The last I wrote, I was discussing the book about Nate Saint. Now, I want to write to you about Jim Elliott. These men loved our Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. And their lives inspire my heart! And since Zachariah, Elijah, and I had read about Nate Saint, I certainly couldn’t wait to read about Jim Elliott so that I could see the same story from a different perspective.

And so, our Lord prepared another heart to bring the good news of our Lord, Jesus Christ to the Auca Indians. The heart of which I speak belongs to a man and his name is Jim Elliott. In the book, “Jim Elliott: One Great Purpose” written by Janet and Geoff Benge, is the story of how the Lord prepared this young man for a mission for Him. Our Lord orchestrated a meeting of His children in the heart of Ecuador. Here, in Auca territory, the five missionaries: Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian would reach out to the Auca Indians in hopes of bringing the good news of our Lord, Jesus Christ to this people.

And so, on Tuesday, January 3, 1956, the team of missionaries flew into Auca Territory. As soon as Nate Saint touched the yellow Piper airplane down on the very narrow strip of beach, “Palm Beach”, Jim Elliott and Ed McCully set to work building a tree house where three of the men could spend the nights while the other two men flew back to home base at Shell Mera. Each day on “Palm Beach” passed as the day before by having no visitors from the very Auca Indians they were trying to reach. So, on Thursday evening, while Jim prayed, he expressed his deep desire to finally meet with the elusive Aucas. His prayer was answered the very next day. On Friday, one younger Aucan woman, one older Aucan woman and one Aucan warrior did come for a visit. For the missionaries, this visit was exciting and a wonderful entry point into the lives of these Auca Indians. However, for the Aucas, the situation with the Aucan Warrior and young Aucan woman caused great anger. And this anger was about to be taken out upon the unsuspecting missionary men.

On Sunday, January 8, 1956, while Nate Saint flew to “Palm Beach”, he had spotted the Auca warriors heading towards his other friends. Upon hearing that Auca visitors were on their way, the missionary men were elated! At approximately 3:00 P.M., Jim saw three Auca women emerging from the forest on the other side of the river. Jim and Pete waded out into the river and speaking to the Auca women with greetings. However, these women were only decoys. From behind, Jim heard shrieks of terror coming from his other friends. Auca warriors had appeared on the beach with long spears in their hands. Jim, who had a gun in his pocket, thought quickly about whether or not to use the gun. And, of course, his choice was not to use the gun against the Auca warriors. Each missionary had promised not to harm the very people they had come to meet in order to bring the good news of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And each missionary, on that fateful day, was speared to death by the Auca warriors.

Jim Elliott lived for our Lord. He and his four friends gave their lives so that the Auca Indians could be told about the God of the universe who loves them. These men willingly died so that the Auca Indians could live and walk HIS trail. Jim Elliott once stated: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.

Works Cited : Benge, Janet & Geoff, Jim Elliott: One Great Purpose. Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 1999. Print.