Forty years ago on a tragic day in January 1956 world wide attention suddenly focused on Shell Mera, a tiny village lost in the foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes. Why? Simply because Shell Mera, gateway to the eastern jungles of Ecuador lay but 40 or 50 miles from "Palm Beach" where five men had just died, tragically speared on "Palm Beach" by ferocious killers then called "Auca" meaning 'savage'.

Certainly many, Christian and non-Christian alike thought it was the end. Now, 40 years later we know that the Palm Beach spearing raid wasn't the end, only the beginning.

The news that five missionaries were missing in dangerous Waorani ("Auca") territory quickly captured world-wide attention when missionary radio station HCJB's newscasts winged it to the ends of the earth. The world's press wrote, "Tragedy, great loss, what a waste of such fine young talent. Why?" But the world didn't understand that God was in control. In his plan the martyrdom of five missionaries was no end, but a beginning - a fresh start for a fierce tribal group who longed to stop their wanton killing raids but didn't know how. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ could empower them to put away their spears.

The earliest rumblings of change came through Dayuma, first of the Waorani to hear that our loving Father God sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins. Dayuma believed, though it was hard for this girl who had known so much of hate and killing to receive a message of love. Dayuma's fresh start came while she was helping Nate's sister Rachel translate the story of Lazarus in John 11. When she heard and understood that story her eyes shone. These were no folk tales but words of the living God who loved her. Dayuma was baptized by Dr. Raymond Edman on April 15, 1958, only a little over two years after her relatives had slain the missionaries. Dr Raymond Edman was formerly a missionary in Dayuma's homeland.

Meanwhile, Mintaka [the older woman on Palm Beach] and Gikita's wife Maengamo had left the tribe and sobbed news of spearing after spearing into Dr Tidmarsh's tape-recorder at Oglan on the River Curaray. There he and Elisabeth Elliot were also beginning the study of Wao (Auca).

Dayuma sobbed while she listened to that tape. For over ten years, she had not seen her brother. Now she learned he had been killed. The last place on earth Dayuma desired to be was back in the jungle with her people, but now her life was not her own. Now she belonged to the Lord Jesus. Dayuma was beginning to learn to hear His voice. If she didn't obey the Lord the Waorani would never hear of His love. Finally, bowing in obedience she said, "Following Him, I will go!"

So, two years after the terrible spearing on Palm Beach Dayuma went home, willingly risking her life as she hiked the dangerous jungle trail with Mintaka and Maengamo into Waorani territory. Dayuma had lived for over ten years with outsiders whom the Waorani called "cuwoody". After being gone so long Dayuma didn't know if her people would kill her or let her live, but she was going, impelled by the love of Jesus. Believers who had grown to love Dayuma agonized in prayer. Pilots flew over her village but saw no sign of her. Some assumed she was dead.

But her people welcomed her. Decimated by violent death and revenge killings, weary of spearing and fleeing, the Waorani were ready to listen well to Dayuma's stories of a good God. Two weeks later they sent her back to Arajuno with a party of Waorani and an invitation. Please would the kind cuwoody women come and live with them. They wanted "to learn to live well, to learn to know God."

Rachel Saint and Elisabeth Elliot had both been praying for the Waorani to hear God's good news. Both were studying the Wao language. Both accepted the Waorani's invitation, though not lightly. Despite danger and fears, they readied themselves and hiked into Waorani territory with Dayuma's party. Quichuas carried Elisabeth's three-year-old daughter Valerie.

In Tewaeno village, it was Dayuma who began presenting the Gospel to her people in a cultural context they could understand. Meanwhile Rachel and Elisabeth, sitting in hammocks strung between the poles which supported thatched rooves with no walls, began to crack the code of one of the most difficult languages on earth, the unwritten Wao tongue. The Waorani found it hard to understand the forgiveness the two cuwoody demonstrated. Elisabeth and Rachel bore no grudge against the Waorani for killing their husband and brother, though they missed them sorely. So began 34 years of gruelling work, interrupted by many obstacles, continued and completed by others. Missionary and Waorani alike give all glory to God.

