Biography

                  

                          GRAHAM STUART STAINES

                                         (Biography )

                       Dr. Graham Stuart Staines (1941 – 22 January 1999) was an Australian Christian

missionary who along with his two sons Philip (aged 10) and Timothy (aged 6) were

burnt to death by a gang while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in

Keonjhar district in Orissa, India on January 22, 1999. In 2003, the Bajrang Dal activist

Dara Singh was convicted of leading the gang that murdered Staines and Singh is now

serving life in prison. Staines is considered a martyr by many Christians.

          He had been working in Orissa among the tribal poor and especially with leprosy patients

since 1965. Hindu groups allege that he forcefully converted or lured many Hindus  into

Christianity, but Staines' widow Gladys Staines denied these allegations. She continued

to live in India caring for leprosy patients until 2004 before going back to Australia. In

2005 she was awarded the fourth highest civilian honour in India, Padma Shree, in

recognition for her work with leprosy patients in Orissa.

Life history: Dr. Graham Stuart Staines was born in 1941 at Palmwoods, Queensland,

Australia. He visited India in 1965 for the first time and joined Evangelical Missionary

Society of Mayurbhanj (EMSM), working in this remote tribal area, with a long history of

missionary activity. Staines took over the management of the Mission at Baripada in

1983. He also played a role in the establishment of the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home as a

registered society in 1982. He met Gladys June in 1981 while working for leprosy

patients, and they married in 1983, and had worked together since then. They had three

children, a daughter (Esther) and two sons (Philip and Timothy). Staines assisted in

translating a part of the Bible into the Ho language of India, including proofreading the

entire New Testament manuscript, though his focus was on a ministry to lepers. He

spoke fluent Oriya and was very popular among the patients whom he used to help after

they were cured. He used to teach how to make mats out of rope and basket from

Saboigrass and trees leaves.

Death and Reaction: On the night of 22 January 1999, Graham Staines had attended a

jungle camp in Manoharpur, an annual gathering of Christians of the area for religious

and social discourse. The village is situated on the border of the tribal-dominated

Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts of Orissa. He was on his way to Keonjhar with his

sons, who had come back on holiday from their school at Ooty. They broke the journey

for the camp, and spend the night in Manoharpur, sleeping in the vehicle because of the

severe cold. Gladys had stayed back in Baripada. According to reports, a mob of about

50 people, armed with axes and other implements, attacked the vehicle while Stains and

the children were fast asleep and his station wagon where he was sleeping was set afire

by the mob. Graham, Philip and Timothy Staines were burnt alive. Some villagers tried

to rescue Staines and his sons, but were unsuccessful. They tried to escape, but the mob

allegedly prevented their attempt to escape.

Graham Staines and family: His murder was widely condemned by religious and civic

leaders, politicians, and journalists. The US-based Human Rights Watch accused the then

Indian Government of failing to prevent violence against Christians, and of exploiting

sectarian tensions for political ends. The organisation said attacks against Christians

increased "significantly" since the "Hindu Nationalist" BJP came to power. The then Prime

Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was a leader of BJP, condemned the

"ghastly attack" and called for swift action to catch the killers. Published reports state

that church leaders alleged the attacks were carried out at the behest of hardline Hindu

organisations while the Hindu hardliners accused Christian missionaries of forcibly

converting poor and low-caste Hindus and tribals. The convicted killer Dara Singh was

treated as a hero and reportedly was protected by some of the villagers. In an interview

with Hindustan Times, one of the accused killers, Mahendra Hembram, told that "they

were provoked by the "corruption of tribal culture" by the missionaries, who they

claimed fed villagers beef and gave women brassieres and sanitary towels."

In India: On his 24th birthday, on 18th January 1965, he arrived in India. As Graham

walked the streets of Baripada in Orissa, his heart melted at the hapless plight of the

people suffering from leprosy. He showed a deep commitment to God and men and had

a clear missionary vision. He felt deep in his hart that it was his divine call and

commission to communicate the love of Christ to the untouchables of the community by

serving them. He joined the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj in 1965 and

started his work with leprosy patients. He learnt Oriya, Santhali and Ho, the languages

spoken by the local villagers and tribal people. As a matter of fact, even the Government

authorities banked on him for composing a song in the Santhali dialect, to popularize the

polio immunization drive among the tribes.

