The Missionary Work of Jim Elliot with the Huaorani Indian Tribe

The Missionary Work of Jim Elliot with the Huaorani Indian Tribe
by Kelly Urmston

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" (Jim Elliot Quote).

Jim Elliot and his wife moved to Ecuador to begin missions work. He also started a family and they welcomed a son into the world. While in Ecuador, Jim met up with other missionaries who had made it their lives work to bring The Gospel to the Tribes in a neighboring jungle. Most of these tribes had never met anybody outside of their tribe, let alone out of the Jungle. Also, many of the tribes were known for being violent. They made spears for hunting, and would use them to harm invading tribes if they felt threatened. Jim began to work with the Quito Tribe to teach them about Christianity.

While still in the early years of his ministry Jim learned of the Huaorani Indian tribe that was known for their violence. They would attack other tribes and were even rumored to kill for sport. Jim and four of his friends decided to make it their mission to try to reach these people, and bring them The Gospel. Jim owned a plane a bi-plane would make trips into the jungle to meet the tribes. When he felt that he had gathered enough information about this tribe he took the daring step to reach out to this hostile tribe. “They had prayed for years for this primitive group that had never heard the redemption story of peace with God through the death of Christ” (Jim Elliot Martyred Missionary Did They Have To Die). The first time the group landed they were met by a small group of the Huaorani tribe. Both parties were leery of the other, but nothing violent took place. Jim and other missionaries, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Peter Fleming and their pilot Nate Saint, would return to this jungle several more times before it would finally end in disaster. “Here were five common young men whose unifying distinction was less their inherited abilities or acquired skills than their commitment to seek God's will and to carry out his purposes for their lives”( Jim Elliot Martyred Missionary Did They Have To Die?).

“They were approached several times by small groups of Huaorani Indians, and even gave an airplane ride to one curious Huaorani who they called ‘George’” (Jim Elliot - Biography of Jim Elliot). Since things had been going well, the team made plans to reach out to the entire tribe, and to move deeper into the jungle. However, they were never given the chance. As the plane landed at the edge of the jungle they were met by a large group of the Tribe. They were greatly out numbered, and the tribe felt the need to show their dominance. When the Huaorani began to feel threatened, they turned to violence. Members of the tribe killed Jim and his team. They used spears, and were violent in their attack. After many hours of painful waiting and wondering Jim’s wife began to think that something must have gone wrong, and so a search team was sent to search the area. In the next three days four of the five bodies would be found along the neighboring river. One was never located. “Elliot and his friends became instantly known worldwide as martyrs”( Jim Elliot - Biography of Jim Elliot). And their story would have been remembered simply as a tragedy if it was not for the unbelievable work of his wife, and the wives of his friends.

Other Indians fear them but the missionaries were determined to reach them. Said Elliot: ‘Our orders are: the Gospel to every creature’ (Jim Elliot Quote).