Benge, Janet & Geoff, Nate Saint: On a Wing and a Prayer. Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 1998. Print.