Battle Axe Series – Rachael Saint

We are honouring a great woman of God in this edition of the magazine. Personally, I have never heard of her until I stumbled on a list showing that she served as a missionary in Ecuador in the early 20^th century. Heaven will indeed be full of surprises when the LORD unveils the Bride of Yeshua. That is when we will understand that God’s standard for measuring faithfulness and loyalty in His Kingdom is totally different from ours.

Rachel Saint was born in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, United States of America on January 2, 1914. She attended Philadelphia School of the Bible (now Cairn University) and then worked at the Keswick Colony of Mercy in New Jersey. Early in life, she was sent out by the Wycliffe Bible Translators, trained by Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International). Her first missionary assignment was to Piro and Shapra in Peru, but she had an interest in the Huoarani people of Ecuador.

In February 1955, Rachael and another missionary, Catherine Peeke went to a missionary station near Huoarani territory, where her brother Nate Saint was working. She started learning the local language with the help of Dayuma, a Huaronian woman who had left her people after a dispute and was sheltered by the missionaries. Sadly, five of the missionaries were murdered by the locals in January 1956, including Nate who arrived the area in 1948. As a result, Rachel considered herself spiritually bonded to the tribe.

In 1957, she returned to her country along with Dayuma and appeared with Billy Graham during his crusade at Madison Square Garden. She also featured in Ralph Edwards’ television show, This Is Your Life. Rachel and Dayuma went back to Huaorani in the summer of 1958. This time, she teamed up with Elisabeth Eliot, the wife of James (Jim) Eliot who had been killed by the Huaoranis. The two American women were able to move into a Huaoranis settlement. While the five American men failed to penetrate the local society, the two women along with Eliot’s little daughter were not threatened.

        Part of Rachel’s work profile was to create a dictionary of Huaorani language which she had begun before the murder of the five missionaries. When criticism of her actions at the missionary reservation emerged in 1973, SIL sent the anthropologist, James Yost to investigate. Yost had worked for more than ten years among the Huaoranis. His report was highly critical of Rachel’s work and, in 1976, SIL ordered her to retire.

         Instead, she left the organisation and decided to continue her work with the natives. Consequently, she returned to the United States and raised funds to support her work. Rachel pursued work among the Huaoranis for the rest of her life. She and Elizabeth were focused in their desire to continue what God had put on their hearts. Yet they could not get along. Differences in personality, theology, and missionary practice resulted in constant friction between them. According to Kathryn Long, author of God in the Rainforest: A Tale of Martyrdom and Redemption in the Amazonian Ecuador, their relationship deteriorated to the point where Rachel doubted the authenticity of Elizabeth’s salvation experience.

In 1957, she returned to her country along with Dayuma and appeared with Billy Graham during his crusade at Madison Square Garden. She also featured in Ralph Edwards’ television show, This Is Your Life. Rachel and Dayuma went back to Huaorani in the summer of 1958. This time, she teamed up with Elisabeth Eliot, the wife of James (Jim) Eliot who had been killed by the Huaoranis. The two American women were able to move into a Huaoranis settlement. While the five American men failed to penetrate the local society, the two women along with Eliot’s little daughter were not threatened.

        Part of Rachel’s work profile was to create a dictionary of Huaorani language which she had begun before the murder of the five missionaries. When criticism of her actions at the missionary reservation emerged in 1973, SIL sent the anthropologist, James Yost to investigate. Yost had worked for more than ten years among the Huaoranis. His report was highly critical of Rachel’s work and, in 1976, SIL ordered her to retire.

         Instead, she left the organisation and decided to continue her work with the natives. Consequently, she returned to the United States and raised funds to support her work. Rachel pursued work among the Huaoranis for the rest of her life. She and Elizabeth were focused in their desire to continue what God had put on their hearts. Yet they could not get along. Differences in personality, theology, and missionary practice resulted in constant friction between them. According to Kathryn Long, author of God in the Rainforest: A Tale of Martyrdom and Redemption in the Amazonian Ecuador, their relationship deteriorated to the point where Rachel doubted the authenticity of Elizabeth’s salvation experience.

Despite the toxic relationship, Rachel continued in her work among the Huaoranis.  She was tenacious and focused, but also stubborn and resistant to working with others. Though her organisation, SIL typically would never approve a single person to do indigenous work without a partner, it made an exception for her. She died of cancer on November 11, 1994 and was buried in Tonampere, Ecuador where she had lived with the Huaoranis.

No matter what anyone says of Rachel, it was obvious that she loved the Lord and sacrificed her life to expand His Kingdom in Ecuador. How many of us can abandon the comforts of our homes to labour in strange lands for the salvation of souls? Rachel’s tenacity and love for the Huaorani people should inspire us to give our all for the good of the Kingdom. We do not have any excuse considering all the resources at our disposal, especially information technology. Now, we can reach souls in any part of the world from the comfort of our homes! Let’s depopulate the kingdom of darkness and bring give the angels of God cause to celebrate in His presence for souls delivered from death.

Culled from a Biography of Rachel Saint, https://missionaryportal.webflow.io and After Jim Eliot- the Good, Bad and the Ugly, https://www.imb.org