January 8, 1956 – January 8, 2011
“We rest on Thee – our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.
We rest on Thee – our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.”
(From the Hymn- “We Rest on Thee”)
After singing that hymn fifty-five years ago (January 8, 1956), five American missionaries left Shell Mera, a small village on the edge of the eastern jungle of Ecuador, South America, to attempt contact with a primitive tribe of Indians known as the “Aucas.”
Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, and Roger Younderian never returned. Over the next several days their speared bodies were found floating in the Curaray River. They had given their lives in a passionate determination to get the gospel to a people without Christ.
Join us for Morning Worship when we observe the 55th anniversary of this historic event in missions history with “A Story Still Unfolding.”