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Episode 33 With Gene Jordan and Jon Lindskoog
March 26, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
On this episode of From the Hangar, host Lem Malabuyo sits down with former MAF missionary Gene Jordan and Jon Lindskoog—both of whom grew up in Ecuador with missionary parents. Together, they reflect on the life and legacy of Nate Saint and the four other missionaries who were martyred in Ecuador in 1956.
Series From the Hangar March 26, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min · From the Hangar
On this episode of From the Hangar, host Lem Malabuyo sits down with former MAF missionary Gene Jordan and Jon Lindskoog—both of whom grew up in Ecuador with missionary parents. Together, they reflect on the life and legacy of Nate Saint and the four other missionaries who were martyred in Ecuador in 1956. ...more Show the full description Show less On this episode of From the Hangar, host Lem Malabuyo sits down with former MAF missionary Gene Jordan and Jon Lindskoog—both of whom grew up in Ecuador with missionary parents. Together, they reflect on the life and legacy of Nate Saint and the four other missionaries who were martyred in Ecuador in 1956.
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In this video 0:00 MK Roots and MAF's Call to the Waorani15:02 Landing on Palm Beach: Bold First Contact24:05 Martyrdom on the Sandbar: The Palm Beach Incident41:18 Redemption and Legacy: Spears Laid DownComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
MK Roots and MAF's Call to the Waorani 0:15 Hey, everybody. Welcome to From the Hanger podcast. I am your host, Lem Malabuyo, and happy new year. We are in January, and the new the year of 20 26 is well underway. And that is0:27 pretty exciting, and I keep thinking, where did 20 25 go? But, January is is a month here at m a f where we we commemorate the0:40 the martyrdom of the 5 missionaries in Ecuador. And this year specifically is 70 years. 70 years, since that that faithful day that happened. And so we have Jean Jordan0:52 and John Linskoog. I guess you didn't ask how to pronounce your last name. Is it Linskoog or Linskoog? Linscug. Linscug. Okay. Linscug. Right. Here to kinda just talk about, about that stuff. But before we we kinda go1:04 into the story, I wanted you guys to introduce yourselves, a little bit more detail so we we know who you guys are.1:11 Well, I'm Gene, and I've been with MAF a long time. But I actually grew up in Ecuador. My parents were missionaries, not with MAF, but with another organization.1:24 But Ecuador in the early fifties was small country. Everybody knew everybody. So I grew up always knowing about MAF and that there was a guy named Nate that1:35 was down in the jungle with a little yellow airplane.1:38 Yeah. Awesome. How about yourself, John?1:41
1:53 among the Chachi people. Okay. They were with Wycliffe, served many years with that organization. So we arrived in Ecuador in 19 53, and I was, like, 5 weeks old. Wow.
2:05 And, mom and dad began work among the Chachi as the first missionary couple that had ever, settled among them.
2:15 Did you guys did you guys know each other out there?
2:17 Oh, yeah.
2:18 Oh, wow. I did not I did not put that together. Yeah. How awesome is that?
2:22 We ended up going to the same missionary kid, MK, school in the capital city of Quito.
2:29 Oh, wow. That's so cool. I love it.
2:30 We'll see
2:31 man, I I know where this is gonna be a pre focus and, you know, emphasized the the story of the of of, the 5 missionaries. But, man, see, like, I should just get you guys to talk about your
2:43 MK experiences out in Ecuador. How awesome
2:45 would you Maybe you don't want us
2:46 to talk about that. Oh, man. That's so great. Okay. Well, thank you guys for for coming on and introducing yourselves. And this this conversation is gonna be I think it's gonna be really, really great. So
2:58 thanks for that. Just to kinda, like, set the stage here, let's let's kinda go into a little bit of history here. So it's it's 19 48. Right? Is when Nate Saint and
3:10 Marge Saint went down to Shell, Ecuador to establish the base, the MAF base there. And so they were the first MAF missionaries in Ecuador, to be and and pilot to be in there.
