The year was 1932. Under the auspices of the China Inland Mission, or CIM, John and Betty Stam were sent out from the Madison Avenue Baptist Church in Paterson as missionaries to China. Two years later, on Dec. 6, 1934, Tsingtao, the city where they were ministering, was captured by the Communists.

            The Stams were arrested and all their possessions confiscated. Incredibly, amidst all the rioting and looting, John Stam was able to scribble a letter that fell into the hands of the CIM headquarters. The letter explained that their captors were demanding $20,000 for their release. But their release never occurred.

            Two days later, they were led from their prison and taken to a clump of pine trees on a hill a short distance from the town. As Communist agitators addressed the gathered crowd, John and Betty Stam were beheaded - martyred for their missionary work.

            The Stams were a gentle couple. They went to China, hearts filled with love for the Chinese and in obedience to the Great Commission: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," (Mark 16:15).

            It can be difficult for many people to understand what good could result from the deaths of dedicated Christian missionaries who minister in a foreign country, to a people who are not their own, who speak a different language and embrace a different culture.         

           But another such case, made into a film, will open later this month in theaters nationwide. It recounts the story of five missionaries who were speared to death in the Amazon rain forest in 1956 by a Stone-Age tribe of Indians known as the Aucas.

            Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Nate Saint, Ed McCully and Roger Youdarian were American missionaries working in Ecuador. They had learned of a savage Indian tribe that had killed several Shell Oil company employees. The Aucas were so violent that six of every 10 deaths were homicides committed against each other by spearing.

            Fearless, the missionaries initiated contact through an ingenious method of lowering a bucket of gifts from a small airplane. As Nate Saint flew the bright yellow single-engine Piper PA-14 overhead, banking it in a tight circle, a bucket was lowered on a long rope. It remained nearly motionless, just long enough for several curious Aucas to help themselves to the contents.

            This continued for several months. Thinking they had gained the tribe's trust, the missionaries landed their plane on a sand bar in the Curaray River. Over the ensuing days, they made several friendly, face-to-face encounters and even gave one of the Aucas, Naenkiwi, a ride in the plane. But on January 8, 1956, all five missionaries were attacked and brutally murdered.

            The world recoiled in horror.

            The images of the mutilated bodies, recovered from the Curaray River, appeared in newspapers across the county. LIFE Magazine ran a 10-page story on the incident. It seemed to be nothing more than a tragic loss.

            But what happened next could be viewed as one of the greatest acts of forgiveness in the 20th century: Two years later, Elisabeth Elliot, Jim Elliot's wife, and Rachel Saint, Nate Saint's sister, went to live with the tribe, now known as the Waodani. The women studied the tribe’s language and learned their culture. Their demonstration of forgiveness to the men who murdered their loved ones so moved the Waodani, they were given the opportunity to share the greatest story of forgiveness—Christ’s death on the cross. Many of the Indians were converted to Christianity. The murder rate dropped 90 percent.

            Years later, Steve Saint, Nate Saint's son, moved his family from Florida to live with the Waodani. His children now call Mincaye, one of the tribal elders, "grandfather," even though he killed their real grandfather.

            Sunday, January 8, marks the 50th anniversary of the deaths of these five missionaries.

            In 2005, a 2-hour documentary, "Beyond the Gates of Splendor," was released on DVD. It recounts this story of forgiveness that sprang from martyrdom with interviews of Elisabeth Elliot, Rachel Saint and the wives and colleagues of the other missionaries. Many of the Waodani also appear in the documentary, which contains original footage shot in the jungles of Ecuador.

            On January 20, "End of the Spear," will open in 1,200 theaters across the country. The movie stars Louie Leonardo ("Law & Order," "ER" and "Charlie's Angels") as Mincaye and Chad Allen ("St. Elsewhere," "My Two Dads," "Our House" and "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman") who plays both Nate Saint and his son, Steve.

           "End of the Spear" tells the story from the Waodani's point of view, showing how this extraordinary act of forgiveness led to an end of tribal violence and deep, caring friendships for the children of the men that were murdered.

            On October 28, 1949, Jim Elliot wrote in his diary, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose."

            In a little more than six years and two months, Elliot's words were played out in his death. n