Thirty eight years do not fly fast, especially if we are to spend it in a jungle.  But, that’s what Rachel Saint did.  For 38 years she lived in an Ecuadorian jungle among the Auca Indian who killed her brother, Nate Saint, a pilot with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, along with four other missionaries.Thirty eight years do not fly fast, especially if we are to spend it in a jungle.  But, that’s what Rachel Saint did.  For 38 years she lived in an Ecuadorian jungle among the Auca Indian who killed her brother, Nate Saint, a pilot with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, along with four other missionaries.

Two-and-a-half years after the death of her brother, in October 1958 Rachel Saint along with Elizabeth Elliot—whose husband, Jim, was one of the murdered missionaries—and another female missionary went back to the place and the people who killed their loved ones.  God saw what they did and He blessed them.

The Auca Indian received the grace of God and became followers of Jesus, the Savior of the world.  Two of those who murdered the five missionaries were to be the ones who later baptized two of Nate Saints’ children.  And, Rachel, despite her declining health and being cancer-stricken, continued the work until her death in 1994.

What happened to all these people can only be explained by one word: Love!  Yes, the love of Jesus motivated the five men to go to the remote jungle of Ecuador to share the Good News of Jesus.  The same love of Jesus brought these women to the people who killed their husbands.  And, the love of Jesus turned the Aucas’ hearts to become children of God.

The name Auca literally means “savage.”  But, to Nate Saint and his sister Rachel and the rest of the missionaries, Auca means “a people for whom Christ died.”  Perhaps we, too, are facing our own version of Auca—those we don’t like and are afraid to be near with.  It’s time to look at them as people for whom Christ died.

Pastor Paul

Two-and-a-half years after the death of her brother, in October 1958 Rachel Saint along with Elizabeth Elliot—whose husband, Jim, was one of the murdered missionaries—and another female missionary went back to the place and the people who killed their loved ones.  God saw what they did and He blessed them.

The Auca Indian received the grace of God and became followers of Jesus, the Savior of the world.  Two of those who murdered the five missionaries were to be the ones who later baptized two of Nate Saints’ children.  And, Rachel, despite her declining health and being cancer-stricken, continued the work until her death in 1994.

What happened to all these people can only be explained by one word: Love!  Yes, the love of Jesus motivated the five men to go to the remote jungle of Ecuador to share the Good News of Jesus.  The same love of Jesus brought these women to the people who killed their husbands.  And, the love of Jesus turned the Aucas’ hearts to become children of God.

The name Auca literally means “savage.”  But, to Nate Saint and his sister Rachel and the rest of the missionaries, Auca means “a people for whom Christ died.”  Perhaps we, too, are facing our own version of Auca—those we don’t like and are afraid to be near with.  It’s time to look at them as people for whom Christ died.

Pastor Paul