God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully,
Nate Saint and Roger Youderian (1956)
No Fools
These five American missionaries and their families went to Ecuador in 1955 to reach an unevangelised native tribe known as the Aucas – a feared people who had previously killed several Shell oil company workers. When Jim had discussed with his wife the possibility of not returning alive, he had said, “If God wants it that way, darling, I am ready to die for the salvation of the Aucas.”
Nate Saint was their skilled pilot, who had flown over Ecuadorian jungles on many occasions. His sister Rachel Saint had learnt the language of the Aucas while Jim, Nate and Ed planned an expedition into their territory. On 3 January 1956 they landed near to an Auca village, met for prayer and sang, “We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender” before going in.
Their first contact with the Aucas, which lasted a week, seemed very positive. However by end of the week Marj, Nate’s wife, lost radio contact with the five. Four bodies were eventually picked up by the US Air Force; the fifth – Ed’s body – was not recovered.
After the event an Auca girl, Dayuma, who had left her tribe to teach Rachel the tribal language, returned to her people. They were astonished, as they had thought that the missionaries had killed her. Instead she shared her new found faith, telling them that “just as you killed the foreigners on the beach, Jesus was killed for you”.
Many Aucas became Christians as a result of the missionaries’ sacrifice – even the killers. Jim Elliot had famously said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
We go not forth alone against the foe.
Strong in Thy Strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know,
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender,
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour,
Victors, we rest with Thee through endless days.
Edith Gilling Cherry (1872-1897)