Chapter One

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. --Isaiah 55:11 NIV

The rugged mountainous terrain seemed to slip and slide under Danny’s usually sturdy feet. Rocks rolled underneath his feet and little landslides made the going treacherous. At the high altitude, he gasped for breath as he pushed harder and harder to reach the settlement that he had first seen from the ridge across the valley. As the dirt and stones flew from under his feet, he puffed his way up a grade, drawing ever nearer to his intended goal.

Suddenly Danny found himself flat on the ground. In his swift pace to reach the village, he had stumbled over something that sent him flying. Now he lay there, scratched, bruised, and bleeding from a cut or two. Slowly he got himself up and dusted off his shirt and trousers. Wiping away the dirt from his face, he turned to look at what had so abruptly interrupted his mad dash to reach his goal.

A few feet back he caught a glimpse of something on the ground. Slowly he made his way back down the path and started to brush away the years’ accumulation of dirt and rocks and overgrown mountain grasses. At first he couldn’t tell what it was—some sort of box imbedded into the ground. Scraping away the mud he saw the inscription etched into the top. He gasped as he read the words, “Here lie the remains of Ernest Fowler.”

Danny wept profusely.

So, this was it. The story he had heard was true, all of it. The martyrdom of one of God’s chosen servants, the years of uncertainty, the clear calling that he had received, indeed, had been used by the Lord for His glorious purpose.

Lying on the ground, between the tears and sobbing he cried out, “Don Ernesto! Your death has not been in vain. God has called me and led me here to carry on the work you were unable to finish over 30 years ago.”

*****

There is probably not one missionary who hasn’t wondered whether his or her ministry has achieved anything for the glory of God. So much more for those whose ministry was cut short prematurely by death, illness or some other circumstance.

 

For years, former LAM president Dr. David Howard wondered about the ministry of his close friend, missionary Ernie Fowler, who was murdered by assailants in Colombia in 1966. Ernie had worked among Colombia’s indigenous groups for over 30 years, and in particular his work with the Yukpa group ended tragically just after he began a third visit to the tribe.

Dr. Howard compared the seemingly non-existent results of Ernie’s
death with the outpouring of response to the martyrdom of five missionaries in Ecuador a decade earlier. That incident, in which five men who were attempting to reach the Auca tribe were speared on the banks of the Curaray River in the Amazon region of Ecuador , was publicized worldwide and continues to challenge missionaries today who give themselves to Christ’s service in response to that story.

Both Ernie Fowler and Jim Elliot, one of the five missionaries martyred in Ecuador , were very close friends of Dave Howard. In fact, Jim Elliot was not only his best friend at the time but also his brother-in-law, having married Dr. Howard’s sister, Elisabeth.

Dr. David Howard

As recently as 1997, Dr. Howard reflected in a Latin America Evangelist magazine article that, “While scores of people over the years have told me that the death of Jim Elliot (in Ecuador) was a definitive factor in their commitment to Christ and to His service, I am not aware of one person who has said the same because of Ernie’s death.”

But, in December 2000, those questions were answered. A young Colombian evangelist, Danny Sequeda, visited the Miami headquarters of the Latin America Mission and later met with Dr. Howard. He had a remarkable story to relate.

At the age of 15 Danny committed himself to serving the Lord among Colombia ’s indigenous groups. One day he sensed the Lord saying the word “Yukpa,” to him. Having no idea what that meant, he inquired of veteran Plymouth Brethren missionary Carl Lehmann what it might mean. Imagine his surprise when he discovered that not only did Carl know the word, but also he had worked among the Yukpa Indians 30 years earlier. In addition, it was in Carl’s house that Ernie and his family were living when Ernie was murdered by a group of marauding guerrillas.

Seeking guidance, Danny followed Carl’s instructions to seek out Jesús María Pérez, the son of a friend of the Fowlers during their residence near the Indian group. Carl knew that Jesús could provide Danny with up-to-date information on the Yukpa tribe and their spiritual situation. Jesús now lives in Codazzi, a town of 60,000 people, yet Danny found him within twenty minutes of arriving in his city.

Continually inspired by God’s miraculous leading, Danny began the grueling eight-hour trip to the Yukpa village, guided by Jesús. After hiking by himself through the rugged mountains for three days, Danny spotted the Yukpa village across a valley. In his excitement, he began to run toward the village only to trip and end up sprawling on the ground.

Searching for what had interrupted his dash, he cleared away grass and dirt and found, to his amazement, that he had tripped over a small marker that had been placed on the spot where Ernie had been buried. Dr. Howard’s 14 year-old son, David Howard, Jr., who was visiting the Fowler family when the tragedy occurred, had helped John Fowler bury his father Ernie in the rocky soil high in the mountains.

Now, hundreds of Yukpa Indians are meeting to listen to the Word of God.

Dr. Howard said that he has been overwhelmed and deeply moved by Danny’s story. In relating the events of recent years, Danny told Dr. Howard that he had read the 1997 articles in the Evangelist, especially where Dr. Howard related that he was not aware of anyone who had come to the Lord because of Ernie’s death. Danny told him, “I didn’t come to know the Lord because of that, but I was called of God to serve Him and am now there. So, you can know that what is happening today is the direct fruit of Ernie’s death.”

Danny confirmed to Dr. Howard That he plans on staying in the indigenous work for the rest of his life. “This is where God has called me and opened the door,” Danny explained.

As Dr. Howard first heard Danny Sequeda’s story, he was, in his own words, “moved to tears as he recounted this incredible series of ‘coincidences’ leading to his present ministry.”

Indeed he would be. Over thirty years earlier he had devoted five chapters of his book Hammered as Gold to the story of his ministry colleague and friend, Ernie Fowler. Yet, these many decades later, he still wondered why God had allowed that death to seem to pass without any fruit being borne among the Yukpa people.

To set this remarkable story in perspective, we include next those five chapters that set the stage for an extraordinary ministry that is occurring in the high Andes mountains of Colombia in our day.