Operation Auca: 70 Years Later

Steve McCully is the son of Ed and Marilou McCully and the oldest of three boys. Steve was born in 1952 while his parents were receiving missionary medical training. In December 1952 the family sailed to Ecuador where he spent the next 10 years of his life. After just 3 years there his father was killed, speared to death by the Aucas. It was January 8, 1956, 70 years ago today, that five men, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming and Roger Youderian, were martyred in the jungles of Ecuador. These five men along with their wives and children went to Ecuador to bring the Good News of the Gospel to a tribe that had never before heard this Good News. In the words of T.E. McCully, the father of Ed McCully, "The incident has proved to be one of the greatest chapters in the annals of missionary martyrdom." More information: Several novels have been written about their story. One of the most famous is Elisabeth Elliot's Through the Gates of Splendour. On our website, vcy.org, you will find a lot of information that Randy Melchert has compiled regarding this 70th anniversary.