"The Lord God is always with me to guide me and help me to try to accomplish

the work of Graham, but I sometimes wonder why Graham was killed and also

what made his assassins to behave in such a brutal manner on the night of

22nd/23rd January 1999. It is far from my mind to punish the persons who

were responsible for the death of my husband Graham and my two children.

But it is my desire and hope that they would repent and would be reformed."

Supreme Court of India Judgement: A trial (sessions) court in Bhubaneshwar, the

capital of Orissa State, sentenced the convicted ring leader Dara Singh of the mob to

death by hanging for killing Staines and his two sons. In 2005, the Orissa High Court

commuted the sentence to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court

decision on 21 January 2011.

   “In the case on hand, though Graham Staines and his two minor sons were burnt to

death while they were sleeping inside a station wagon at Manoharpur, the intention was

to teach a lesson to Graham Staines about his religious activities, namely, converting

poor tribals to Christianity,” the court said. The Court stated "Our concept of secularism

is that the State will have no religion. The State shall treat all religions and religious

groups equally and with equal respect without in any manner interfering with their

individual right of religion, faith and worship." Yet, condemning religious conversions, the

Court also said "It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone`s

belief by way of `use of force`, provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed

premise that one religion is better than the other".

     

     Dismissing the Central Bureau of Investigation's plea for death penalty to Singh, a Bench

of Mr Justice P Sathasivam and Mr Justice BS Chauhan endorsed Orissa High Court's

finding that his crime did not fall under the rarest of rare category. In its 76-page

judgement, the court came out strongly against the practice of conversion. However,

four days later, on 25 January 2011, the Supreme Court of India in a rare move

expunged its own comments with regards to conversions from its Verdict.

Gladys Staines

During the month of June in 1981, while Graham was working with leprosy patients in

Baripada, is a city in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Orissa, India, there was a tall

beautiful and soft-spoken lady who involved in a youth mission was headed to India as

part of a global youth mission, Gladis Weatherhead of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia as

part of the mission, come to Baripada and circumstantially met him. Graham married

Gladys in 1983, in Australia and returned to serve in India together and they worked

together since then. Gladys, who was trained as a nurse, was an apt and suitable helper

for Graham at the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Home. This sacrificial couple made their home in

an old house within the mission compound in Baripada and chose a very simple lifestyle.

They had three children, a daughter, Esther Joy and two sons, Philip Graham and

Timothy Harold. His family-life also stands as a shining examples

          Dr.Graham Stuart Staines spent 34 years of his life serving the people with love,

extending the grace of our Christ and had been working in Orissa among the tribal poor

and especially with leprosy patients since 1965. After Graham’s alive, Gladys continued

to live in India caring for leprosy patients until 2004 before going back to Australia.

Shortly after the sentencing of the killers, Gladys issued a statement saying that she had

forgiven the killers and had no bitterness towards them. In 2004, she decided to return

to Australia to stay with her daughter and father. She however said that she would

continue to look after the people she and her husband had been looking after so far. In

2005, she was awarded the Padma Sree, a civilian award from the Government of India,

in recognition for her work with leprosy patients in Orissa, India.

=========================================================================

                                      SADHU SUNDAR SINGH

           Sundar was raised a member of the Sikh religion. (Sikhism is a sect within Hinduism that
was founded about 1500 A.D. that teaches belief in one God and rejects the caste
system and idolatry.) Prior to his conversion, Sundar attended a primary school run by
the American Presbyterian Mission where the New Testament was read daily as a
"textbook." Sundar "refused to read the Bible at the daily lessons...To some extent the
teaching of the Gospel on the love of God attracted me, but I still thought it was false."
Though according to another testimony, Sundar confessed, "Even then, I felt the Divine
attractiveness and wonderful power of the Bible."


                  In the midst of such confusion and while only fourteen years old, his mother died, and
Sundar underwent a crisis of faith. His mother was a loving saintly woman and they were
very close. In his anger, Sundar burned a copy of one of the Gospels in public.
"Although I believed that I had done a very good deed by burning the Bible, I felt
unhappy," he said. Within three days Sundar Singh could bear his misery no longer. Late
one night in December 1903, he rose from bed and prayed that God reveal himself to
him if he really existed. Otherwise -- "I planned to throw myself in front of the train
which passed by our house." For seven hours Sundar Singh prayed. "O God, if there is a
God, reveal thyself to me tonight." The next train was due at five o'clock in the morning.
The hours passed.