Mary Sargent sat beside me. Thirty-seven years before, she was at Hacienda Ila with Rachel Saint and Catherine Peeke, beginning to learn Wao ("Auca") from Dayuma. In 1962, Mary had written the first primer in Wao. Instead of "car", "cat" and "dog", Waorani children learnt "wipo" 'canoe', "oto" 'crab' and "iwa" 'howler monkey'.

After breakfast, I hurried down Shell Mera's only paved road to the new Mission Aviation Fellowship hangar, eager to see the Waorani guests arrive. Rachel Saint, looking like a queen, talked to me by the mail boxes. At nearly 80, Rachel had devoted 37 years to Waorani language and people.

Mike Bishop of HCJB was one who eagerly awaited the Waorani believers flying in to receive their copies of the New Testament. Mike was the printer. Two days before, he had flown into Tewaeno village with a small group for the first dedication service. Afterwards, Ecuadorian pastor Xavier Munyoz, had baptized 13 new Waorani believers in the Tewaeno River.

A faint buzz became a roar and the first Cessna bearing Waorani believers approached. The "wood bee" (as the Waorani call planes) taxied to the ramp on the runway. Dayuma emerged first, carrying a six-foot spear - not for killing but a gift. Her sister Ana, faithful Bible teacher in Tewaeno, walked beside her. Kathy Saint, Nate and Marj's daughter, greeted them lovingly, and pulled out all her latest family photos. I remembered Kathy as a little girl when Marj had nursed me in their Quito home. "You have the same gracious manner and loving concern for all types of people as your mother," I thought.

One by one, four MAF Cessnas landed. I scanned emerging passengers, searching for Gikita. Kimo, his face split by a smile, greeted Cofan translator Bub Borman beside me exclaiming, "Baboo! Limoncocha Baboo!" remembering far off times when he had played volleyball with Bub at Wycliffe's jungle Linguistic Center.

The five men on Palm Beach had longed to communicate God's message of love, forgiveness and a fresh start with their three Waorani visitors. Now on their day of celebration, I longed to express my love to these Waorani believers arriving in Shell.

In 1979, I had typed Catherine Peeke's Wao Pedagogical Grammar. Now a phrase remembered from that opened a keyhole of communication: "Bito pomi waa abopa" 'You come well, I see!' (welcome!). Short sentences, learned during two stays in Tewaeno, produced a flood of Wao speech beyond my understanding. However, the Waorani knew I loved them. They remember faces as well as footprints. Dayuma and I had last met 16 years before. To my joy, she recognized me.

Former Ecuador Branch Directors of "Wycliffe" and also dear friends, Don and Helen Johnson, stood head and shoulders above the Waorani. They mingled with guests, blending their greetings with blurred Wao speech and chatter of Americans, reunited after years.

Rosemarie Jung discussed the day's program with Dayuma. Rosi had first come to Ecuador in 1969 to nurse Waorani affected by polio. Then she continued medical work in Tewaeno. As Rosi ministered to the Waorani, the Lord Jesus gave her a great love for them. She moved into linguistic work, then became co-translator of the Waorani New Testament with Catherine Peeke.

Catherine Peeke, her gentle sister Wanda at her side, spoke graciously to Waorani and cuwoody alike. I could only guess the depth of her joy on this crowning day. Catherine had started studying Wao (then known as "Auca") in 1955 at Hacienda Ila with Dayuma who was then still in exile. In 1968, the University of Indiana published Catherine's doctoral thesis "A Preliminary Grammar of Auca". Catherine and Rosi were only free to start the final New Testament translation in 1978 but their thorough groundwork in the Wao language paid off. They produced a beautiful translation which the people could understand in their cultural setting.

Pat Kelley related to the Waorani as though one of them. She had started 14 Wao speaking schools and produced reading books in Wao relevant to Waorani culture and encouraged native authors to publish their mother tongue stories. Pat's years of enthusiastic work had paved the way for the Waorani to read the New Testament in their heart language.

