Through Gates of Splendor

In Through Gates of Splendor, Elizabeth Elliot chronicles the lives of these five men from their calling to be missionaries through the aftermath of their deaths.  I love how she doesn’t focus on one man—because it took all five men to accomplish “Operation Auca.”  Her book includes excerpts from the men’s journals and letters and photos along the way.  

These five men, their wives, and young children came to Ecuador with great passion. They entered a harsh territory governed by savage Indian tribes with a great compelling to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with them.  A missionary before them, Frank Drown, had reached the head-shrinking Jivaro tribe.  Others were working with the Quicha Indians.  But soon, God put it on the hearts of Jim Elliot and Nate Saint to go even further and reach the Auca Indians whose only interaction with white man, to this point, had been with rubber traders who were uncivilized savages in their own right. Nate was a pilot with Mission Aviation and as he flew over the area, he tried to spot the Aucas.  The men learned all they could about the Aucas through Shell Oil Company and a woman who was a refugee from the Auca tribe named Dayuma.  

Nate & Jim began making drops of gifts (pans, machetes, clothing, plastic cups, knives, etc.) to the Auca homes they found.  They continued this for months.  They also began using a P.A. System from the airplane using friendly phrases Dayuma taught them.  The responses from the Indians were varied.  Spears were thrown at first but then the Aucas seemed to warm up to them—even wearing articles of clothing the men had dropped when they normally wore nothing.  

Soon, the men began planning a meeting with the Aucas. Much time and prayer was spent preparing for that very important move.  Five men committed to going to a beach on the river with the full support of their wives.  They all knew this was the next important expansion of the gospel.  Their goal was to worship with this tribe around the throne of God some day. 

At first, they were discouraged because no Aucas came to their beach.  Nate flew over their homes announcing where they were.  In a few days, two women and a young man came to visit them and stayed overnight.  In a couple of days, in one of Nate’s flights, he saw a group of ten men on their way to the beach.   The men were excited and radioed to their wives of this development.  But that was the last contact with the men.  All five were killed by the Aucas.

The news of the martyrdom spread quickly all over the world.  The five widows stayed in Ecuador continuing the work after the death of their husbands.  And God began to move on the hearts of the Aucas.  Within three years, Elizabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint (the sister of Nate Saint) were invited to live with the Aucas.  Elizabeth had the privilege of leading many Aucas to the Lord—including two men who had murdered her husband.  Many lives were changed because of the deaths of these five men.