A ROCKY FOUNDATION

               One Sunday afternoon in January 1956 a mission to reach a primitive tribe with the gospel ended abruptly as five young men lay dead in the jungle of Ecuador. The story of what happened on that day became a primary narrative for the young evangelical movement, reinforcing and illustrating to the world the core ideals. Their noble sacrifice and the heroic follow up work of family members Rachel Saint and Elisabeth Elliot inspired a generation of Christians some to go to the mission field and many more to live a sacrificial Christian life. Without the extensive news coverage, most people would never have heard about the five men.   But why would a missionary story receive such a worldwide attention? With the Korean War over, there was very little major news. Television had improved and the media were hungry for news at the time. When the story of the five missionaries missing in the jungle of the Ecuador broke, the cerebrated life magazine photographer, Cornell Capa i

    An actual photo taken by one of the five missionaries. In December 1957 a young marine climbed aboard a bus bound for south California. Chuck was depressed and felt that God had forgotten him, even though he had seldom included God in his life. He would soon leave Cynthia, his bride of two years and family and friends for service in Okinawa. His brother seeing his panic and need of help gave him a book and admonished him to read it. Chuck muttered, “Oh sure”. What kind of book does he want me to read now? Chuck wondered. However once on the bus he opened the book and began to read. The story of five men willing to give up their lives for God captured his interest, especially since they were not much older than he was. The bus arrived in the marine base long before he had finished the book, but he couldn’t put it down. He found the only light available –in the washroom – and there he stayed until he had finished the book. The book through the gates of splendor by Elizabeth

                              The initial mission to reach the Auca tribe with the gospel ended abruptly one Sunday afternoon as five young men lay dead on the Sandbar along the Curaray River in the jungle of Ecuador. The missionaries’ first contact with the tribe ended in death of them all by spearing. The Auca men involved in the killing along with others, who witnessed it, were deeply affected by two things that transcended their own experience. The first was the fact that the white men refrained from using their guns, thereby sparing the Indian’s lives. Had the missionary intentions been good after all? The second was even further beyond their comprehension. The killers heard singing, not from the beach where the bodies now lay, but from above the trees on the river bank. Looking up they saw an array of bright light. Frightened, they kept this vision to themselves. It was not until 1989 that they shared their remarkable vision. One year before the missionaries’ massacre, Dayu