           Suddenly the room filled with a glow. A man appeared before him. Sundar Singh heard a
voice say, "How long will you deny me? I died for you; I have given my life for you." He
saw the man's hands, pierced by nails.
         
Jesus was the last person Sundar was looking for. After all, Jesus was the 'foreign god' of
the Christian teachers at his school… Amazed that his vision had taken the unexpected
form of Jesus, Sundar was convinced in his heart that Jesus was the true Savior, and
that He was alive. Sundar fell on his knees before Him and experienced an astonishing
peacefulness which he had never felt before. The vision disappeared, but peace and joy
lingered within him.
           To meet Christ was only the beginning for Sundar Singh. He was a Sikh. Sikhs had
endured terrible persecutions in their early history. As a consequence they were fiercely
loyal to their faith and to each other. Conversion to Christianity was considered
treachery. Now every effort was made to woo or coerce Sundar Singh back to his
ancestral faith.
          Despite his family's please, bribes, and threats, Sundar wanted to be baptized in the
Christian faith. After his father spoke words of official rejection over him, Sundar became
an outcast from his people. He cut off the hair he had worn long like every Sikh man.
Against great opposition, he was baptized on his birthday in 1905, in an English church
in Shimla.
          Conventional Indian churches were willing to grant him a pulpit, but their rules were
foreign to his spirit. Indeed, he felt that a key reason the gospel was not accepted in
India was because it came in a garb foreign to Indians. He decided to become a sadhu,
so that he could dedicate himself to the Lord Jesus. He was convinced that this was the
best way to introduce the Gospel to his people since it was the only way which his people
were accustomed to. As a sadhu, he wore a yellow robe, lived on the charity of others,
abandoned all possession and maintained celibacy. In this lifestyle, he was free to
devote himself to the Lord. Dressed in his thin yellow robe, Sundar Singh took to the
road and began a life of spreading the simple message of love and peace and rebirth
through Jesus. He carried no money or other possessions, only a New Testament.
"I am not worthy to follow in the steps of my Lord," he said, "but like Him, I want no
home, no possessions. Like Him I will belong to the road, sharing the suffering of my
people, eating with those who will give me shelter, and telling all people of the love of
God."
            Sundar journeyed much. He traveled all over India and Ceylon. Between 1918-1919, he
visited Malaysia, Japan and China. Between 1920-1922 he went to Western Europe,
Australia and Israel. He preached in many cities; Jerusalem, Lima, Berlin and
Amsterdam among others. Despite his growing fame, Sundar retained a modest nature,
desiring only to follow Jesus' example: to repay evil with kindness and to win over his
enemies by love. This attitude often caused his enemies to feel ashamed of themselves,
and caused even his father to become a Christian later in life, and to support Sundar in
ministry.
           He was quite independent of outward Church authority in all his religious life, thought,
and work. He dropped out of a Christian seminary that he briefly attended. Neither did
he attach much importance to public worship because in his experience the heart prays
better in solitude than in a congregation. He was also highly displeased with what he
found when he toured western nations that for centuries had the benefit of the Bible and
whose central figure of worship was Jesus. Sundar proclaimed almost prophetic
denunciations upon Western Christianity, and laughed at the way the West looked down
upon religious men of the East as mere "pagans" and "heathens." "People call us
heathens," he said in a conversation with the Archbishop of Upsala. "Just fancy! My
mother a heathen! If she were alive now she would certainly be a Christian. But even
while she followed her ancestral faith she was so religious that the term 'heathen' makes
me smile. She prayed to God, she served God, she loved God, far more warmly and
deeply than many Christians." He travelled India and Tibet, as well as the rest of the
world, with the message that the modern interpretation of Jesus was sadly watered
down. Sundar visited Tibet every summer. In 1929, he visited that country again and
was never seen again.