The last "wood bee" droned across the sky, landed and taxied into the huge hangar. I rushed over, and pressed my face against the perpex cockpit, searching for Gikita. Out he came - last of all - slightly bewildered but smiling. How smart he looked in beige trousers and scarlet tea shirt with gold trim! His huge empty ear lobes, long ago pierced to hold two inch diameter balsa wood plugs, dangled above his mane of jet black hair.

Jungle rain often delays or prevents flights. Friends of the Waorani in many countries had prayed for their safe arrival in Shell Mera on June 13, 1992. Everyone rejoiced at Father God's faithful answer.

Now time pressed. Visitors walked to the Spanish church on Shell Mera's main street. The Waorani, with Steve and Phil Saint, Pat Kelley and their HCJB nurse Miriam Gebb, gravitated to the building where they stayed when in Shell. Drawn as by a magnet I followed, eager for every moment with these unique people whose transformed lives had attracted me to Christ.

Gikita stood talking earnestly with his niece Dayuma, waving his hands as he poured out his news. Though more deeply lined, Gikita's features had hardly changed since I first met him 27 years before. Steve Saint, who had gone hunting with Gikita since he was a teenager, treated him with great respect as an uncle. I took many photos - one of Phil, (a baby when Gikita speared his father), laughing with Gikita and Kimo. Oba wife of Dyuwi, (another member of the Palm Beach spearing raid), held out some carrying nets to me. I recognised the words "diguintai" 'net' and "tiguicari" 'cooking pot' and wondered about the connection.

"Oba wants to sell these nets to buy a size twenty cooking pot," explained Pat. I bought the nets. Later, Miriam showed me where to buy the pot.

Great drops fell. Steve and Phil gathered us all into two vans and drove us to the church which seemed full. Damp and bewildered, I rebuked myself for staying so long with the Waorani, but how could I have torn myself away?

Dave Underwood saw my dilemma. His eyes twinkled. "Go and sit at the front with the Waorani," he said.

I followed Dayuma and sat between her and Pat, right behind Gikita. "About 75 years old and not a grey hair!" I thought, wondering what Gikita was thinking. Thirty-six years before, when he led the Palm Beach spearing raid against Steve and Phil's Dad, Gikita could never have dreamt that today he would be sitting peaceably with so many cuwoody in "God's speaking house" (as the Waorani call a church building).

Encaedi, son of Mincayi (who had also taken part in the Palm Beach spearing raid), mounted the podium. The first Wao teenager to attend secondary school on the outside, Encaedi spoke Spanish as well as his native Wao. I remembered him as a bright ten-year-old, eager to practise reading in Catherine's house at Tewaeno. Now Encaedi played the role of master of ceremonies. He welcomed both Waorani and cuwoody with confidence and fluently interpreted into Spanish all items in the Wao language.

Kimo began by welcoming the guests.

Then all the Waorani rose and sang their own hymn to Father God on a three note scale, their rhythmic voices rising to His heart. Surely this simple song of thanksgiving found an echo with the angels who had sung over the bodies of the five men on Palm Beach! Encaedi translated: "When our Lord Jesus Christ comes, as believers we shall be standing firm. We shall be very happy in heaven where there is no sadness or work."

"Dyuwi Tani of Tewaeno!" called Encaedi.

Dyuwi mounted the podium and prayed to Father God. His rapid words blurred into a crescendo of praise. While I watched his face, totally absorbed in communicating with his Father God, I remembered a newsletter from Rachel Saint. She had written it after the Waorani had received her translation of the Gospel of Mark on Easter Sunday 1965. It is here beside me now with a handwritten letter from Rachel on the reverse. Dyuwi's prayer filled a page. As I reread it, my heart thrills with praise to Father God. The 1992 Waorani New Testament Dedication was His answer to the beginning of Dyuwi's Easter prayer, uttered 27 years before at a smaller gathering in their palm-thatched church on stilts in Tewaeno:

"Father God, You are alive; this is Your day and all of us have come here to worship You. You are all-powerful and all-knowing. The pilot has come in Your airplane and brought . . . copies of Your Carving, enough for everybody. We all received it happily and having received it, we accept it saying, 'This is truth.' If we did not have it and were empty-handed as we were before, how would we be living? We would be existing like animals which cannot possibly hear and be changed.

