Musings from Graceland

A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT KEEPS THE STORY GOING

In 1956, 5 young missionaries were killed in the jungles of Ecuador as they worked to build a relationship with indigenous people who had long been known for their violent ways and isolated culture. Nate Saint and the other missionaries, including Jim Elliot, "had a burning desire to follow Jesus' command to take the gospel message into all the world. 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."*

Because of their deaths, untold numbers of young people were motivated to give their lives to taking the message of Jesus to the unreached across the world. And today, a new generation is growing up and many of them are choosing to turn away from the its-all-about-me Western mentality and live their lives for the sake of the call...the call to take the pace and love of Jesus to dark and hurting places.

My son David is one of those. He'll actually be going to South America, Peru this time, to answer a call God put on his life last year. During a time of worship in our church, David had a vision of people in Peru calling for help. We had not been talking about Peru. We had not just had a missionary speak about Peru. We had just been having a normal, Sunday morning worship service. And God put this in my son's heart and mind. From there it grew to an oughtness that he was being led by God to go to those in need far away in Peru. And now he is going.

In three months, he will be leaving the safety and familiarity of home and traveling to a country and culture where he will be faced with many unknowns. But one thing that he will know is that he is there because God called him for a purpose, to bring life where there is death, light where there is darkness, hope where there is futility, love where there is hatred.

Yesterday, we received a package in the mail from another young missionary, Jake Bikham. Jake is teaching in Ecuador and sent us items to sell to raise money for David, Anna, and Betsie's missionary trips. Among those items is a simple, wooden cross.

Turning the cross over, you see markings written into the wood. One set of markings resembles mountains. The other are the initials M.N. These initials belong to the man who made the cross, the initials of the grandson of one of the five men who killed Nate Saint and his companions 55 years ago. The home of Nate Saint still stands. It is still used as a base for mission work in Ecuador. But over the decades, the house began to need work done on it and termite infestation meant that if major restoration was not undertaken, it would fall to bits. The restoration process took place last year and now pieces of the wood and nails are being used to make handcrafts that provide a financial living for area Ecuadorians. The cross we now have is fashioned from wood that was part of the house that Nate Saint and his family called home and that many of the other area missionaries would often gather in for meetings and fellowship.


Now this simple, wooden cross, a reminder of the lives that were freely given for the cause of Christ and THE LIFE of CHRIST given for all of us, is being used to help other young missionaries take the message of Jesus to those who need to be set free.

All proceeds from its sale will go straight to pay the expenses of David as he serves in Peru and Anna and Betsie as they serve in Thailand.

This item is one of a limited number of crosses made. There were just over 200 created and this one is numbered 71 on the bottom. The bidding on this simple yet powerful cross will start at $20. To bid on it, leave a comment with your name, contact information, and the amount you are bidding.

The auction will end on the evening of April 8. We will ship to anyplace in the U.S.A.

To read more about the life of Nate Saint, go to this website: http://www.atanycost.org/

To read about the house restoration, go to: http://www.outreachmagazine.com/news-and-stories/organizations/3895-Rebuilt-Nate-Saint-House-Dedicated-Ecuador.html

*Quoted from: http://www.atanycost.org/images/DidTheyHaveToDie.pdf