to every TRIBE, TONGUE & NATION

Well, here it is you guys - the official topic about the missions conference that really blessed me last week! It was held at the beautiful Calvary Chapel Conference Center in Murrieta, California where Greg is planning on continuing his Bible school studies.There were several guest speakers, but the mp3's I wanted to share with you all are of Frank and Marie Drown, who are such dear, old saints. Just hearing Frank's voice today made me want to cry with joy of how much an encouragement his testimony has been to me. Him and his wife have been married for a little more than 60 years and ministered to an Indian tribe in the jungles of Ecuador for a little more than 30 years. I bought their book "Mission to the Headhunters", and just the first 2 chapters have deeply convicted and inspired me.Here are the mp3's to the 3 sessions Frank and Marie Drown shared at. All are good, but the 3rd, "The Cost of Following Christ" deeply convicted me and broke me. I left the conference, and still have impressed on my heart to not count my life dear to myself. My life is completely God's, and whatever trials, pain or blessings He wants to bring into my life for His purposes He's free to do without my resistance.Mission to the Headhuntersby Frank & Marie DrownServing God By Faithby Frank DrownThe Cost of Following Christby Frank & Marie DrownInterview with Frank + Marie DrownPastor's Perspective Radio ProgramI would also like to share the notes I took at the conference from the different speakers. I have shared them with the church staff and some personal friends who have been blessed by them, and my hope and prayer is you'll be blessed as well.Missions Conference 2006 NotesJosh Olson (openarmsinc) also attended this conference, and hopefully he would be willing to share what God taught him. I will say that I had some encouraging times of prayer with him, Kelly and Lynn, who attended the conference from our church.

Thanks sister for posting this!So it is dangerous to listen to that last sermon [smile] that's cool. It's so good to be stirred, and convicted. It makes sure we can't stick with what we have, there is so much more!!Please share more of this, maybe God willing, Greg could put them here on SI.It is such a blessing when you share your blessing, to be filled is to spread out, well let's say it's now flowing out of you by sharing this, thanks sister! may God bless you more abundantly with His Spirit!your brother in Christ-William

btw the links are not working :-(

Hey thanks William. I'm looking into it right now...EDIT: [laughs] I left out 2 VERY important details in the URL address. [big smile] They work now! Yay!

Hi Yolanda,Thanks for sharing these sermons with us all. I'm going to listen to them this week, God willing."Your life is just a vapor..."These words should either disturb or encourage us. My prayer is: "So teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). To number our days aright is not equal to being restless until we do something for God. Someone wrote to me:I was dumbfounded when I listened to Zac Poonen's "The Real Jesus" when he pointed out that Jesus let many people go to hell and did not sway from the Father's timing for his ministry to begin. 30 years. That just stopped me in my tracks and really made me think about all the hurry we are in, thinking we know what we are to do and then running off half-cocked, and doing sometimes more damage than good because He did not send us. We cannot ever think that we are the answer to anyones'need. He is the only answer and He is never in a hurry or desperate. He desires more than anything for us to learn to be disciples. And someone else "coincedently" wrote something along the same line, quoting from a book by John Piper: "It is possible to be distracted from God in trying to serve God. Martha-like, we neglect the one thing needful and soon begin to present God as busy and fretful as we are. A.W. Tozer warned us about this: 'We commonly represent God as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world....too many missionaries appeals are based upon this fancied frustation of Almighty God.'" May we number our days aright...to seek Him, to know Him, to enjoy Him, to listen to Him and to obey Him.Yours in God Almighty,Paul

PAUL!!!It's so good to see you on here! I haven't seen you on here in ages! If God wills, I hope He helps you make time to listen to these mp3's. They consist of both stories of their missionary experience ministering to the Indian tribes in Ecuador for 37 years and teaching. Again, the last one ministered to me the most, but you should listen to them all [smile].WilliamGreg already has so many great resources on here! But I hope he does get a chance to check these recordings out and realizes what a testimony these missionaries are! I do believe they would fit among the other seasoned saints on here. [smile]

Yolanda,thanks for posting these mp3s! I am sure it was awesome to hear the Drown's testimonies.In Him, Chanin