Sundar's Faith for All Mankind
              Few Christians know that Sundar was not afraid to raise his voice in favor of
"universalism." He could never deny to all non-Christians the possibility of entering
heaven. In 1925 Sundar wrote, "If the Divine spark in the soul cannot be destroyed,
then we need despair of no sinner... Since God created men to have fellowship with
Himself, they cannot for ever be separated from Him... After long wandering, and by
devious paths, sinful man will at last return to Him in whose Image he was created; for
this is his final destiny."


         In February, 1929, the year Sundar disappeared on his final missionary trip to Tibet, he
was interviewed by several theology students in Calcutta, India, where he answered
their questions:

(Question #1): What did the Sadhu think should be our attitude towards non-Christian
religions? -- The old habit of calling them 'heathen' should go. The worst 'heathen' were
among us [Christians]...

(Question #2):   Who were right, Christian Fundamentalists or Christian Liberals? -- Both
were wrong. The Fundamentalists were uncharitable to those who differed from them.
That is, they were unchristian. The Liberals sometimes went to the extent of denying the
divinity of Christ, which they had no business to do.
(Question #3):   Did the Sadhu think there was eternal punishment? -- There was
punishment, but it was not eternal...Everyone after this life would be given a fair chance
of making good, and attaining to the measure of fullness the soul was capable of. This
might sometimes take ages."
==========================================================================

                           PANDITA RAMABAI

 

“A life committed to Christ has

Nothing to Fear

Nothing to Loose

Nothing to regret” – Pandita Ramabai

                                                                                                                                         Pandita Ramabai was a scholar, poet, visionary and an eminent social reformer. She

lived during the times in India, when women were not allowed to study or work and were

also considered lower than men. They had no role in the society except to marry and

bear children for their husbands. Child marriages were widespread and the child widows

were left to abuse and slavery from the family and society. They were considered as

―curse‖ and they often lived terrible lives filled with agony and pain.

Ramabai was born to High caste Hindu Brahmin named Anant Shastri. He was a social

reformer and believed in educating girls. When he was forty, he had married a 9 year old

girl. He was very learned in Sanskrit and he read the old Hindu Scriptures – the Puranas

in temples for livelihood. He taught Sanskrit to his young wife, for which he was highly

despised and abandoned from the family and society. So he went around from village to

village with his wife and three children reading the Puranas to the temple priest, in the

fairs, holy places and wealthy Hindu people who could not read in those times. The

Hindus believed they got merit by listening to the sacred words. They would give money

and gifts to those who read the Scriptures for them. In this way the family traveled

hundreds of miles on foot, never resting, and living a very simple life with adequate food

or clothing. They never had to beg or work to earn a livelihood; the sacred readings

were enough to bring them all they needed.

Years went by, Ramabai was 13 now. Her parents were getting ill and she had her older

brother Srinivas. One other sibling had passed away. The country went through a huge

famine in that time. People had nothing or very little to share. There came a time when

there was no food at all for them to eat for days. They ate wild leaves and few berries

occasionally if they found. Sadly, in that destitute condition too weak and sick, her father

passed away. Before dying he took Ramabai and said, ―Always go on in the path of God.

                              

   Always make it your aim to serve God. I have given you into God’s keeping‖. After this

they travelled on, in few months the same conditions took her mother’s life.

Brother and sister were now left utterly alone. Ramabai began to lose her faith in the

religion where she had suffered so much. They decided to give up their wanderings and

come to Calcutta. Here, they were welcomed by the Hindu priests as they too were high

caste Brahmins. They were amazed to hear Ramabai read the Puranas in Sanskrit.

                                                                                                                                      

         They were astonished by her wisdom. There were very few women who could read   Sanskrit

but Ramabai even knew its grammar. So they bestowed her with the highest known title

of ―Pandita‖ (Scholar). Soon they were invited to give lectures and to visit places of

learning.

The more, she studied the Hindu Scriptures; she became more unhappy and restless as

she could not find peace and God. After all the struggles and pain she went through, his

brother became ill and died too. Now, she was all alone in this world and so decided to

marry. There was a lawyer who was not a Brahmin but was from a lower caste called

―Shudras‖, he loved Ramabai and had asked her to marry him many times before. So

they both got married. This was very shocking and unheard of to her friends and

relatives as Ramabai was a high caste Brahmin. But he cared for her and loved her.

One day Ramabai saw a small book in his husband’s library called the ―Gospel of St.

