Some Of The Great Good That Christian Missionaries Do Among Amazonian Tribes. By Kevin E. Jesmer
Some Of The Great Good That Christian Missionaries Do Among Amazonian Tribes
by Kevin E. Jesmer 6-8-15
“Knowing the need of a people that are lost and have no Bible or anyone telling them about the Gospel is enough to make you want to leave home, learn a language, and communicate the Gospel to the people who need it most.” – Missionary Frank Drown
Recently Frank Drown shared some his strategies in ministering to the warring, Native tribes in Ecuador. For example, in order to promote relations between tribes, the Shuar and Atshuar Indians, he would teach a tribe to produce one product. He would then go to the other tribe and teach them to produce another type of product. Then he would show them both, that, in order to produce something, they needed to trade with one another. This promoted trade between the tribes. Frank also told Bible stories to one chief. That chief became a Christian. There was a field that served as neutral ground, where the two tribes could talk. They met in full regalia in order to talk trade. The Christian chief also stated, “And in addition to all of this, I will never wage war with you again.” Every member of the tribe’s representatives was in shock. Revenge driven warfare had been going on for generations. It was the norm that was cutting the Native lives short and decimating the population. But now, because of one chief’s new found Christian faith, there was a glimmer of hope for it all to end. The words that needed to be spoken were finally spoken by the power of Christ. The chief was so at peace that, for the first time, he went to sleep that night without clutching his weapons over his chest. God worked powerfully through him and made history.
But the leaders of his tribe were not prepared to stop making war. Their hearts were not touched by the love and the grace of Jesus. Seeing that their own chief had gone to bed without his weapons in hand, they dragged him out of his hut and decapitated him, hoping to keeps the blood letting flowing. The Chief became a true Christian martyr. Today, because of the seeds that were laid by missionaries like Fran and Marie Drown and because of Native believers like the chief, Christianity and peace is thriving among the two tribes.
“Suspicion, hatred and killing was what marked the Shuar and Atshuar Indians. The first missionaries in the Ecuadorian Rainforest Frank & Marie were committed to bringing about life changes in these tribes by seeking to communicate forgiveness of sin and new life which could be found in Christ. Frank and Marie Drown prepared the way for Jim Elliott, Nate Saint and their colleagues. Frank was the person who discovered their bodies.” – a quote from Amazon Books about Frank Drown’s book…Mission To The Headhunters.
Link to Amazon to find Frank Drown’s book.
http://www.amazon.com/Mission-Headhunters-Forgiveness-Transformed-Biography/dp/1857927214
The team had the privilege to sit in the living room. Frank had some old videos of his time in Ecuador and some of his time in Canada. The older film was dubbed by a family member. The newer videos contained commentary by Frank. There was actually a film of the chief that martyred. It was the last pictures of the chief, for he was martyred a day later. What a treasure those videos are, documenting the amazing work of Jesus Christ in the world. What a privilege it was, that our team could make a connection with career missionaries, Frank and Marie Drown.
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