ChaninOh man, awesome is an understatement! The only way I can explain it was that it was a privilege and honor to hear and see Frank share. It wasn't only what he shared, but in the way he shared it, broken in tears at times, that was deeply touching. Here is an old saint who has let God fashion his character with heartache, trials, joyful service and God's faithfulness! Getting to see both of them share felt like an historical moment for me! Definitely an experience not to take for granted or ever forget! I believe the work God has done in and through them will put a mark on my Christian life forever!I look forward to continuing to read through their book "Mission to the Headhunters", watching the documentary "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" and seeing "End of the Spear" in theaters.Thank you for being the one to originally start a topic concerning the anniversary of the martyr's death of the 5 young missionary men in Ecuador. It was so exciting to discover that Frank and Marie were connected with that event and knew Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and Nate Saint. The picture of Frank Drown on the front of his book was actually taken just after he found his murdered friends. He shares about it in his message "The Cost of Following Christ" (found in the first post).

I just received this email from www.assistnews.net (I signed up on their emailing list at the conference).MURRIETA, CA (ANS) -- For veteran American missionary Frank Drown, that January day in 1956, when he found the body of his pilot friend Nate Saint, was something he will never forget.“He had a spear in his head, and a big cut on his face,” said Drown during an extraordinary interview on Wednesday, January 4 with Brian Brodersen and myself on the “Pastor’s Perspective” radio show aired on many stations across America.Frank and Marie Drown during the interview Frank and Marie Drown had agreed to talk about the terrible yet life-changing events that took place 50 years ago when Jim Eliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint and Roger Youderian ventured into the eastern rainforests of Ecuador, where they made contact with the Waodani people, also known as the Aucas. With a homicide rate of 60 percent, the tribe’s behavior placed them on the verge of self-annihilation.The missionaries’ story was made famous in the pages of Life Magazine, but now the Drowns were able to give more insight into what occurred all those years ago.WENT TO ECUADOR TEN YEARS BEFORE THE FIVE MISSIONARIES“We were in Ecuador ten years before they were and then Nate came in and he became our pilot,” said Frank Drown. “He flew us all over the jungle, and we did lots of things together. Before he came, I walked on the land, and it was such a blessing. One minute in a plane is worth an hour on the ground.”Marie then entered the conversation. “All of the missionaries that were killed were our good friends,” she said. “Marj Saint was a good friend of ours. Before we ever met her, she sent in with Nate, a tray of ice cubes, and we hadn’t had ice cubes for years. We made lemonade, and it tasted like something we’d never known before. It was so different with ice cubes in it. “I remember another time when Nate came. He and Marj were expecting their first child, and we had a son Ross Drown, who was born in 1948, and a year later in early 1949 their first baby was born. When Nate was with us, he saw Ross and Frank playing with a ball, and Ross would repeat, ‘Figh!’ and daddy would say, ‘Throw the ball way up high!’ and he’d say ‘Figh!’ and they’d throw the ball back and forth. Nate said, “I can’t wait until ours is born.” “Now Ross and Kathy, their firstborn, are husband and wife.”Frank said that he had given Nate a radio to go into the jungle, but as the missionaries wanted to keep their mission a secret, they spoke in code.“They didn’t want other people to know so that if it did happen, that we got to be good friends with those Indians, there wouldn’t be a whole rush of all the people wanting to go in there,” he said. “So I knew that and they told me what he was going to do and I loaned them my radio so they could take it along. I knew where they were, I knew what frequency they were going to talk back to me on because it was my radio. And so I listened to them, and one day only, on Friday when they had a good contact with the Indians, they called back and said it was great. ‘The neighbors came,’ one of them said.Drown said that as he was on the network of radios so they could all talk to each other, and on the Monday morning he received an urgent message from Marj, Nate Saint’s wife.He went on, “Marj went right straight to me and said, ‘We haven’t heard from the men since yesterday. They were supposed to talk at 4:00 and they didn’t answer. We’ve lost contact with them.’ And she wanted to know if I would be willing to go and form a rescue party and go down into that jungle down there and see if I could help them.“It was terrible especially as I heard that another MAF pilot had flown over there and he could see the little airplane down on the beach where they’d landed, but he couldn’t see anybody around, and I knew this was bad. “Still, we went, not knowing whether they were dead or alive. The trip took two-and-a-half days, part walking, part by dug-out canoe, and we got down there and found the airplane all torn to pieces, and nobody there. It was a sad day.”He explained that the US Air Force had dispatched a helicopter to the area and they could see straight down into the water of the river where the plane was and they said they saw some bodies.“So we picked them up,” said Drown. “There were two of them. Jim Elliot was the first one that was found, and then Peter Fleming, and then I was told that there was somebody down stream and so I went to help pick him up out of the water.”It was then that he found the body of Nate Saint. “Then some other missionary with natives that were friendly with us, went downstream further and brought the body of Roger Youderian, who was my buddy, the one that worked with me. We had walked the trails together, and worked together for the Lord, and they brought him back, and so we had four of the five.”Frank said that Roger Youderian had built an airstrip in the jungle at the request of an Indian leader who wanted to hear more about Jesus. “I went back again and one day he said to me, ‘I want to be the bow to knee one.’ That meant he wanted to get down on his knees and ask Jesus into his life,” he said.He said that only one body -- that of Ed McCully -- was not found at that time.“We didn’t find Ed, but the Indians found him weeks later, and they said they buried him, but I don’t know whether they did or not,” he said. “The other four were buried on the beach.“After I had gone and buried the men and came back home, we had three days of rain and I was there at Ed McCully’s house because he lived the closest to these Waodani, and I had time to think this whole thing through.“God could have stopped this anytime along the way. It’s understandable that if we just had a big shower there wouldn’t have been a sand beach for them to land on. And if one of them had stayed up in the tree house, they could have shot and scared them off. That might have changed things. And when they first landed, the tire was ripped and the tube was showing. But anyway, those things didn’t happen, and God allowed those men to go and to die and you say well that is wrong. “Folks, a private never tells the general where you’re gonna fight. And so we are God’s people, and where God puts us, that’s where we work. And God will take care of us until He’s ready to move us out of this world, and so that’s the way it is. And God did that. He wanted those men to die so that He could talk to our people here in America that you need to give your life to God and sacrifice. We don’t want sacrifice. We don’t want pain. We don’t want anything like that. “But listen, folks, if we’re going to win the world to Jesus Christ there’s gonna be more, and we need to serve God with all that we’ve got, whether it’s life or death. For Marie and for me and many years of staying there and living with those people and seeing them come to Christ, so it’s not up to us to say where we’re going to serve or how, but it’s up to God.”Frank and Marie Drown, who have told their story in a book called “MISSION TO THE HEADHUNTERS” were speakers at the Calvary Chapel Mission’s Conference at their conference center in Murrieta, California.Frank and Marie Drown with Kay and Chuck Smith at the mission's conference in MuriettaThey also spoke on Saturday morning at a packed missions meeting at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. Also speaking were Steve Saint, the son of Nate Saint, and Mincaye who, as a young warrior was one of the tribesmen who killed Saint’s father, Nate, and the four other young missionaries, and is now a believer and has been reconciled with Steve and the Saint family.Dan Wooding (British journalist for Assist News) and MincayeNow a movie is about to be released called “END OF THE SPEAR,” in which the filmmakers explore the story from the tribe’s perspective--and the remarkable way God changed the tribe’s violent ways.Note: An mp3 of this broadcast is available Interview with Frank + Marie Drown