"Father God, You who live in Heaven, listen! All of us honestly accept Your Carving. We say to You, *'We want all of Your Carving.'* We pay attention to what Your Carving says and we all live well--yes, as long as we live on this earth, for ever and ever, day after day--we shall always believe and obey."

Before Rachel and Elisabeth had started to write down the Wao language, the only form of writing the Waorani had used were their messages carved on tree-trunks. With these they showed the rest of their party the way they had taken when hunting. On first seeing paper, the Waorani called it 'wasps nest stuff', but what word was Rachel to use for writing? She asked the Lord Jesus. His answer came from the sky. One day, the pilot dropped Rachel's mail by parachute. It contained a letter from her mother. When Rachel had read it, she shared her mother's news with Dayuma. At first, Dayuma looked puzzled. How could "Star" (as the Waorani called Rachel) look at those marks on wasps nest stuff and know what her mother was saying? Suddenly, Dayuma understood. "Is that your mother's carving?" she asked, supplying the word Rachel had sought. And so she called the Bible "God's Carving" and the Waorani understood.

Forgiven killer Dyuwi's voice rose in surges of prayer to the Father. Finally he opened his eyes, seemed to come back to earth then wove his way back to his seat. A young man then came forward. Nyiwa expressed joy in having the New Testament in his own language. He read 2 Timothy 3:12-17:

After Nyiwa's reading, a group of Cofan believers from the jungles far to the northeast mounted the stage, their faces aglow. My heart leapt as two Cofan hymns rang out into the packed church. Their soaring melodies and harmonies, more complex than the three note Waorani chants, expressed joy of unique people precious to our Father, purchased for His praise by the blood of His Only Son.

"Ana Yeti!" called Encaedi, as the Cofan singers returned to their seats.

Dayuma's sister came to stand shyly beside him.

"Meditation on the Holy Scriptures," announced Encaedi. Ana, faithful translation helper and Bible teacher from Tewaeno, poured out her heart: "We longed to have the Scriptures in our language. We worked more and more with our Lord Jesus' help. Now we have them. We worked together with missionaries Wangui [Catherine], Omade [Rosi], Nimu [Rachel] and Cawo [Pat]. Now we are very grateful to them. We thought we would not be able to come here but God helped us and so we did...

"Having the New Testament in our language, we must return to our land and share the Gospel with those who do not know our Lord. Then we need to go far with this Word, teaching others who don't yet know Him. Good-bye! Many thanks!"

As Ana returned to her seat, a confident young man joined Encaedi whom he introduced as Nantowe, affectionately known as 'Nanto' from Quiwado.

"Greetings!" began Nantowe joyously. "We have come here today to buy the New Testaments which we now have. We thank you all and the groups who have come from different countries. We are especially grateful to Wangui, Omade, Nimu and Cawo. I am from the National Waorani Organisation. We are still going on with the Lord and working together with Him for the Waorani. Please pray much for us and for the Waorani. We are grateful to you. Though we do not understand your languages, God knows all the different languages that we speak. With that, I say 'Good-bye!'"

Encaedi: "Thank you! May you go forward!"

[Hearing Nantowe's confident voice, I remembered meeting Dorothea Klaue of HCJB in the MAF hangar that morning. She had just interviewed Nantowe for radio. He told of an outsider who entered his village briefly. "The missionaries have changed your culture," complained the cuwoody.

"Yes!" replied Nantowe, boring him through with unflinching eyes, "and if the missionaries had not come, we would have speared you on sight!"