Luke‖. It was in Bengali and she read it to the end. When she inquired about it to her

husband, he said he had got it from the mission school. She wanted to know more and

so her husband let a missionary come to their home to explain her about the book. This

went on for some days, she felt very peaceful by reading this book. And she wanted to

become a Christian which her husband would never agree to.

Just after 18 months of their marriage, Ramabai’s husband encountered Cholera and he

died. They had a beautiful daughter named Manorama (joy of the heart). As a Hindu

widow, she had no place in her husband’s home so she took her daughter and set forth

to go to her home state and came to Pune. Ramabai studied English here and also wrote

a book called “Morals for women”.

 One day, when Ramabai was reading in her home a little child widow came to her door.

She was very sick. She had nowhere to go. Ramabai took her inside and cared for her.

She took in this child like her own daughter. Now she knew what she had to do. She

wanted to start a home for such widows where they will be loved and care for. Fired by

this thought she tried to raise the necessary money but no one would give her any. She

had so little of her own. It was a time of great disappointment for her.

But she had made friends with an English missionary Miss Hurford during that time. She

was going home back to England and suggested that Ramabai can accompany her.

Ramabai’s book had bought in little money, just enough to pay the passage for her and

Manorama. Ramabai was very afraid crossing the ocean and go to a foreign land. But

she knew that God was calling her and she had to go.

In England Ramabai and her daughter went with Sister of Mercy at Wantage. Here she

found that her long pilgrimage to find God is over when she felt the love and compassion

of Jesus Christ. She went to Cheltenham College and taught Sanskrit in return.

From here she came to America. She found American people very enthusiastic and

helpful. She went and gave many lectures and wrote a book “High Caste Hindu

Woman”. She started educating the West about the conditions of women in India.

American women offered to help with her plan to start the home for widows. They

formed Ramabai Association and promised that if she would start a school for the young

widows they would help for 10 years.

Ten years seemed like a life time to her. She returned to India overjoyed to start her

mission. When she came to Bombay (now Mumbai) she was welcomed by her old

friends. They were happy to help Ramabai in her mission only if she would not teach

them anything about the new God she had found in the West. Ramabai agreed to do so.

She would herself travel around the country and bring back young girls who are widows

suffering in pain and agony.

Ramabai had seen some land a little far from Pune in Kedgaon and brought it for the

girls to stay. She started a school called ―Sharda Sadan‖ (House of knowledge) in which

she taught reading, writing, history and nature study. She started here with 20 girls. But

that year they had famine. Ramabai herself set out to bring children who are hungry and

begging. She brought back 200 of them. She built huts and let the new gals stay.

Ramabai also got 2 helpers, one Indian and other English, who shared her burden with

helping young gals. She systematically taught the older girls first who in turn would take

charge and help the younger girls. Gradually she had 2000 gals living in Mukti Mission

(The home of Salvation).

For 20 years Pandita Ramabai went on working and caring for her large family. She

passed away on 5th April, 1922. It has been more than 100 years since she started a

humble beginning of Mukti Mission. Her vision still continues in the lives of many women

and young girls today who have found hope and new life at Mukti Mission.

"People must not only hear about the kingdom of God, but must see it in actual

operation, on a small scale perhaps and in imperfect form, but a real

demonstration nevertheless.”


==================================================================

                    

                                  C. T. STUDD

Forward Ever, Backward Never!

"Some wish to live within the sound of Church or Chapel bell;

I want to run a Rescue Shop within a yard of hell."—C. T. Studd

Charles T. Studd was a servant of Christ who faithfully served His Saviour

in China, India, and Africa.

                              Charles Thomas Studd was born in England in 1860, one of three sons of a wealthy

retired planter, Edward Studd, who had made a fortune in India and had come back to

England to spend it. After being converted to Christ during a Moody-Sankey campaign in

England in 1877, Edward Studd became deeply concerned about the spiritual welfare of

his three sons and influenced them for the cause of Christ before his death two years

later.

By the time C. T. was sixteen he had become an expert cricket player and at nineteen

was captain of his team at Eton College. He was further educated at Trinity College,

Cambridge where he was also recognized as an outstanding cricketer.

