Amazon Jungle near the Waodani Tribe
Acts 12:1-11
1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
We walk by faith and not by sight. I believe with faith, prayer saves people - the hand of God moves to deliver them. I believe, just like Peter, it is hard to believe, but miracles happen. Reverend John Paton was protected by the hand of God when natives were going to kill him and his entire family in New Hebrides Island. Later, God's protection allowed the natives to understand Jesus Christ isn't for the perfect, Jesus Christ is for those who need a Savior.
In the whole Snopes article, they are appalled at the variations of the same theme. The theme is God protecting people and spreading His word. It happens again and again.
Well, what about the famous Jim Elliot, missionary to the Waodani Tribe? Didn't God fail him? No, the Waodani Tribe were an extreme human example of the capacity to murder. They killed Jim, and four other missionaries, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming and Nate Saint after repeated acts of kindness and gifts from the missionaries.
Jim Elliot's last journal entry was published in a book by his wife, Elizabeth Elliott, in "Through Gates of Splendor". He said, in part:
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain, that which he cannot lose. (Quote from Phillip Henry)
Luke 16:9
that when it shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
Scripture leaves so many stories untold."
Jim Elliot was right. The Gospel of John 21:25 says there are so many stories of Jesus, the world itself could not contain all the books. We have another story of Jesus Christ. There is an important account of the deaths of these loving men, that remained untold for decades. It was the murders' account of the deaths. Given, also, in the movie, "End of the Spear".
Here is the Waodani account of their murders of the missionaries:
"Two Waodani women and a man came to see the 5 foreigners. Nate took the man up for a ride in the plane. The mission team is exhilarated. Everything seems to be going according to plan. Contact has been made. The first three Waodani they had interacted with seemed positive.
At this point, a lie sabotages the missionaries’ strategy. The Waodani man, Nenkiwi, concocts a lie to tell the other men who had been hunting: “The foreigners attacked us. We ran. They killed and ate Dayumae!” The men respond: “We must spear them!”
The joy of the missionaries on the sand bar is suddenly shattered as the Waodani warriors run from the jungle and without any warning begin spearing the men. Following behind them the women hack at the fallen men. Despite being armed, the missionaries offer no resistance. They die courageously, fully committed to reaching the Waodani for Christ, trying to communicate their message of God’s love to the very end.
A rainstorm erupts. Canoes with armed men searching for the missing missionaries come down the river. A military helicopter comes overhead. Mincayani hiding in the forest expresses the fears of the men: “We have angered all the spirits!” They torch their village and flee."
What were they speaking about when they killed the men and said 'they had angered all the spirits.' As the missionaries lay dying, the Waodani involved all saw heavenly spirits appear around the men. It scared them so much, that their lives were permanently changed. It wasn't until decades later, when children of the murdered missionaries returned to see the evidence of the tribe's Christianity that the message of the heavenly visitation was found.
God's hand moved after the sacrifice of these lives, but many people were changed by love by this ultimate gift. The murders in all the tribes stopped with great sacrifice to the people brave enough to act with love. For the first time in Waodani history, there is a generation of young children with grandfathers.
The end of this video is amazing, the Waodani today.
Father God, we live our lives - not by sight - but in the hope of Your great mercy. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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