"... and God allowed those men to go and to die and you say well that is wrong.Folks, a private never tells the general where you’re gonna fight. And so we are God’s people, and where God puts us, that’s where we work. And God will take care of us until He’s ready to move us out of this world, and so that’s the way it is. And God did that. He wanted those men to die so that He could talk to our people here in America that you need to give your life to God and sacrifice. We don’t want sacrifice. We don’t want pain. We don’t want anything like that. But listen, folks, if we’re going to win the world to Jesus Christ there’s gonna be more, and we need to serve God with all that we’ve got, whether it’s life or death. For Marie and for me and many years of staying there and living with those people and seeing them come to Christ, so it’s not up to us to say where we’re going to serve or how, but it’s up to God.”This quote was taken from the above article. Frank Drown said something very similar at the conference when he shared. You will hear it in his message titled "The Cost of Following Christ" (found in the first post). These very words God used to deeply convict me. In the topic Chanin started What Do You Live For? E. Elliot, I shared, "I have to add, reading the question 'What do I live for?', that I was left with a deep conviction after hearing Frank Drown share his last session yesterday. His last message was titled 'The Cost of Following Christ'. When he stepped off that stage filled with emotion, everyone standing and applauding, my eyes watered as I realized, 'I count my life as dear to me.' The last several years have been spent in fear, trying to protect myself from pain and suffering, getting bitter at God when He allowed my heart to be broken. But how could I question my God? How could I question what He was doing and allowing in my life? I've been striving for a comfortable, easy life, but that's not the life I've been called to as a Christian."

Yolanda,I read the above article from Frank Drown. It is awesome stuff. Right now Arielle and I are trying to get through Jim Elliot's biography (Through Gates of Splendor) before the movie comes out. But now I am really interested in following it up with the book you have.I am really hoping that these testimonies will spur many young people to be willing to lay down their lives and their comfortableness (in whatever way God asks) for Christ. It is not about us. It's all about Him! :)Looking forward to listening to the mps3! Thanks.In Him, Chanin

ChaninHmmm... yes. Maybe after reading "Mission to the Headhunters" I'll need to check out that book from Elisabeth Elliot. I wonder if the documentary is too different. It said it was inspired by her book. Is "Through Gates of Splendor" Jim Elliot's journal entries? Yeah, that would be definitely edifying to read.Well, last night I was burdened with some thoughts, and really found myself at a place of... decision I guess. I had a couple plans before this new year and now... I'm doubting if I should even continue to pursue them. I had a good time of prayer with the Lord concerning these thoughts, and later last night, a part in "Mission to the Headhunters" spoke so clearly to me. I'm not quite sure what it means in relation to my life, but I can't deny that God was speaking to me.MISSION TO THE HEADHUNTERSCHAPTER THREE: Fallen HopeFrank + Marie Drown"God was teaching us that to follow Him often meant changing our ideas of what the future would hold. To look ahead one day at a time and trust Him with tomorrow was a lesson we thought we had learned. But it was one we had to relearn - again and again."

BEYOND THE GATES OF SPLENDORI've had the opportunity to share this documentary I bought at the conference with my parents one night, and my friends last night. I cried both times. How this movie has brought to life Frank's book "Mission to the Headhunters"! Last night, in chapter four, Nate Saint and his little, yellow plane were introduced into the story and it made my heart skip a beat. It reminded me of the live footage I saw on the documentary. These stories have greatly impacted my life.MISSION TO THE HEADHUNTERSCHAPTER FOUR: Beginning Life in MakumaFrank + Marie DrownNOTE: This part at the end of chapter four stood out to me so clearly. I pray that it ministers to someone who may need to read it."... I had plenty of work: adding on to our house, building a storage shed of gasoline, improving the airstrip, digging drainage ditches, harvesting the tropical wheat, planting more gardens. I worked with the Indians from daybreak to nightfall.Within a week I was flat on my back with malaria contracted on the trail. I couldn't keep down the bitter quinine pills, so my fever rose higher and higher while I tossed and rolled and wondered why I had to be sick. Marie slept on the floor to give me more room on the bed. She got up every little while to bring me a drink or rub the ache out of my bones.Marie knew she had to do something further... Praying to God for strength, she rolled me over and stuck in the needle. Within twenty-four hours I began to recover, although it was a long time before I could leave the bed.I had to fight hard not to give way to discouragement. But I had more time to think, pray, and read the Bible than I had had for months. Finally I realized God was teaching me a lesson. I had been neglecting what was most important of all to Him - more important than all the hard work I could offer - time spent in fellowship with Him, praying and meditating on His Word. I thought of the words of instruction given by Mr. Weiss in the farewell message just before we left Kansas City: 'You must build a strong spiritual life maintained by regular and consistent prayer and Bible study habits.'I did not want to fail as a missionary. I knew why God had put me on my back, and cried to Him for forgiveness and help to do better in the future. God wanted my heart's devotion and my worship and communion with Him more than anything else...A passage from the Bible sustained me: 'He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus' (Philippians 1:6). A battle had been won. I slept peacefully that night."

