1 Running head: A STORY WORTH TELLING

A Story Worth Telling: Exploring the Spread and Impact of the Story of Operation Auca through

Mass Communication

Andrew Ballard

Georgia Southern University

COMM 4330 A: History of Mass Communication

April 16, 2018

A STORY WORTH TELLING 2

Abstract

This paper explores a) how the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca broke through Christian news into maintstream media, and b) what impact the legacy had in subsequent years. The author explores Jim Elliot’s upbringing, life, and impact as a Student at Wheaton College and later in

Ecuador, and then presents the story of Operation Auca. After this, the author investigates the spread of the story to the international audience, which took place in three waves: 1) newspapers picked up the in-progress story and printed updates, 2) Life Magazine covered the story in greater depth, drawing the audience in with captivating photography from Cornell Capa, and 3)

Elisabeth Elliot published her account of Operation Auca, which was followed by biographical sketches, interviews, appearances on Television, movies, and documentaries. Finally, the author argues that the publishing of the story through these different mediums resulted in tens of thousands of Christians developing a deeper devotion to their faith, and thousands committing to living their lives as career evangelical missionaries.

Keywords: Jim Elliot, operation auca, evangelicalism, missionary, life magazine ​

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A Story Worth Telling: Exploring the Spread and Impact of the Story of Operation Auca through

Mass Communication

Our language often says more about us than we do through it, whether we look at an individual’s use of language or any particular language as a composite structure. How we speak about things, the words we choose, tell a story in and of themselves. Take for example the word

“history.” Perhaps it is a coincidence that “history” looks like “his story.” But isn’t that how we approach history, the study of past human events, as though it necessarily has an overarching pattern and narrative? Throughout the ages we trace generations and dynasties, trying to fit it together, seeing how it all seems to make sense; whether we attribute this narrative to being told about the divine or the mundane, we people are very clearly interested in “his story.” To be sure, narrative is essential to our communication: humans are fundamentally storytellers (Clair et al.,

2014). The question is: what makes a story worth telling? How we answer this question will impact what stories we accept, which we remember, which ones we value, and which ones we tell again. These are the stories that captivate our imaginations, that inspire us, challenge us, motivate us, and seem to “live on” in a sense, even though the events they speak of may be in the ever more distant past.

One of these such stories shocked Christians in the United States and other parts of the world in 1956. “5 U.S. Missionaries Lost; Jungle Murder Feared,” read one of the headlines

(New York Times, 1956). Thousands across the nation wept with the five widows as newspapers from Chicago and New York shared the tale of their martyred husbands over the next two months. Later on there would be survivors to be interviewed, books to be written, TV shows to be invited onto, and movies to be produced- all telling the story of these five ordinary men. One

A STORY WORTH TELLING 4 of the men- Jim Elliot- had his story told extensively, and through this narrative he influenced more people in death than in life. While stories about missionaries, pioneer work, and martyrdom for the Gospel typically have no trouble with gaining salience and circulation when they are narrowcast to the audience of American Evangelicalism, this remarkable story transcended

Christendom and briefly held the attention of mainstream America. The story of Operation Auca was printed in the pages of LIFE magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Daily News, and New ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ York Times, each of which were considered “secular” news networks, in contrast with “Christian ​ News,” which is concerned with publishing news in view of a biblical lens (Christian News

Network, 2018). In this paper I will explore how the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca broke through the niche of Christian media to gain recognition in “secular” newspapers, and why it had such an incredible impact that has endured for over half of a century. First, I will examine how Jim Elliot’s early upbringing shaped him to become an extraordinary man. Then, I shall demonstrate how he lived a completely unique and memorable story, even while in college, and then later on the mission field. Then, I will explore the events of Operation Auca, and the immediate mass media coverage of it. Finally, I will offer my analysis of the impact of this coverage in allowing the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca to be told, ultimately leaving an immeasurable impact on an innumerable amount of people.

Upbringing

As Elisabeth Elliot, widow of Jim Elliot, details in her book on Jim Elliot’s life, Shadow ​ of the Almighty, Jim grew up in Portland, Oregon (Elliot, E., 1958). He was born in 1927 to Fred ​ and Clara Elliot. His parents were simple and God-fearing. They invested themselves and their resources their four children, raising them with love and with discipline as they guided them “to

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God as well as to bed” (Elliot, E., 1958, p. 25). His parents were hospitable people, so they frequently hosted missionaries in their home. This provided Jim with a global perspective of missions at an early age. His parents stressed two values especially to their children: obedience and honesty. Jim embodied these for the rest of his short life. When he came to understand that

God’s commandment in the Bible was for the Gospel to be taken to all peoples, he saw no decision other than to obey, and to obey to the fullest. And when he met Christians who either didn’t have this clarity, or who didn’t live it out, he was compelled to be direct with them about what God’s Word said. This radical obedience and radical honesty led him to lead a life that truly stood out among his peers.