"Item eight," continued Encaedi, "Temaenta Naenkiwi from Quiwado".

Temaenta son of Naenkiwi ("George" of Palm Beach) stood calmly before the congregation. [If his mother had kept to Wao tradition, Temaenta would not be alive. After Palm Beach, before they knew Jesus, Nimonga and Kimo had speared Naenkiwi because he had stirred up strife among the Waorani then hatred against the five men. Dying, Naenkiwi feared they would spear his dead body, causing a worse second death. According to custom, Naenkiwi crawled into his own grave yelling at his wives to strangle their children and bury them with him. One killed her baby daughter and threw her into Naenkiwi's grave but Temaenta's mother fled. As a young child, Temaenta became Valerie Elliot's playmate. As a young man, he helped translate the New Testament into Wao.]

Now on this celebration day for which he had so long prayed, Temaenta spoke strongly, ". . .happy to see so many different groups of people. With Father God's help we are all here. Thanks to God, we have our whole New Testament complete. Now we lack nothing and will go forward. We have never had a great book like this in Wao. Now it is in my hands. How happy I am! We worked. Little by little, we made progress and continued with the whole New Testament until it was finished. We are happy. Dear Waorani brothers and sisters, now please open at 2 Peter 1:20-21!"

After reading, Temaenta continued, "God's Word is in Spanish, English, Cofan, Quichua and now we have it in Wao. Each one says the same. Dear Brothers, as God's carving says, we all have to share with each other. When our Lord Jesus Christ comes, we must be standing firm as are all the brothers who have come here today. When our Lord Jesus comes, we must all be united that we may go to heaven together. Whether in the USA, Guayaquil [Ecuador's main port] or in far countries, when our Lord Jesus comes, we shall be equal. Thank you brothers. Our hearts are happy to have our New Testaments."

Dave Underwood then joined Encaedi. Both their attempts to translate "Underwood" into Spanish and Wao caused merriment.

"This is a day full of emotion for us all," began Dave as he introduced the guests: first the Waorani, then Wycliffe's German Director, Burkhard Schoettelndreyer and Don and Helen Johnson, now serving in Dallas. Don Pancho (Frank) Collinger represented Christian Missions in Many Lands the mission to which Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming and Ed McCully belonged.

Roger Youderian had been a member of the Gospel Missionary Union. Several from GMU were present including Joyce Stuck. Don Washington Leon represented the Ecuadorian Evangelical Missionary Alliance and Pastor Xavier Munyoz the Ecuadorian Bible Translation Support Organisation.

Joyful laughter greeted Dave's welcome to "A great quantity of saints," as he encouraged Rachel to introduce 13 members of the extended Saint family. Rachel stood amid the applause, looking like a queen. Beaming, she introduced Nate's three children Steve, Kathy and Phil with their families and his charming great niece Debbie Klang, summer helper at HCJB and Wheaton College student.

A solemn moment followed as Dave reminded us of the five mens' sacrifice, 36 years before on Palm Beach. We sat remembering. . .

Now in Shell Mera on June 13, 1992, we neared the climax of the dedication service. Dave honoured Catherine Peeke and Rosemarie Jung translators of the Waorani New Testament being presented today. Graciously and modestly, they acknowledged the applause, doubtless giving God the glory in their hearts. Only He knows what obstacles they had overcome to complete the final version in 14 years. Often translators in South America work with bilingual helpers. Until recently, when a few young men learnt Spanish, the Waorani had only spoken Wao - an extremely difficult language, unlike any other.

In a newsletter many years before, Catherine had written that the Waorani had no words for buying, selling or specialised work like carpenter, fisherman, teacher or farmer; no organisation, law or authority. . . They had seen no horses, donkeys or grapevines. They never used stones for building. Dayuma, who had lived on the outside explained these things to her people and helped them to understand concepts new to them. For example, "disciple" became 'one who lives following Jesus.' Wao is a wordy language. Necessary explanations expand it more. Their New Testament is as thick as a whole Bible in English. With prayer and perseverance, Catherine, Rosi and their Waorani helpers produced a translation which the Waorani understand well.