3:23 And that that spot is strategically, like, right at the kind of, like, right there in the Amazon. So, like, they can fly into the people groups and and and reach reach the groups out there
3:35 by by the airplane. And so it essentially, just at over years, flying out there, they they essentially learned about this people group
3:46 that were very violent towards outsiders and very difficult to reach. Well, you know, for for Nate and other missionaries in the area, that was that was something that really tugged on
3:58 their hearts, and they really wanted to see if they can reach out to these people and see how they can help and meet their needs. And so Nathan started flying around trying to find a way to do, like, drop offs
4:10 and and points where they can do contacts. And, eventually, he found the sandbar on the river. What's the river's name? I can't remember the name of the river.
4:18 Kudarai. Kudarai. Kudarai.
4:21 Also, I was, like, thinking, I can't roll my r's. I'm gonna sound so American on this podcast, and you guys are gonna sound really great. So that's that's cool. That's cool. But, anyway, so, they say
4:32 basically, he he found a place where they can make a contact with this people group and, told 4 other missionaries about that. Those 4 missionaries being Jim Elliot, Pete
4:44 Fleming, Ed McCauley, and Roger Udarian. And so those 5 those 5, had the endeavor of of reaching out to, yeah, this this people group that
4:56 was very hard to reach, not necessarily because of geographically, but also, they were very violent towards outsiders. So, anyway, how how was that for
5:06 Well, Nate Nate had been flying for quite a few years, and he was told if you fly from the North Jungle or where he was working with Pete and Jim and Ed, with the
5:17 Quechua people, and you have to go down south to do something for Roger down in the Shuai area, don't fly straight down. Kinda curve out by the mountains back by the
5:29 Shell base. Don't fly over this territory where these people are because if you have a, engine problem or something and you have to make emergency landing and you survive
5:41 that, the people are gonna kill you. And Nate's immediate thought was, if they want me to do that, I wanna go find them and tell them there's a God creator that created them, a God
5:52 that loves them. So he did start looking as he served in the different jungle areas.
5:59 That's awesome. And I think I that's 1 thing I I love about, like, missionary pilots, right, is that, they're simply not just pilots, but they're missionaries. Their heart is for people
6:11 to know Jesus. And so they just have this really great skill set and very pointed skill set that's strategic in these places. But really, it's like you hear stories like that about Nate
6:23 where where they tell him, like, don't fly over this because if if you have to encounter these people because of an accident, they are going to kill you. And he is thinking, Well no, but they need to know Jesus
6:34 too. So I just love that. I love that. So yeah, I mean, Jean, why don't you kinda just tell us kind of, like, your thoughts on on these 5 missionaries and, their
6:46 heart for these the people groups down there.
6:48 Well, both both John and I grew up knowing, the kids whose parents were killed in 19 56. And so it's a story that we've
7:00 always known about. As I look back on it, of course, I'm a good bit older now, but as I look back on it, I was always amazed at how young
7:12 these guys were. You know, Nate was, the oldest 1 at 32. Pete Fleming was the youngest 1. I mean, they weren't that far out of college. They had just
7:24 started their missionary careers. They were very, very capable men, very capable, yet so young.
7:33 Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, they were just out of their careers, but Nate being being the oldest, but he had been flying for probably 7 years. Right? Like,
7:45 if you do the math, like, 19 48, 56, and it's I don't know. It's
7:50 6 60 years old. Wanted to join the US Air Corps during World War 2 0, really? And get pilot training, you know, through the military. But, he washed out. They didn't
8:02 accept him. He had a type of bone infection, osteomyelitis, that he didn't pass the physical. And it's like, hey, God, what are you doing? But he washed out, and they said,
8:14 you're you're gonna be an airplane mechanic. And he turned out to have a gift for that. He was very inquisitive, and he was a very, very good mechanic. And then after the war,
8:26 he he went ahead and got his own flight ratings. Mhmm. And, so so God kinda put a little stumbling block as he first started. This is what I'm gonna do. And God knows that, no. I need
8:38 a I need a guy who's very good in maintenance first, then we'll teach you how to fly.