C. T. was saved in 1878 at the age of 18 when a visiting preacher at their home caught

C. T. on his way to play cricket. "Are you a Christian?" he asked. C. T's answer not being

convincing enough, the guest pressed the point and C. T. tells what happens as he

acknowledges God's gift of eternal life received through faith in Christ: "I got down on

my knees and I did say 'thank you' to God. And right then and there joy and peace came

into my soul. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible which had been

so dry to me before, became everything." His two brothers were also saved that same

day!

But there followed a period of six years in a backslidden state. C. T. relates: "Instead of

going and telling others of the love of Christ, I was selfish and kept the knowledge to

myself. The result was that gradually my love began to grow cold, and the love of the

world began to come in. I spent six years in that unhappy backslidden state." The Lord

in His goodness worked in his life and after a serious illness of his brother and his going

to hear D. L. Moody the Lord met C. T. again and restored to him the joy of His

salvation.

The Lord continued to work in his life, and led C. T. to go to China. C. T. seeking to

comfort his mother wrote: "Mother dear, I do pray God to show you that it is such a

privilege to give up a child to be used of God to saving poor sinners who have never

even heard of the name of Jesus." C. T. was one of the "Cambridge Seven" who offered

themselves to Hudson Taylor for missionary service in the China Inland Mission and in

February, 1885, sailed for China. Once there, they followed the early practice of the

Mission by living and dressing in Chinese fashion. He and the others began at once to

learn the language and to further identify themselves with the nationals by wearing

Chinese clothing and eating with them.

It was while in China that C. T. reached the age (25 years old) in which according to his

father's will he was to inherit a large sum of money. Through reading God's Word and

much prayer, C. T. felt led to give his entire wealth to Christ! It was his public testimony

before God and man that he believed God's Word to be the surest thing on earth, and

that the hundred fold interest which God has promised in this life, not to speak of the

next, is an actual reality for those who believe it and act on it."

Before knowing the exact amount of his inheritance, C.T. sent £5000 to Mr. Moody,

another £5000 to George Müller (£4000 to be used on missionary work and £1000

among the orphans); as well as £15,000 pounds to support other worthy ministries. In a

few months, he was able to discover the exact amount of his inheritance and he gave

some additional thousands away, leaving about £3400 pounds in his possession.

Three years after arriving in China, C. T. married a young Irish missionary named

Priscilla Livingstone Stewart. Just before the wedding he presented his bride with the

remaining money from his inheritance. She, not to be outdone, said, "Charlie, what did

the Lord tell the rich young man to do?" "Sell all." "Well then, we will start clear with the

Lord at our wedding." And they proceeded to give the rest of the money away for the

Lord's work.

They served the Lord together in inland China through many perils and hardships until in

1894 after ten years in China, ill health forced the Studds to return to England, where

they turned their property over to the China Inland Mission.

From 1896-1897, C. T. toured American universities in behalf of the newly formed

Student Volunteer Movement. In 1900 the Studd family went to South India where C. T.

served as a pastor of a church in Ooty for six years. From the time of his conversion,

C.T. had felt the responsibility upon their family to take the Gospel to India.

China, then India, and now the heart of Africa. After their return home to England in

1906, C. T. was stirred by the need for missionary pioneer work in Central Africa. But

again the path was not without obstacles. Penniless, turned down by the doctor, dropped

by a Committee of businessmen who had agreed to support him, yet told by God to go,

once more C. T. staked all on obedience to God. As a young man he staked his career, in

China he staked his fortune, now he staked his life. His answer to the Committee was;

"Gentlemen, God has called me to go, and I will go. I will blaze the trail, though my

grave may only become a stepping stone that younger men may follow." Leaving his

wife and four daughters in England, C. T. sailed, contrary to medical advice, for the heart

of Africa in 1910, where he continued to work until his death in 1931.

C. T. bore much fruit for the Saviour while in Africa as he endured weakness and

sickness; loosing most of his teeth and suffering several heart attacks; but he endured

hardness as a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ!

In a letter home, C. T. gave a last backward look at the outstanding events of his life:

“My only joys therefore are that when God has given me a work to do, I have

not refused it."

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. on a July day in 1931, C. T. Studd went home to be with His

Lord whom he had loved so dearly and served so faithfully! The last word he spoke was

"Hallelujah"!

