At Wheaton College, a memorial’s been rewritten.
The story begins with missionaries Jim Elliot and Ed McCully.
You may have heard their names — in 1956, they were slain by Auca Indians in the Ecuadorian jungle.
Seven years prior, Ed and Jim graduated from Wheaton.
In 1957, the class of ’49 entrusted a plaque.
It memorialized, “For generations, all strangers were killed by these savage Indians. After many days of patient preparation and devout prayer, the missionaries made the first friendly contact known to history with the Aucas.”
The young men had indeed broken through. For several months, they maintained friendly contact — and exchanged gifts — with the tribe.