'You must build a strong spiritual life maintained by regular and consistent prayer and Bible study habits.'Yodi, this is all very tremnedous what you have been sharing here. Seems there is a number of books\\videos that have been mentioned and a bit confusing as to which is which... Considering that you have a bit of understanding here as you have been going through all this, wondering if at some point you might be able to compile something of a list perhaps? I realise the movie will be coming out shortly but am also thinking of the mention of the other documentary (Or is it more than one?) for instance.

Thanks Mike. [laughs] I know, we keep mentioning books and documentaries and such. So here is an official list!BooksThrough Gates of Splendorby Elisabeth ElliotMission to the Headhuntersby Frank + Marie DrownDocumentaryBeyond the Gates of Splendornarrated by Steve SaintComing Soon to Theaters!End of the SpearFriday, January 20thThere! Does that help?Radio InterviewOkay you guys - I'm so excited! On Monday, January 9th, I posted an article I received from Assist News concerning an interview with Frank and Marie Drown on KWAVE's radio program, Pastor's Perspective. The article claimed the interview was aired on KWAVE Wednesday, January 4th and was available to listen to on the Pastor's Perspective Podcast. I downloaded the program from the 4th, but Frank and Marie Drown weren't on it. Several days, computer freezes and incomplete downloads later, I finally found the correct podcast program! I was able to convert it into an mp3 so you all could listen to it! So here it is folks!Interview with Frank + Marie Drowntotal time: 52:03

Dezcall emailed me and let me know that the last teaching from Frank & Marie Drown "The Cost of Following Christ" got cut off. If any of you experienced any difficulties or disappointments, I'm sorry. I just got done saving each mp3 at a lower bit rate (I think that's the correct technical term) so downloading would take a little less time, and carefully and patiently uploaded each mp3. If you guys experience any more problems, please let me know. Thank you.I am glad though, of the reports that those of you who have gotten to listen to these sermons by Frank Drown, have been blessed and inspired. Thank God!!!

Thanks Yodi!This came through my email yesterday From Randy Alcorn's ministry www.epm.org a prayer request letter he send's out on occasion, a couple of excerpts:Praying friends, 1) I'm speaking at Missions Fest in Portland, at New Hope Community Church, a week from tonight: Friday 7:00 PM. Info at http://www.missionsfestnw.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=44&Itemid=105.I'm speaking on the suffering church, and saying a few things about the five missionary martyrs who died in Ecuador 50 years ago this week (January 8, 1956). Lord willing, this will help prepare the way for the REAL speakers of the weekend, Steve Saint and Mincaye, once killer of Nate Saint, now redeemed and delightful "grandfather" to the Saint family. Steve and Mincaye will speak twice on Saturday at Missions Fest, at New Hope. The importance of the killing of the missionaries, in God's providence, is difficult to overstate. It is arguably the single greatest God-inspired missionary-recruiting vision-capturing story in the history of the church. In terms of its impact on tens of thousands of missionaries, and on the lives of millions of non-missionaries, other than the death of William Borden of Yale in Egypt, and the Boxer martyrs in China, and a handful of other events, it's difficult to come up with anything in the post-apostolic era that even begins to compare to it. And in terms of actual numbers of missionaries on the field because of it, I don't think there's ever been anything of its magnitude. The story of Steve Saint and Mincaye (and his Waodani tribe, formerly called the Aucas) and their heart-touching relationship is the message of redemption and reconciliation our culture desperately needs to hear. 2) Next weekend, on Saturday night (5:30 PM) and Sunday morning (9:00 and 10:45 AM), January 21-22, I will be interviewing Steve Saint and Mincaye at Good Shepherd Community Church, my home church. See www.goodshepherdcc.org. This is the very same weekend of the release (Jan. 20) of The End of the Spear, the only major motion picture ever dealing with this event. It may ultimately compare, in capturing the story to a new generation, to the Life magazine of January 30, 1956 that conveyed the original story fifty years ago. I encourage you to see this movie next weekend. I saw it in a preview and highly recommend it--it is low key evangelistically speaking, letting the story itself send the message, but it is powerful. Please pray God will use it to impact both believers and nonbelievers and open up many great conversations about the gospel and following Christ. Also, we've been told Steve and Mincaye will be on Good Morning America Friday morning, January 20, the day before they come to Portland.