==============================================

                                  

                                          JIM ELLIOT

                         January 2, 1956, was the day that 29-year-old Jim Elliot had waited for most of his life.

He jumped out of bed, dressed as quickly as he could, and got ready for the short flight

over the thick Ecuador (Eck-wah-door) jungle. Almost three years of jungle ministry and

many hours of planning and praying had led Jim to this day. Within hours, he and four

other missionaries would be setting up camp in the territory of a dangerous and

uncivilized Indian tribe known then as the Aucas (Ow-cuz), known now as the Waodani

(Wah-o-dah-nee). The Aucas had killed all outsiders ever caught in their area. Even

though it was dangerous, Jim Elliot had no doubt God wanted him to tell the Aucas about

Jesus. Up

As a little boy growing up in Portland, Oregon, Jim Elliot listened carefully as visiting

missionaries told about life on faraway missions fields. He asked them questions and

dreamed about being a missionary himself some day. It made him sad that so many

people in other countries died without knowing about God.

Jim now began to feel it was time to tell the Aucas about Jesus. The Aucas had killed

many Quichuas. They had also killed several workers at an oil company-drilling site near

their territory. The oil company closed the site because everyone was afraid to work

there. Jim knew the only way to stop the Aucas from killing was to tell them about Jesus.

Jim and the four other Ecuador missionaries began to plan a way to show the Aucas they

were friendly.

Nate Saint, a missionary supply pilot, came up with a way to lower a bucket filled with

supplies to people on the ground while flying above them. He thought this would be a

perfect way to win the trust of the Aucas without putting anyone in danger. They began

dropping gifts to the Aucas. They also used an amplifier to speak out friendly Auca

phrases. After many months, the Aucas even sent a gift back up in the bucket to the

plane. Jim and the other missionaries felt the time had come to meet the Aucas face-toface.

One day while flying over Auca territory, Nate Saint spotted a beach that looked long

enough to land the plane on. He planned to land there and the men would build a tree

house to stay safe in until friendly contact could be made.

The missionaries were flown in one-by-one and dropped off on the Auca beach. Nate

Saint then flew over the Auca village and called for the Aucas to come to the beach.

After four days, an Auca man and two women appeared. It was not easy for them to

understand each other since the missionaries only knew a few Auca phrases. They

shared a meal with them, and Nate took the man up for a flight in the plane. The

missionaries tried to show sincere friendship and asked them to bring others next time.

For the next two days, the missionaries waited for other Aucas to return. Finally, on day

six, two Auca women walked out of the jungle. Jim and Pete excitedly jumped in the

river and waded over to them. As they got closer, these women did not appear friendly.

Jim and Pete almost immediately heard a terrifying cry behind them. As they turned they

saw a group of Auca warriors with their spears raised, ready to throw. Jim Elliot reached

for the gun in his pocket. He had to decide instantly if he should use it. But he knew he

couldn't. Each of the missionaries had promised they would not kill an Auca who did not

know Jesus to save himself from being killed. Within seconds, the Auca warriors threw

their spears, killing all the missionaries: Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Nate Saint, Pete

Fleming and Jim Elliot.

Late in the afternoon of Sunday, January 8, Elisabeth Elliot, Jim's wife, waited by the

two-way radio to hear Nate Saint and his wife discuss how things had gone that day. But

there was no call. As evening turned to night, the wives grew worried. They knew the

news was not good.

The next morning another missionary pilot flew over the beach to look for the men. He

saw only the badly damaged plane on the beach.

News quickly spread around the world about the five missing missionaries. A United

States search team went to the beach, found the missionaries' bodies, and buried them.

But don't think Operation Auca ended there, because it didn't. In less than two years

Elisabeth Elliot, her daughter Valerie, and Rachel Saint (Nate's sister) were able to move

to the Auca village. Many Aucas became Christians. They are now a friendly tribe.

Missionaries, including Nate Saint's son and his family, still live among the Aucas today.

Elisabeth Elliot even helped make a movie about Operation Auca called Through Gates of

Splendor.It showed real life scenes of the five missionaries on the beach with the friendly

Aucas. It also included footage of the two years she and her daughter spent living in an

Auca village.

During his life, Jim Elliot longed for more people to become missionaries. In his death,

however, he probably inspired more people to go to other countries to share the love of

Jesus than he ever could have in life.