8:42 That's great. That's awesome. Oh, man. Okay. So, John, can you, like, talk about the 4 other missionaries?
8:49 Well, Nate, of course, was the pilot, and he flew everywhere all around the jungle. Mhmm. Hard work. I mean, flying in and out of muddy little airstrips and very
9:01 tough conditions, loading, unloading, teen times a day. Gene knows it well as an experienced, you know, MAF pilot. But the other men,
9:14 were already engaged in other types of missionary efforts. We've mentioned, Jim, Pete, Ed Mhmm. Were all 3, well established with their wives in the work
9:26 among the Quechua, in different settlements. And so it's not that they were, like, waiting on the sidelines and then 1 day, let's go.
9:36 Yeah. Okay.
9:36 They were actively involved in ministering to other indigenous groups while at the same time thinking about the Waurni and where they might be. I mentioned Roger.
9:48 Now he was in another indigenous group working with the Shuar and the Ashwaar group farther south. He was assigned with a different mission. But between the 4 of them, they really all had a heart for this.
10:00 And when they got together with Nate, he advised them that 1 day as he was passing over the jungle on 1 of his routes, he saw a clearing that,
10:12 was within what they had decided was the Huarani territory. And so this was a real breakthrough. And so very shortly after that, they began actually circling that clearing
10:24 and trying to figure out how they could be friendly towards the Waianae. They knew they were Waianae. The first clue is they're naked, for 1 thing, and they are living in a
10:36 primitive style thatch hut that goes all the way to the ground. This was unlike other indigenous groups in Ecuador. And so they knew they had found the Guarani people. So now how do we
10:48 make contact? So some of the early attempts weren't, so successful, but for example, parachutes. They tried to throw parachutes out, let's say with an axe head or machete or
11:00 aluminum pot. These things were of extreme value because the guarani uncontacted had 0 metal. They made their pots out of clay. They even, in the early days, used
11:11 Chonta wood and carved it, sharp to make a machete for clearing brush and stuff for their gardens. And, originally, they used stone head excuse me.
11:25 Sorry.
11:26 No. You're good.
11:27 They used stone axes to cut down the bigger trees, which took more than 10 times longer than with the regular axe. And so by dropping or trying to drop these gifts, they were
11:39 providing a wonderful service and really being friendly to them, but also helping them out tremendously in terms of dropping valuables. The problem was the parachute often got caught in a a tree 100 feet
11:51 off the ground. Yeah. And or it fell in the river and washed downstream before they could grab it. There were all kinds of problems with with parachutes. And so Nate, being the innovator that he was,
12:04 came up with a very unique method that actually worked very well.
12:09 Yeah. 1 thing I find fascinating is so I'm an old guy, but I'm not that old. But in my lifetime, Nate and these guys actually
12:21 allowed the Waorani to move from the stone age. I mean, we think of the stone age being the Flintstones. Yeah. But when you think of it, as John said, that they had
12:34 hardwood that they sharpened and they had rocks that they would take a flat rock and smash it, break and get an edge, and and that's all they had. So a machete that came out of this
12:45 airplane flying around moved them from the stone age Yeah. To the industrial age. You know? It's just an amazing transformation.
12:54 That is that is incredible.
12:55 And, like like John said, Nate figured out that, like, if I take a a string with a ball on it, I can pull it around. Every kid's done that. Mhmm. Nate figured out if
13:07 I and the airplane fly a circle, hold my altitude, and let a rope with weight on it out of the airplane, it will come down and eventually seek the
13:19 center of the circle opposite of this. And so he learned how to drop a weight, a bucket, a basket with gifts in it to the community so that they would know that this thing flying up
13:31 there was friendly. And and they they they got the idea because they started putting gifts back in the basket to send back up to the airplane. So
13:43 the
13:43 That's cool.
13:44 The airplane allowed a huge jump from the stone age to today. Yeah. And also, the first communication was through rope on the end on the back
13:56 of an airplane.