On this dedication day, Dave Underwood honoured other missions who had provided technical backup in the teamwork of taking God's Carving to the Waorani. First Dave presented a portrait of a Waorani man to HCJB Field Director Chuck Howard. Dave gratefully acknowledged all the technical help given by HCJB through the years, culminating in the recent printing of the Waorani New Testament on their presses.

[In the late sixties, believing Waorani had tried to contact other groups when face to face encounters were still too dangerous. Technicians at HCJB had made loudspeakers and fitted them under the wings of JAARS planes. With these, Waorani believers called to their downriver relatives, the Piyaemoidi, to come and live in peace with them. In 1968, 104 had responded and came to Tewaeno.

[In 1969, an oil company had given the Baiwaidi six weeks to leave their territory. They had never heard of "liquid fire". To avoid bloodshed, peaceful contact became urgent. HCJB technicians hid radio transmitters in market baskets and JAARS pilots let them down by parachute into the clearing where Baiwa lived. A tape-recorder in the circling plane above captured voices of the Baiwaidi on the ground. In this manner the Waorani discovered who lived there and to which of the believers in Tewaeno they were related. Important because the Baiwaidi were less likely to kill relatives. Kimo's wife Dawa was the right person to invite them and so that group of 56 left their land before the oil company deadline. They arrived in Tewaeno singing a song specially composed for the occasion - one of them dressed in a parachute!]

Chuck [see Interview No.2] acknowledged the Waorani portrait presented by Dave in perfect Spanish, "This is a day of great rejoicing for everyone," he said "but I think the joy we feel in this moment is nothing compared with what is happening in heaven right now. I believe that the angels themselves are rejoicing. May the honour and glory go to God!"

Next Dave Underwood invited all the MAF pilots serving in Ecuador to stand on the platform. Then he presented a Waorani portrait to Dave Bochman, Program Manager of MAF. "We could not fulfil our program without pilots flying in all weathers, with hearts ready to serve us and the Waorani people," said Dave in Spanish.

David Bochman responded - also in fluent Spanish, "We feel we are part of the body of missionaries serving in the eastern jungle. Our part is to provide transport and communication with our planes. It gives us great pleasure to help you achieve your goals."

Next Dave called former Ecuador Branch Director Don Johnson to speak. But in the emotion of that moment Don was struck dumb. He stood, his whole six feet four inches erect, eyes brimming with tears, dumb with emotion while before him sat Gikita, Dyuwi and Kimo, faces aglow with anticipation at receiving "God's Carving" in their heart language.

I wondered what Don was thinking. Cornell Capa's portrait of him in "Through Gates of Splendour", taken after Don had helped to bury Nate, Ed, Jim, Roger and Pete came vividly to mind. Here sat the killers of his friends, now no longer "Aucas" 'savages' but truly "Waorani" 'The People', praising God who had made their true name a reality in their lives.

Years after Palm Beach, Gikita had told Rachel he was the one who speared her brother Nate. Dawa had told her how the men had pointed up to heaven then down to earth, saying "Maempo" Wao for 'Father'. Now she knew the Lord, Dawa realised that the five men had been trying to tell Gikita and his teenage spearmen of our loving Father God. Nate and his friends died after giving the Waorani only one word of the Gospel. Now, piled before us in the shape of a cross lay whole New Testaments - "God's Carving". May He carve these words of life and love upon their hearts forever!

Outside the church, guests milled around photographing Waorani with cuwoody. Steve, Kathy and Phil Saint stood affectionately beside Dyuwi, Kimo and Gikita - all clutching their New Testaments. Bobbie Borman came up to me and said, "Rachel Saint has just translated a heartfelt request from Dyuwi, Kimo and Gikita to Steve, Kathy and Phil:

"'Please will you tell your children we are sorry we killed their grandfather!'"