About

To Carry the Light Further was first published in 2016 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the sacrificial deaths of Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian in the Ecuadorian Amazon. To mark the 70th anniversary in 2026, To Carry the Light Further has been expanded to incorporate significant new material and revised interpretations.

The archivists at the Wheaton Archives & Special Collections offer special thanks to Wheaton College Professor of History Emerita Dr. Kathryn Long for generously sharing her expertise on the Waorani people of Ecuador. Her book, God in the Rainforest: A Tale of Martyrdom & Redemption in Amazonian Ecuador, was indispensable in the creation of this exhibit.  

A Note on Outdated Language

For many years, nearly all English-language media describing the deaths of Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, Ed McCully, Nate Saint, and Roger Youderian referred to their killers as members of the “Auca” people. A Quichua word meaning “savage” or “barbarian,” the term “Auca” was used by the lowland Quichua who lived in fear of Waorani raiding parties and spear attacks. The Waorani people consider the term “Auca” offensive and object to its continued usage. “Waorani” means “human beings” or “people” and is the name this indigenous people group uses to describe its members today. The Waorani call their language “Wao tededo,” best paraphrased as “the people’s speech.”

Most Westerners, including American missionaries, in the twentieth century used the term “Auca” without question or qualification as demonstrated by many of the letters, newspaper articles, interview transcripts, and radio broadcasts featured in this exhibit.

To Carry the Light Further includes “Auca” only when necessary to reproduce original language in its historical context, including the titles of articles and books or verbatim statements from letters and transcripts. In most other cases, “Waorani” is used for members of the indigenous people group and “Wao tededo” for their language. A common rendering and spelling, “Waorani” was chosen over other English-language variants, including Waodani, Huaorani, Sabela, Waos and Huaos. When assigning subjects to items related to Waorani individuals, community, or language, “Huao Indians” and “Huao language” is used to comply with the authoritative subject headings set by the Library of Congress.

The exhibit also identifies variant spellings of Waorani personal names, using the most commonly accepted version, though original documents may include multiple different spellings.

Rights and Permissions

This digital exhibit from Wheaton Archives & Special Collections is intended to showcase unique stories and items from the archival collections for the enjoyment and education of the Wheaton College community and virtual users around the world. Materials featured in the exhibit may be protected by copyright. Any use, publication, duplication, or distribution is strictly prohibited without written permission. See the Wheaton College Library’s Copyright Guide for more information on copyright law and practice. If you have questions about these resources or concerns about the inclusion of an item, please contact Wheaton Archives & Special Collections.