Five widows in Shell, following the return of the search party. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

It’s why Christians pray for their persecutors. And it’s why, even after Waorani tribe members killed their loved ones, Elisabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint went to live among the Waorani and share the Gospel.

Yesterday, we covered the 70th anniversary of the martyrdom of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian, which took place on January 8, 1956. Saint was a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

Now, seven decades later — with the continued ministry of MAF planes, the widows and family members of the martyred missionaries, and discipleship of a Waorani Church — the Waorani people are growing in faith and truth. Something that may never have happened if the five men were not willing to bring the Gospel to this once-violent tribe.

Gene Jordan, a former MAF pilot who served 22 years in Ecuador, says today, “The Waorani Bible has been translated. They have Scripture in their own language.”

Kimo (member of the spearing party) and Gene Jordan. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

The Waorani church also has many of the same strengths and struggles as any other church community.

Jordan shares, “There are Waorani that dearly love Jesus and want to follow Him, and their lives have been changed. There are Waorani that don’t want to have anything to do with the church or this new message of a God that loves them, and they turn their backs on it. And then there’s Waorani that play at being Christians. ‘Oh, I’m going to go to church on Sunday, but maybe on Wednesday or Thursday, I’m going to do whatever I want to do.’

“So down inside, they’re no different than we are. But they have had the chance to hear about a God that created them and loves them and sent His Son to provide forgiveness.”

Stories of Waorani Faithfulness

Jordan’s relationship with the Waorani is deeply personal. For more than two decades, he flew into their jungle communities.

“Some of the young church leaders were young school kids when I flew them around,” he says. “It’s just really great to see them taking leadership.”

From left to right: Gilberto Mincaye (Wao pastor/leader), Yowe (member of the spearing party), and Gene. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

That leadership includes the family of one of the original attackers. Mincaye was a member of the spearing party that killed the five missionaries. Today, his son, Gilberto Mincaye Jr., is a church leader and a representative for the Waorani people.

“He has totally accepted who God is and what He did through His Son,” Jordan says. “He’s just a delightful person to be with.”

Jordan also recalls Dawa, one of the first Waorani women to fully embrace the Gospel. She also spiritually mentored other women in the tribe. When she became seriously ill, Jordan flew her to a hospital and later brought her home.

“About six months later, I landed in her community. She came up to the airplane and said, ‘Captain, I made you this hammock.’ She made me a hammock like they use to sleep in. She said, ‘I want you to have this so you will have many, many children.’

“That hammock, I have it here in the summer. I put it out on my deck, and it’s a precious thing,” he says.

“It just constantly reminds me that one day we will live together forever in Heaven because of the willingness of these five guys who want nothing else than the Waorani to hear about a God that loves them.”

Gilberto and Mincaye, less than a week before Mincaye died. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

Praise God for the way He continues to work through the faithful legacy of these martyrs. Please also pray for the Waorani people that, as they grow in the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord, future generations will choose to follow Jesus Christ.

“I can only imagine the reunion someday when they meet the five guys in heaven and say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for bringing the Gospel to our community.'”

Header photo: Gilberto, Ompode (Mincaye’s wife), and Mincaye. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

Saint was a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). On January 8, 1956, he and four fellow missionaries were killed on a jungle beach in Ecuador by the very tribe they were attempting to reach with the Gospel.

Gene with Nate, Shandia, 1955. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

For Gene Jordan, a former MAF pilot who spent 22 years serving in Ecuador, the story is personal. Jordan’s parents were missionaries in Ecuador starting in 1951 with a different mission organization.

“My parents knew all the missionaries in those early days,” he says. “I have a picture of myself sitting on Nate’s knee in the little jungle station of Shandia where the Elliots worked. I don’t remember it; I was too young. But what I do remember is always knowing of Nate with an airplane serving other people in the jungle.”

As a teenager, Jordan spent his time at the MAF base in Shell, Ecuador, helping however he could — fueling and washing planes, loading cargo, and buckling in passengers.

(Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

“I saw the difference the airplane made in the jungle communities. But more than that, I saw the impact and the effect that the pilots had in living out their faith and caring for people,” says Jordan.

“I decided this might be something that I could do, and I go back to the influence when I was young — of always knowing about MAF, knowing MAF pilots, seeing what they did, and the main one being Nate Saint because he was in Ecuador. I grew up with his kids and his widow, Aunt Marge. So it was always an influence in my life.”

Seven decades after the killings, it still echoes today – the faith legacy of these men, their widows, and a surrender to God’s will.

Jordan says, “When the five guys were killed on that day, the widows’ worlds fell apart. But…I never heard any of them say or write that they doubted that God was not in control.

“I have a letter that Elizabeth Elliot wrote my mom just a couple weeks after Jim was killed. In it, she says, ‘My house feels empty, but Jim died doing exactly what he felt God would have him do in the fullness of his manhood, and I cannot fault God for anything.’

Elisabeth Elliot with spears retrieved from the bodies. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

“Today, we have 70 years of being able to look back and see what God has done.”

As believers remember the sacrifice of these five men and the steadfast faith of their families, the question remains deeply personal.

What mission field is God calling you to?

Learn more about MAF’s ministry here.

Header photo: Five widows in Shell, following the return of the search party. (Photo, caption courtesy of Gene Jordan/MAF)

You may recognize the Waorani tribe; their spearing party killed five American Christian missionaries back in 1956.

“We were requested about a year ago to do the Waorani language,” says Chris Deckert, JFP’s Language Studios Director. “They’ve been in the spotlight of missions for many, many years after what happened with Jim Elliot and Nate Saint.”

Redemption comes full circle on multiple fronts. First, the Waorani warrior who killed Nate Saint – Mincaye – later came to Christ.

Deckert poses for a photo with Mincaye’s grandson.
(Photo courtesy of The JESUS Film Project)

“I got to meet his three grandsons, and his older grandson helped translate the Gospel into Waorani at the end of the film premiere.”

Members of the same tribe who martyred five missionaries decades ago are now preparing to introduce their neighboring tribes to Christ.

After premiering the JESUS Film last weekend, JFP staff equipped Waorani believers to be local missionaries. “Twenty of the local leaders receive training on how to show the JESUS Film with a tablet so they could go from village to village on a weekly basis,” Deckert says.

Now, using new tools in the Waorani language, “they can go through Bible studies and understand more about who Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke.”

It’s illegal for Western missionaries to share Christ with certain Amazonian tribes, but the Waorani have full access. Pray they will yield to the Lord’s calling and direction.

“They asked for prayer for God to give them strength and vision to present the Gospel and reach out beyond their own tribe to other tribes,” Deckert says.

“They now have been resourced to go out and share the Gospel [with] other language groups of the Amazon jungle.”

Header and story images courtesy of The JESUS Film Project.