Walking HIS Trail

It just may be that you are wondering what happened to the Auca Indians after the spearing on Sunday, January 8, 1956. The five missionaries, Jim Elliott, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Youderian, were speared to death that fate filled day. A day that many will remember and will be and are inspired into service for our Lord, no matter what the cost. Because, truly, what we have and what we are belongs to our Lord.

There is one word that I will be writing differently. It is the name of the Auca Indians. The Auca Indians is the name used by people outside of that people group. Waodani is the name by which these peoples call themselves. Waodani means “the people”. Hence, that is why we will be going on a “WAO”dani Vision Trip.

Now, back to the story of the Waodani and what happened after the deaths of the five missionary men. It is a glorious story. It is a glorious story of salvation and our Lord’s redeeming grace. It is a story that only our Lord could write in His most infinite wisdom.

Nate Saint’s sister, Rachel Saint, had been working with a Waodani girl and learning the Waodani language. Her name was Dayuma and she had run out of the jungle many years earlier to a Quechua settlement. It is there where Rachel Saint met her and began creating a written language for the Waodani. Prior to Nate being killed, Rachel had told her brother that she was sure that God would use Dayuma as the person to bring her to the Waodani. And, Rachel was sure that she would be the first person from the outside to go to the Waodani village and live with them.

On the Friday before the five missionaries were killed, Nate Saint had taken pictures of the visit with the three Waodani on “Palm Beach”. These pictures would prove to be very useful to Nate’s sister Rachel. Rachel showed those pictures of the Waodani to Dayuma and she actually recognized them as her family members. As Dayuma observed the pictures, she continued to apologize for the killings. However, Rachel ensured her that God was in control, and that one day God would cause good to come from the deaths of the five missionaries. Rachel continued to work with Dayuma and to also show her the ways of our Lord. Dayuma was given the gift of belief from our Lord and she was ready to share her faith with her family members.

On September 2, 1958, Dayuma and two other Waodani walked into the jungle. They were going to find their family to tell them of God’s Carving (the Holy Bible). Dayuma had promised to return on the next full moon, so, on September 25, 1958, Dayuma, her companions and many other Waodani came forth from the jungle. They came to invite Rachel to come back and live with them in their village. On October 6,1958, Rachel Saint, Betty Elizabeth Elliott, Dayuma, and fifteen others set out for Waodani Territory.

After approximately 16 months, other Waodani gave their hearts to our Lord. Since then, many, many of the Waodani people have come to know our Lord, Jesus, as their Savior. This includes the same men who once speared others for revenge killing. And, this includes the men who speared the five missionaries to death – the five men who came to tell them of God’s love. Now, these people have God’s Carvings and are walking God’s Trail.

Rachel Saint continued to live with the Waodani for the next 20 years. Through out all of those years, Rachel continued to work with the Waodani and show them God’s love. And, at the age of 65, Rachel needed to leave the Waodani territory for health reasons. She then began to work tirelessly to translate the New Testament into Waodani tongue. In 1992, Rachel was able to hand to the Waodani a complete New Testament. Rachel stayed with her adopted family, the Waodani, until she died in the year 1994. Rachel Saint was their Nemo. She was their “Star”.

Only our Lord could write such a wonderful story. He is the only One who could orchestrate such mercy and grace. He is our Lord and He reigns throughout all eternity.

Works Cited : Benge, Janet & Geoff, Rachel Saint: A Star in the Jungle. Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 2005. Print.

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.

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.