Make It Real! Questions to make you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.

1. Jim desired to serve God as a missionary. How do you desire to serve God?

2. Jim chose not to use a gun to protect himself when attacked by the Aucas. Why?

What would you have done and why?

3. Jim's wife and daughter went to live with the Aucas after Jim was killed. Can you

imagine choosing to live in the Auca village after such tragedy?

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                                    WILLIAM CAREY

                            Ever met anyone whose love is so great that they would pay any price, make any

sacrifice, undergo any hardship, to bring the Gospel of Christ to as many people as

possible? William Carey was like that. As a young man in England in the late 1780s,

William was obsessed with the conviction that the church must take God's Word to every

nation. At this time most Protestants were not active in missionary activity. (The

Moravians and their pioneering efforts were the major exception.)

Carey kept urging his fellow pastors to set up a missionary agency, but they always

seemed to have more urgent problems closer to home. At one meeting an elder pastor

reportedly snapped at him: "Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the

heathen, he'll do it without consulting you or me."

But William Carey simply would not let anything stand in the way. The obstacles he

faced were many and menacing, any one of which would have given most of us cause to

turn back. A few examples:

Lack of Formal Training: William Carey did not go to school beyond the age of 12

when he became a cobbler's apprentice. He was educationally unqualified. Yet he knew

God had given him a great gift for languages, and this must be used to share Christ with

other cultures.

Rejection: When Carey was preparing for ordination in 1785, he was rejected when he

gave his first sermon as a candidate. It took two more years for him to be eventually

ordained to the ministry.

Indifference of Colleagues: William Carey's missionary concern was ignored until in

1792 he produced one of the most important books in all of church history: An Enquiry

Into the Obligations of Christians. In it he argued that Christ's "Great Commission" in

Matthew 28:19-20 was not just to the apostles but to Christians of all periods. It proved

to be kind of the charter of the modern Protestant missionary movement. Carey showed

that if Christians want to claim the comforts and promises of the New Testament, they

must also accept the commands and instructions given there. Soon after the publication

he delivered a famous sermon in which he admonished Christian leaders to "expect

great things from God; attempt great things for God." His colleagues formed a

missionary society and sent Carey as their first missionary to India, along with a Dr.

John Thomas.

Family Tragedy: Carey and his wife Dorothy lost three small children. In India Dorothy

progressively lost her sanity and could not cope with the strain of living at a subsistence

level in India. They had three other young children to raise. No one would have blamed

them if they had decided to pack it in and sail back home to more familiar and

comfortable surroundings, but they stayed on.

Slow Results: William Carey spent seven years in India before seeing his first convert.

And then there was the problem of the persecution of anyone who became a Christian

because it meant breaking caste in India.

Cultural Barriers: At the time in India there were practices that Carey had to oppose

as a Christian: children were sacrificed to the gods; widows were burned alive on their

husband's funeral pyres.

The Obstacle List Goes On: There was official opposition from the British East India

Company which did not want missionaries in India. There was the disastrous fire in 1812

at the mission printing plant that destroyed years of Carey's translation work. There

were repeated attacks of malaria and cholera, impoverished living conditions, insufficient

funds to eke out even a minimal existence. Carey had to take up secular employment

just to survive.

All For What?: Was it worth it? Beyond a doubt. William Carey formed a team of

colleagues (the Serampore Trio) whose accomplishments elevated them to first

magnitude in all missions history. Carey's team translated the Bible in 34 Asian

languages, compiled dictionaries of Sanskrit, Marathi, Panjabi, and Telegu--respected

even today as authoritative; started the still influential Serampore College; began

churches and established 19 mission stations; formed 100 rural schools encouraging the

education of girls; started the Horticultural Society of India; served as a professor at Fort

William College, Calcutta; began the weekly publication "THE FRIEND OF INDIA,"

(continued today as "THE STATESMAN"); printed the first Indian newspaper; introduced

the concept of the savings bank to assist poor farmers. His fight against the burning of

widows ("SATI" ) helped lead to its ban in 1829. We could go on if space permitted, but

you get the idea. Equally important is the vision that Carey raised for missions. William

Carey's life inspired tens of thousands to give themselves for the spread of the Gospel.

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N.B: These biographies were forwarded by some persons