“He is no fool who gives which he cannot keep to gain that he cannot lose.”
– Jim Elliot
Jim Elliot was a missionary who was killed in Ecuador. His mission was to share the gospel with a Aucas. The Aucas had killed many Quichuas. They had also killed several workers at an oil company-drilling site near their territory. The oil company closed the site because everyone was afraid to work there. Jim knew God had called him and the others to tell the Aucas about Jesus. Jim and the four other Ecuador missionaries began to plan a way to show the Aucas they were friendly.
Nate Saint, a missionary supply pilot, came up with a way to lower a bucket filled with supplies to people on the ground while flying above them. He thought this would be a perfect way to win the trust of the Aucas without putting anyone in danger. They began dropping gifts to the Aucas. They also used an amplifier to speak out friendly Auca phrases. After many months, the Aucas even sent a gift back up in the bucket to the plane. Jim and the other missionaries felt the time had come to meet the Aucas face-to-face.
One day while flying over Auca territory, Nate Saint spotted a beach that looked long enough to land the plane on. He planned to land there and the men would build a tree house to stay safe in until friendly contact could be made.
The missionaries were flown in one-by-one and dropped off on the Auca beach. Nate Saint then flew over the Auca village and called for the Aucas to come to the beach. After four days, an Auca man and two women appeared. It was not easy for them to understand each other since the missionaries only knew a few Auca phrases. They shared a meal with them, and Nate took the man up for a flight in the plane. The missionaries tried to show sincere friendship and asked them to bring others next time.
For the next two days, the missionaries waited for other Aucas to return. Finally, on day six, two Auca women walked out of the jungle. Jim and Pete excitedly jumped in the river and waded over to them. As they got closer, these women did not appear friendly. Jim and Pete almost immediately heard a terrifying cry behind them. As they turned they saw a group of Auca warriors with their spears raised, ready to throw. Jim Elliot reached for the gun in his pocket. He had to decide instantly if he should use it. But he knew he couldn’t. Each of the missionaries had promised they would not kill an Auca who did not know Jesus to save himself from being killed. Within seconds, the Auca warriors threw their spears, killing all the missionaries: Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Nate Saint, Pete Fleming and Jim Elliot.
After Jim’s death, Elisabeth Elliot (Jim’s wife), her daughter and another of the missionaries sister, Rachel, moved to work with the Auca Indians. The love of Christ shown through their forgiveness allowed them to have amazing success with the once murderous Indians. God used Jim’s death to bring life through salvation to many Aucas and encouragement and inspiration to thousands of believers worldwide.
As I arrived in Ecuador, one of the first things I noticed was Ecuador’s slogan printed on the majority of their buses. It read Ama la vida. This translates to Love life. Ecuadorians do love life. I saw it in their smiles and the way they wove jokes and laughter into most conversations. Another thing I noticed about the people of Ecuador was how they loved people.
One word that describes this month for me is, give. It has been a recurring pattern of how many times we have been given to this month. It blows my mind the generosity the Ecuadorian people have. The words of Jim Elliot are very much alive in the people of Ecuador today. It reminds me of the second part of Matthew 10:8 when Jesus is sending out the 12, He tells them, “Freely you have received; freely give.”
The following personas demonstrated this giving to me specifically during my time in Ecuador.
First being the Purdy’s. I touched on the Purdy’s in one of my previous blog posts but its time to get down to the nitty gritty. The Purdy’s opened up their home for us for 3 weeks. They bought us water, allowed us to do laundry, fed us, drove us around, allowed us to use their kitchen, gas, wifi and they did not want anything for it. For a World Racer, the laundry bonus alone is huge. There is nothing like having a washing machine at your disposal. They cooked for us and these meals were top notch. Their potato soup was unreal, if you’re in Banos, look them up. They just wanted to bless us and bless us they did.
One rainy evening in Banos, we were playing soccer and Josh broke his arm. Breaking your arm in a foreign country is a logistical nightmare if you don’t have transportation. The next couple days Josh collected hospital stamps from 3 different hospitals. Sterling gave up his time, sleep and gas to give Josh and members of Team Zeal the hospital tour of Ecuador. I remember Sterling telling Josh that he was now his mission. Sterling dropped everything to make himself available to meet the needs of Josh and our team. The Purdy’s graciously allowed us to extend our stay as Josh underwent surgery and recovered.
Sitting shotgun next to Sterling for the entirety of the hospital tour was William Morales. He’s an old friend of the Purdy’s. When the Purdy’s first arrived to Ecuador, William told them that they were his mission and he was there to serve them. William knows pretty much everybody in Ecuador, he’s super connected and uses it to bless others. He helped the Purdy’s purchase a washing machine, a car and other necessities for a fair price. Before the Purdy’s had a car, William would make himself available to take them where they needed to go.
William was there when Josh broke his arm and was involved till Josh was on the couch recovering. He recommended a surgeon that he used a couple years ago and made some calls and got Josh in. He gave up a couple days of his busy schedule to go to the hospitals with Josh to make sure all the paperwork was ironed out and correct. William freely gave, in Ambato after visiting the hospital, he treated us to lunch and would not allow us to pay for it. He also treated us to his burger business several times and didn’t want anything in return.
William is a business owner. He had suppliers to meet with and business to run. On top of that he was in the process of getting Visas for his trip to Europe, and that is a very long complicated task. However, these tasks did not stop him from taking two plus days to help out in any way he could.
The day we were leaving, William dropped by say goodbye. It has sad saying goodbye to him, but we looked forward to the next time we’d see him. A couple hours later Josh and I walked into town to look for a daypack. We walked up a street and coming from the opposite direction was William. He greeted us and asked us what we’re doing. We told him about the hunt for the daypack and he said something along the lines of “I know some places, lets go.”
Again, William stopped what he was doing to completely change his route and schedule to help us find a day pack. Sure enough he showed us a couple spots and Josh made the purchase. We made it to the road where our paths would split. We thanked William for all his help and time and after refusing payment for the numerous times he bought us food, William hit me with, “Siempre es major dar” which translates to “It’s always better to give.”
When we arrived in Quito Pastor Ramiro and his wife and church welcomed us. They were excited to have us to share our stories and work with the youth and the children of their church. After church Ramiro and his wife took us out to a huge lunch and then ice cream. After they dropped us off at the church, Ramiro brought up our food situation and then told us he wanted to buy groceries for us. He took us to the grocery store and bought us food for the next couple days. He wanted to make sure that our every need was met. Right after church, I had a complete stranger walk up to me and hand me 5 dollars for the team. I was humbled by their generosity and love.
Jim’s short life that was filled with the desire to share God’s love can be summed up by a quote that is attributed to him. “He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Elliot’s journal entry for October 28, 1949, expresses his belief that work dedicated to Jesus was more important than his life (see Luke 9:24. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”) The Purdy’s, William and Ramiro and the church family of Ministerios Cordero de Dios were also filled with this desire to share God’s love and I witnessed it first hand. They were all willing to freely to give up their time, resources and money to serve others. I look at them and see Jesus in them. The way He loved and gave.
Please be praying for them as they continue to share God’s love with the people of Ecuador and those who walk through their doors and down their streets.
“I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you Lord Jesus.” – Jim Elliot
Hospital Tour with Sterling and William…