Impact During His Life

Jim lived an extraordinary lifestyle, filled with enthusiasm and fervor. One of his most well-known maxims was, “wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you ​ ​ believe to be the will of God” (Elliot, J., 1950).

This he exemplified personally and was known by his classmates for constantly challenging them to live a life more fully after God by exhortation and by example (Howard, D., 2014).

During his college years, Jim Elliot won tournaments for the school’s wrestling team, served as president of the large Student Foreign Missions Fellowship, served as an RA, and personally recruited his peers for the mission field (Howard, D., 2014). Jim’s best friend in college and

A STORY WORTH TELLING 6 eventual brother-in-law, Dave Howard, described Jim’s enactment of his ‘live-to-the-hilt’ mentality:

If it was time to study the Bible and pray, he did it “to the hilt” and knew the Bible better

than any person his age I ever met. When it was time to study, he studied “to the hilt” and

graduated as a Greek major summa cum laude. If it was time to have fun, let’s have all ​ ​ the fun we can. (2014)

Given his passion for taking the Gospel to those who had not yet heard, it is no surprise that Jim did not remain long in the United States- he left for the mission field in February of

1952. While in Quito, Ecuador, Jim sent a letter back to “brother Virgil and all the saints in

Williams” (Elliot, J., 1953), providing some of the details of his work. Although his language might come across as archaic (reminiscent of the biblical language that the Apostle Paul so strikingly opened his epistles with), Jim was certainly not out of touch with his context: he worked hard to learn the language of the Quichua, and had a very clear vision for the evangelization of the Indians, as well as for the training and commissioning of young leaders- all the while working to meet the felt need of education in the community by running a boys school

(Elliot, J., 1953). He worked hard at language learning and endeavored to impact the Quichua, but he soon felt the call to give his efforts to those seemingly furthest from God, and so in 1954 he and his new wife, Elisabeth Elliot, moved to Shandia (Fickas, T., n.d.). There he would give his utmost to make contact with the violent Waorani tribe- and, when he finally did make contact, he would give even more.

The combination of Jim’s life and his words seems to have increased the poignancy of his story. Many have noted that Jim seemed to have an almost prophetic inkling that he would die at

A STORY WORTH TELLING 7 a young age. His journals were sown with ponderings on and references to a life lived short- the following are some examples of his thoughts on the subject, interspersed throughout his writings between 1949 and 1951. The quotations below were provided by Dave Howard, Jim’s brother-in-law, in an online article, while the pictures are the corresponding excerpts from Jim’s original journal, pulled from the archives of Wheaton College (Elliot, 1951):

God, I pray, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn up for Thee. Consume my

life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one like Yours, Lord Jesus. . .

. October 27, 1949: Was much encouraged to think of a life of godliness in the light of an

early death.

October 28, 1949: He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot

lose.

March 25, 1951: When it comes time to die, make sure that all you have to do is die. . . .

December 24, 1951: Only I know that my own life is full. It is time to die, for I have had

all a young man can have – at least this young man can have. (Howard, D., 2015)

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Operation Auca

In a letter written to be distributed among churches in the U.S., Rachel Saint described the difficulties and dangers involved in reaching the Waorani tribe in Ecuador (1955). As

Anthony Solis shared in an interview, “even neighboring tribes such as the famous head-shrinking Jivaros feared the mysterious and violent Waorani (“Auca”) tribe” (Solis, A.,

2018, personal communication). Stories of violence, including one instance when the Waorani murdered six men working for Shell Oil company, had spread throughout the area. It would not be uncommon to discover, for example, bodies which the Waorani had embedded with up to twenty-five barbed-tip chonta hardwood spears (Solis, A., personal communication, April 25,

2018). Beyond the geographical, linguistic, and cultural barriers, missionaries had to overcome an explicit and well-known threat to their lives if they were even going to attempt to reach these people.

The Billy Graham Center Archives contains a succinct chronology of the events (Billy

Graham Center Archives, 2008). In 1955, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot moved to Shandia so that they could work on reaching the Waorani. In September of the same year, Ed McCully and Nate

Saint, a pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), sighted a Waorani village by accident while flying over the dense Amazon rainforest. On January 3 of 1956, the five missionaries- Jim

Elliot, Nate, Pete Fleming, Ed, and Roger Youderian- landed on a narrow beach about three miles away from a Waorani village. On January 6, they met four Waorani. On January 8, 1956, all five missionaries were killed with spears by six Waorani Indians. Their contact with the

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Waorani lasted only three days, but the impact they left on the world has reverberated for almost seven decades.