13:57 Yeah. Wow. That's that's really neat. And I think that was I mean, as far as, like, historical moments, right, like, Nate St. Figuring that out, that's something that aviators, like,
14:09 historically look back on as, like, a a breakthrough, right, in in drops or something in in technology? Am I getting that right?
14:16 Or I I do know that, other people have looked at it. I I know that, the US Air Force also looked at it. You know, can we get somebody out of a situation? But now with helicopters, maybe it's not Yeah.
14:28 But Before his time,
14:29 that was I mean, it was perfect for his time
14:32 Yeah.
14:32 What he needed to do.
14:34 Yeah. That's the that's the thing that was just so cool. Also, just like a point of pride. Right? Like, a missionary out in the the jungles of Ecuador figures something figures this thing out that, like, people look to
14:44 as, like, oh, this is really, really neat. We can probably utilize this in our own efforts. So I think that's just really neat. Well, so they they started doing this. Right? So this this is essentially his
14:56 first contact. Right? What about, like, actually meeting in person? How did how did that happen? And, you know, yeah, speak into that.
Landing on Palm Beach: Bold First Contact
15:04 Well, once they had good response, consistently from the Waianae on the ground as far as gifts coming back and waving and friendly, they really started in earnest to try to find a place where they could where Nate could
15:16 land. And so he flew up and down the rivers, and there aren't a lot of sandbars that are, you know, 600 feet long on the Kudodi River. And the other thing is with a good rainstorm, the entire
15:27 sandbar can disappear overnight. Mhmm. And so these are some of the hazards. And so and as Nate flew around, he he located the the village was actually not on the, but he
15:39 located a sandbar on the that would have been about 7, 8 minutes flight for him, and it looked like it was long enough. This was been 7, 8 minutes from the village where the were
15:51 Okay. Over to the sandbar. And so, he actually started the testing and touching the plane down on the sand with no extra weight in it and minimal fuel, to see if this
16:03 really might work. And and sure enough, he was able to put the plane down. Nate Saint was a super skilled tail dragger pilot. He wore his airplane like an old flannel shirt
16:15 because he literally just put it on every day and flew everywhere with it. Yeah. But this was a test of extreme, you know, this this tested his ability to the
16:27 max, in terms of getting getting landing and even more critical, getting back off the sandbar Yeah. With all the drag of the sand and everything, plus the fact that overnight, the river might have taken away
16:39 20 yards of your your airstrip. So he was flying kind of on the ragged edge, but he was that good. He
16:46 knew where
16:46 that edge was. That's crazy.
16:48 Yeah. But he he really didn't do something that was foolhardy. He had already used a beach in another section of the jungle as they were building out a mission station called
17:00 Puyapungu. He until they got the airstrip built there, he ferried supplies to build a mission station in and landed on the beach. So he had done it before. And as John said,
17:11 flying around, he he spotted this area. He also, we have some pictures of it in m a f of, he built 2 extra wings. He made the
17:23 piper into a biplane. He made 2 extra wings that he hooked on. What he wanted to do is get this airplane as slow as possible, as much lift as possible, so that he could land in
17:35 as short an area as possible. He never ended up using those wings, and I I think, as John said, the the the Kure Dai River, determined
17:47 how big the airstrip was or wasn't when it was a beach. So when the water levels were low, he had more sand to land on. And and I have seen that beach completely covered with
17:59 water. In January of 19 56, whatever rain had happened, the beach was long enough. And I agree with John. Nate was a skilled pilot, and they
18:11 decided they could use that beach safely.
