Peter Fleming, 1928-1956

Peter Sillence Fleming was born the youngest of three siblings on November 22, 1928, in Seattle, Washington. He grew up in the Plymouth Brethren assemblies, giving his life to Christ when he was twelve. While attending the University of Washington, Pete started dating Olive Ainsley, whose family had attended the same assembly. Through the northwestern assemblies, Pete also met Jim Elliot, then attending Wheaton College. Although Pete had long been more interested in teaching in the U.S. than foreign mission, when he graduated with a master’s degree in philosophy in 1951, he found himself drawn to seminary and Bible teaching.

In August of 1951, he wrote to Jim Elliot to commit himself to joining Jim in Ecuador—unmarried. After informing Olive of his decision, Pete sailed to Ecuador with Jim in February of 1952. The two men studied Spanish in Quito and began plans with Dr. Tidmarsh to reopen the mission station at Shandia. Unlike Jim, Peter was unskilled at practical building and repairing and struggled with feeling like a burden to the other missionaries, especially as health problems occasionally forced him to recuperate in Quito. But as the station was more established, Pete contributed his skills as a Bible teacher among the Quichuas. In June of 1954, he returned to Seattle to marry Olive and the two settled in Quito, Ecuador for Olive’s language studies.

In September 1955, after Nate Saint and Ed McCully located a Waorani settlement, the group began making plans to initiate contact. When invited to join in “Operation Auca,” Pete was more cautious than the rest of the group about approaching a dangerous tribe and leaving his young wife alone in the jungle but committed to the project in December 1955. With the four other young men, Pete made initial friendly contact with three members of the Waorani community, followed quickly by the sudden attack on January 8, 1956.