Media Coverage

First Wave: Headlines Make Headway

Anthony Solis is considered to be an expert on Operation Auca (author of three upcoming books: Dearest Mother: the Intimate Letters of Elisabeth Elliot; Auca Martyr: the Life of Peter S.

Fleming; and Reckless Abandon: Operation Auca and Its Legacy). In multiple phone interviews, he provided insightful information about the how the story of Operation Auca was transmitted, photographed, released in the press, and finally explored via television, biographies, nonfiction, and documentary (personal communication, Solis, A., April 18, 2018).

It began with HCJB (Heralding Christ Jesus’ Blessings), a powerful radio station otherwise known with Voice of the Andes, boasting the title of “the first 50,000 watt missionary voice in the world” (World Radio Missionary Fellowship, 1956, p. 42). Abe van der Puy served as director of HCJB in Ecuador at the time, and he knew several of the missionary men. He was not aware of Operation Auca when it was in process. When van der Puy learned that the group didn't report back on Jan 8, 1956, he contacted Nate’s wife Marge via short wave radio to investigate (Solis., A., personal communication, April 25, 2018). Marge decided to publicize the missing men, and van der Puy agreed to broadcast regular updates. These updates were transmitted to different news outlets as short installments, conveyed through AP and UPI wires.

The story swept across the U.S., and newspapers reported each new installment with startling headlines. The New York Times’ headlines came in rapid succession, reading “5 U.S.

Missionaries Lost; Jungle Murder Feared” (New York Times, 1956b), “5 U.S. Missionaries Are

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Believed Slain” (New York Times, 1956), and “Four Bodies Found in Ecuador” (New York

Times, 1956c). In Chicago newspapers published stories with the headlines: “Died Martyr, Says

Dad of Missionary” (Edelstein, 1956), “Indians Seemed Friendly, Then Killed 5 in Jungle”

(Ihde, 1956), and “Faith Beyond Fear” (Grim, 1959). As the story spread through the newspapers of the U.S., it was also broadcasted from HCJB across the world- reaching audiences all over the world using the languages of Spanish, English, Russian, German, Swedish, Quechua, French,

Ukrainian, Portuguese (World Radio Missionary Fellowship, 1956).

Due to HCJB’s widespread transmission, news outlets worldwide picked up the story.

While the search party was formed and sent out, Abe van der Puy would release information as soon as he received it from Marge, who got updates from those venturing into the jungle, such as

Johnny Keenan, a pilot with MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) who spotted the shredded plane during his excursive flight the morning of January 9. Soon, Abe moved out to Shell Mera to join the widows, where he was able to hear updates firsthand and relate these to HJCB.

The Second Wave: Operation Auca Comes to Life

Up to this point, the only source of information to the rest of the world came through the conduit of HJCB, a missionary radio station. Newspapers such as the New York Times were able to emphasize the more horrific, shocking details of the events in order to intrigue the readers and keep them on their seats as the story unfolded. However, the picture was about to change.

In the 1950s, LIFE magazine was considered highly reputable publication among the ​ ​ general American public (Solis., A., personal communication, April 25, 2018). So, when prize-winning photojournalist Cornell Capa went to Ecuador to investigate, he took not only the details and background of the story to a whole new lever, but he increased the credibility of the

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th reports as well. Capa joined the search party- which found the bodies on January 13 ,​ five days ​ after they had gone missing- and brought the story to life with his photography (Life Magazine,

1956).

On January 30, 1956, LIFE devoted ten pages to the story of Operation Auca, entitling ​ ​ the piece: “'Go Ye and Preach the Gospel' Five Do and Die” (Life Magazine, p. 10, 1956). As

Long (2015) has demonstrated, “photographs played a key role in communicating the story of

Operation Auca to American audiences . . . . [in 1956] Life had 5.8 million subscribers. Although ​ ​ it later would be eclipsed by television news, the magazine still maintained the distinction of being a ‘primary vehicle for conveying the news visually to a mass audience’” (p. 824). Rusty

Benson, associate editor of American Family Radio, has also suggested that the black and white composition of LIFE’s photographs conferred a sort of timelessness to the story, allowing it to ​ ​ “[speak] powerfully of the enduring truth that although the gospel of Christ is free to all who believe it, Christ-followers sometimes pay the same high price their Master did as they live it and share it” (Benson, R., 2015). Whatever the reason for the efficacy of photographs, it is clear that it was due to Cornell Capa’s representation of the events, the missionaries, and the widows, that the entire venture gained instant credibility in the eyes of the American public, Christian and non-Christian alike. This story produced widespread interest due to the uniqueness of the Aucas, who are estimated to have the highest homicide rate for any people group in recorded history

(Beckerman et al., 2009). The public was also fascinated that men would lay down their lives for this stone age tribe.