That's so neat that Steve Saint and Mincaye spoke (or are speaking) at that church. Man! I missed them at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa a couple weekends ago. After seeing the "Beyond the Gates of Splendor" documentary, which Steve Saint narrated and Mincaye was interviewed in, I wish I had gone to see them in person.Yes, I am very excited about this movie "End of the Spear". I plan to see it with friends this weekend. [smile]openarmsincYour Brother-In-Arms, Josh, told me I could post up a link to the notes he took at the Missions Conference we attended a couple weeks ago. Please take the time to read them. You will be blessed an encouraged!Josh's Missions Conference NotesEnd of the Spear: movie page View movie trailer, showtimes and more!

Missionary, Frank Drown was asked by the wives of the 5 missionary men who went to make contact with the Auca (Windani) Indians, to lead a search party to find their bodies when contact was lost with them. This is the account of how their deaths impacted Frank's life on the mission field. MISSION TO THE HEADHUNTERSmy highlights from CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Open DoorFrank Drown"I was weak with a double fear - the fear of seeing the bodies of the ones I had loved, and the fear of being killed by Auca spears. But the experiences of the next few minutes - looking at the skeleton of the plane on the beach, climbing the ladder to the tree house where my friends had slept, bringing the bodies of my dead companions up from the river - were good for me. I felt the Lord calming my heart and giving me a new determination to serve Him, regardless of what might happen to this body of mine.We laid the men on that sandy shore. The fact of death could not have been more real; but so was the truth that our dear friends were 'absent from the body and present with the Lord.'We said to one another, 'They are not here. This is only the house they left behind'...The aftermath of that killing - the Christian forgiveness shown by the widows and relatives - is one of the most inspiring chapters in Christian missionary history...During the several weeks the three of them - Barb who was widowed, and her two children - stayed in our house, we never heard a word of complaint or self-pity, although we knew Barb felt her loss greatly. We praised the Lord for the wonderful privilege of having her back with us and the Shuara...Concerning trying to contact the Atshuara - Another thought lay heavy on my conscience. I could see, after having helped to pull the bodies of Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, and Roj Youderian from the cold waters of the Curaray, that my life might go in the same way. Besides my own life, the reputation of those five matyrs who had died for Christ at Palm Beach was at stake. I reasoned this way: their sacrifice had electrified the entire Christian world. From all continents had gone up the spontaneous cry: 'Wonderful! Great courage!' But if, within a few months, there was to be another violent death in that same part of the world, the cry could very easily change to, 'Those fool missionaries have done it again! Why do they take such risks?'...Concerning the Atshuara chief waving a gun, motioning Frank to go away when he flew in to make contact with them - By now I was fearful. But I had worked and waited and hoped and planned for this moment. If I were to turn and run, the door to the Asthuara would be closed to me forever. The nearer I crept, the more Tsantiacu and his men danced and shouted. My thoughts flashed back to the Curaray River. The picture of those bodies of my friends lying in the sand came again into my mind. But this time it gave me courage. Those men faced death and had not drawn back. They had not counted their lives dear to themselves. Was I any different from them? Did I have any more right to live than they? I thought: 'Our lives belong to God. May He be glorified in me - "whether by life or by death"' (Phil. 1:20)!"

They had not counted their lives dear to themselves. Was I any different from them? Did I have any more right to live than they? I thought: 'Our lives belong to God. May He be glorified in me - "whether by life or by death"' (Phil. 1:20)!"Amazing!