18:15 Yeah. It sounds like he did his homework. Yep. Thorough thorough work to make sure that it was it was safe for him to land on it. So he was able to land on that on that beach. Right? And did he did
18:26 he go to the village, or did the Wailerani come to him to the beach? How did that how did that happen? Once
18:33 they were established on the beach, they got together right away and started making plans as soon as Nate realized that that they were gonna be able to land, safely. Mhmm. Jim Elliott prefabricated
18:45 a a treehouse of of of wood, and Nate flew that in. He was able to strap things on the outside of of 5 6 Henry. And even, like, 10, he even did
18:57 that sometimes with roofing material and stuff like that. But they managed to fly that wood into the beach and and climb, about 25, 30 feet up in a treehouse and built it. So all
19:09 all of them together were now engaged in the project. They found a place to land. They set up their base. They all agreed. We can do this. Let's go do this. Nate had to take them in, though,
19:22 1 or 2 at a time. And then in taking off, even in with the bigger guys, if there was no wind, he had to just take 1, because it was that hard to get back off the the sand. And
19:34 so this was where he was making decisions constantly. Every day was a different situation. Do I have any wind? You know, how much river have I, you know, how much sandbar have I lost or gained? And and
19:45 that's that's what he was faced with every day. So they, for several days, I believe it was the third of January, that he he made they made the first entrance to set up the sandbar with the
19:57 treehouse and everything. And they actually were well established and were calling, out into the jungle, like, we are your friends. They knew
20:09 some Waorani phrases, and so they were using those and boldly yelling out for the Waianae to hopefully hear them and come and and see them and meet them.
20:21 They knew that they weren't that far away. It was still a better part of a day by trail because it still was quite a ways, quite a few miles over to the settlement from the sandbar.
20:33 Okay.
20:33 So, that kinda set the stage for when the, the Waorani actually showed up to their shock 1
20:45 day on on the beach and made, friendly contact.
20:50 Very cool. And so in that contact was that contact was friendly?
20:55 Absolutely. 2 2 ladies and a and a man. The man's name was named Kiwi, and the younger girl was Gimari, Daiyuma's
21:07 younger sister actually. Okay. And then Mintaka was the middle aged gal who was actually along as a chaperone for the other 2. According to the Waorani cultural rules, an
21:19 unmarried couple cannot be out and off gallivanting around on their own. And so Mintaka came as a chaperone for Guimari and
21:30 Ninki who actually were infatuated with each other. And that, in fact, became 1 of the primary reasons that everybody got stirred
21:42 up and ended up being a contributing factor in their decision to actually come and kill the 5 men Okay. After they came and made friendly contact on Friday. Okay.
21:54 Well, let's let's back back up a little bit because, 1 of those names you also mentioned, Dyuma, she she was a, like can you talk a little bit about Dayuma? Because I think she she played
22:06 a she played a pretty big role in the first contact. Right? Because you mentioned things like, they knew some water running phrases. Was that because of, Dayuma Yes. Yourself? Okay. So he, like and you mentioned that it
22:16 was Dayuma's sister that was in that that first contact. Right? So maybe can you guys talk a little bit about who Dyuma was and and maybe the the history of who she was leading up to to the first contact?
22:27 She had fled the tribe Mhmm. Fearing for her life several years earlier and was working up on a ranch, a farm, not too far from the
22:39 Shell area. And, they had heard about her and and tried to, you know, what can we learn language wise so there might
22:51 be some communication? It wasn't until, later, though, that, Nate's sister, Rachel, really got a hold of Dioma and and started language learning from her.
23:04 The guys did learn what they thought were some phrases, you know, where your friends come to the beach, their pronunciation and how that all happened. It wasn't great
23:16 communication.
23:16 Understand that.
23:17 But they had something to start with. Mhmm. The 1 interesting thing was John talked about the treehouse that was built to get them up off the jungle floor. Nate never spent the night in the treehouse
23:29 because every afternoon, late afternoon, he would fly the airplane off the beach Okay. And go to a nearby mission station out of Hoonah Okay. And spend the night because it could have rained up in the Andes Mountains
23:41 Sure. 2 days before. The water comes down and covers the beach, and now they're stuck there. Yeah. So he'd fly off every every day Yeah. And then come back.
23:50 Yeah. And those and the and the missionaries would stay on the beach and spend the night in the house.
23:55 He would usually take Pete back to the base with him.
23:58 Wow. Okay.
23:59 And the other 3 would stay in the treehouse.
24:01 Okay. So so while I mean, so January third, right, is friendly Friday. Is is what it was known as. And then, you know, 5 daysShow more
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