The Third Wave: The Story is Told

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With the widespread publicity through newspapers and radio stations across U.S., as well as well the credibility and expounded narrative extended by LIFE magazine, the stage was set for ​ ​ a more detailed, more enduring account of the events. Abe van der Puy, in February of 1956, attempted to write the story in a book called Through Gates of Splendor, but the publisher ​ ​ rejected it (Long, K., 2014) Elisabeth Elliot took up the mantle, and succeeded in writing her account under the same title; it was an instant bestseller (Long, K., 2014), and (whether she meant to do it or not) allowed Elisabeth to put the missionaries, and particularly her husband, on a pedestal in the eyes of her readers (Solis, A., personal communication, April 25, 2018). Her book stood out for two reasons: in the 1950s, it was very rare for women to write and publish

(and it was unthinkable that their writing would be as good as that of Elisabeth Elliot’s).

Additionally, she was a Christian, but she wasn’t writing the sort of super-spiritual, reverent-not-relevant material that was expected of evangelical publications- she was writing hard-hitting non-fiction about a life and death that was sincerely and sacrificially given to Christ.

Through Gates of Splendor told the story about not only the martyrdom, but also about the men, ​ which led to biographies being written about three out of five of the members of the team.

The headlines stressed the sensational details, hooking readers in suspense as the story was still being written. Then LIFE’s article explained the events and provided a small picture of ​ ​ the people behind Operation Auca. But it was the literature of Elisabeth Elliot, followed eventually by films, TV show interviews, and additional biographies, which provided the space for the martyrs and widows to tell their story for themselves- and their voices have continued to

st impact lives for over half of a century since. Even in the 21 ​ century, the story is being told in ​

A STORY WORTH TELLING 13 fresh ways. Jim Hanon brought the story to life in a new format with the production of the documentary Beyond Gates of Splendor (2002) and the docudrama End of the Spear (2006). ​ ​ ​ ​ Conclusion: What kind of an impact?

Now that we have explored the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca, and we have traced the development and presentation of the story through mass media, we will take a look at the impact of what Katherine Long (2003) describes as “an archetypal narrative of missionary sacrifice and heroism for evangelicals during the second half of the twentieth century” (Long, K.

T., 2003, p. 824). Dave Howard, Jim Elliot’s college roommate, testified to the permeation of the story throughout the world, saying that over the past 50 years of doing ministry and meeting missionaries he had been “amazed at how many tell me that it was the story of his life and death that God used to call them into mission work or ministry of other types” (Howard, D., 2014).

According to Anthony Solis (personal communication, April 25, 2018), this story has influenced several generations of believers, at the least tens of thousands, but possibly hundreds of thousands, has caused many to become more committed to the cause of Christ, and has prompted many to enter the mission field.

Anthony Solis offers the caution that, like any one else, Christians have a tendency to forget their history- and thus the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca may be in danger of falling into obscurity. However, the events and lives surrounding Operation Auca have not only motivated people to live more valiantly for the cause of Christ, but they have also stirred a generation of storytellers to preserve this piece of history while they build upon it. Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint, the pilot who was part of Operation Auca, has built on his father’s legacy, by

A STORY WORTH TELLING 14 sharing extensively on the story of reconciliation between himself and Mincayani, one of the

Waodoni men who attacked the missionaries, which led to Mincayani standing in as

Nate’s surrogate father (Eternal Perspective Ministries with Randy Alcorn, 2007; ITEC, 2007;

Saint, S., 1996). Rachel Saint, Steve’s mother, also shared the story on the TV Show This is Your ​ Life, informing viewers of the continued efforts of the missionaries’ widows to reach the Aucas ​ (Andesflier, 2012a, 2012b). The courage of the missionaries is still setting an example for and emboldening the Christians among the Waorani today (Rainey, C., 2006). And Christian leaders are still using the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca to inspire the youth of the current generation (Fickas, T. D.; Rainey, C., 2006; Reid, A., 2014; Saint, S., 1996; Long, S., 2015). At least one high school was named after Jim Elliot, on whose website they describe the story of

Operation Auca as being “originally brought to the attention of believers and non-believers alike through unprecedented coverage in the news and in Life magazine in 1956” (Jim Elliot Christian ​ ​ School). The impact of the story of Jim Elliot and Operation Auca is, without a doubt, immeasurable- in part because its effect is so qualitative, and in part because it is still being told today.

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References

[Eternal Perspective Ministries with Randy Alcorn]. (July 6, 2007). Now I see it well- Steve Saint ​ and Mincaye [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtube.com/watch?v=2JPklJzIn7k ​ [ITEC]. (Januray 7, 2016). Operation Auca: 61 years later [Video File]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vcv9vjNO8w

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Appendix

Roger Youderian Pete Fleming Jim Elliot Nate Saint Ed McCully

Auca holding barbed spear

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Unidentified body floating in Curaray River, Jan. 13, 1956

Marge Saint working the radio, 1956