50th Anniversary

Bridge of Blood

By David H. Robie

Directed by David Potter

Bridge of Blood is the story of the martyrdom of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries in the jungles of Ecuador in 1956. The faith of these men and their wives and their subsequent deaths was a catalyst for many in America and all around the world in committing their lives more deeply to Christ as well as bringing many of the Aucas (Ow-cuhs) to Christ.

January 8th, 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of the men. To commemorate this, Catalyst is presenting Bridge of Blood at Cedar Park Church in Bothell during the evening service. On January 20th, a feature-length movie based on this story called End of the Spear will be released in theaters. The trailer for this exciting movie will be presented at the January 8th event as well.

Date: January 8th, 2006
Time: 6:00 pm
Where: Cedar Park Church; 16300 - 112th Avenue NE; Bothell, WA 98012; (425) 488-3600; Directions

Cast

Jim Elliot husband of Elisabeth Even as a young man, Jim believed it was the highest religious calling for a man to be celibate and give his entire life to the service of God and the church. He reconsidered the celibacy aspect after meeting Elisabeth (Betty) at Wheaton College. Jim went on to Ecuador alone as a missionary, but soon was reacquainted with Betty, who was also a missionary. They married in 1953. Jim and four other missionaries were killed in 1956 as they tried to bring a message of peace to the savage Waodani tribe. Two years later, his wife and daughter went into the jungle to live among the people who had killed him and deliver the message for which he gave his life.	Bob Jordan Jim Elliot Bob joined the cast of Bridge of Blood in 2004 as Nate Saint and his passion for people made a significant difference as he helped us go into prisons for the first time. Bob has been involved in prison ministry for more than 25 years and has a wife and eight children.
Elisabeth Elliot wife of Jim Elisabeth (Betty) went to Ecuador as a missionary to the Quichua Indians, where she was reacquainted with Jim Elliot, whom she had met while attending Wheaton College. They were married in 1953. After Jim was killed in 1956, Betty stayed in Ecuador. Two years later, Betty and her daughter Valerie went to live with the same Waodani tribe responsible for her husband's death, bringing a message of forgiveness and love. Eventually Betty returned to the states, where she began speaking and writing books about her missionary experience. She has published over 14 books and currently lives in Massachusetts with her husband Laars Gren.	Michelle Potter Elisabeth Elliot Michelle has a passion for using the medium of drama to reach people for Christ. As a drama teacher, actor, and co-founder of Catalyst, she enjoys finding ways to bring the story alive for people and changing how they look at Jesus. This will be her third year playing the role of Elisabeth, and this year she has taken additional roles including multimedia content creation and promotion. Michelle has four children with her husband David.
Nate Saint husband of Marjorie From the age of 7, Nate loved airplanes. He started taking flying lessons at age 18, became a sergeant in the Air Corps, and served in the Air Force during World War II. In 1947, the Missionary Aviation Fellowship asked Nate to come to Ecuador. He and his new wife Marj established bases in Shell Mera and Arajuno so Nate could fly supplies, equipment, and personnel to the jungle missionary stations. It was Nate's idea to make friendly contact with the Waodani by delivering gifts dropped by plane from a bucket on a string. He and his four missionary friends were killed by the Waodani in 1956.	Marc Ronningen Nate Saint Marc is excited about being involved in a project that makes a difference. He brings a sense of realism to his portrayal of the roles he plays.
Marjorie Saint wife of Nate Marj and Nate met at the University of Southern California, where she received her nursing degree. They married and moved to Ecuador in 1948 to take a position with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship. Nate flew supplies to missionary stations while Marj tracked his flights, the weather, and his fuel supply. After Nate was speared to death by the Waodani in 1956, Marj and their three children moved to Quito, Ecuador, and ran a missionary guest house. Marj is currently retired in Florida.	Marsha Widell Marj Saint This is Marsha's second year playing Marj Saint. "Marj's dedication and courage in following her husband to Ecuador proves her love for our Lord and Savior. My hope is that I can portray her as the Lord sees her according to Luke 9:23 - If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
Pete Fleming husband of Olive Pete began dating Olive, a childhood friend, while a student at the University of Washington. Although he planned to marry her, his plans changed when he met Jim Elliot, who convinced him not only to join him as a missionary to Ecuador, but also to remain celibate. Once in Ecuador, Pete know he still loved Olive, and asked her to marry him and join him in the jungle. Soon after the young couple was married, Jim and Nate Saint asked Pete to join them in reaching out the savage Waodani Indians. Pete and his friends became the victims of a surprise Waodani spearing raid in 1956, only 18 months after his marriage to Olive.	David Potter Pete Fleming David has a passion for reaching people for Christ and encouraging others to do the same. David is a co-founder of Catalyst and is its director and producer and has been involved with the drama program at Cedar Park for over 10 years, playing various roles including various disciples, Pilate, Caiaphas, and Jesus in the annual Easter play. David has four children with his wife Michelle.
Olive Fleming wife of Pete Olive met Pete Fleming while still a young girl - their families were friends. Although the two began dating when she was 17, Pete broke off the relationship to become a missionary in Ecuador with his friend Jim Elliot. A few months after he left, Pete proposed to Olive in a letter, asking her to marry him and move to Ecuador. She accepted. Shortly before Pete and his four friends began trying to make contact with the Waodani, Olive suffered her second miscarriage. Not long after, at age 23, Olive became a widow when Pete was speared to death by the Waodani. She moved home to Washington to recover and remarried Walt Liefeld in 1959. Today Olive and Walt are enjoying retirement in Washington.	Teresa Wilson Olive Fleming Teresa joins us this year after taking some time off from drama. She has acted in the church for many years and has enjoyed including her son in drama this past year.
Ed McCully husband of Marilou While pursuing a career in law at Marquette in 1950, Ed met Jim Elliot and decided to go with him to Ecuador. Ed met and married Marilou in 1951 and they became missionaries to the Quichua Indians in Ecuador. In 1955, Ed joined a small group of fellow missionaries in their efforts to make contact with the Waodani. He died in 1956, killed by the same people he had hoped to reach with a message of peace and love.	Chris King Ed McCully Chris rejoins us after being away for a number of years. He brings a sense of gratitude and realism to his roles, invigorating the whole team.
Marilou McCully wife of Ed Marilou married Ed McCully in 1951. Shortly thereafter, the young couple moved to the jungle of Ecuador to server as missionaries to the Quichua Indians in Arajuno. The McCullys were very aware of a savage jungle tribe, then known as the Aucas, who had killed several of the Quichuas. So Marilou and Ed readily accepted the invitation from other missionaries in 1955 to be part of "Operation Auca" to reach the savage tribe with the message of God's love. After Ed's death at the hands of the Aucas in 1956, Marilou and her three sons moved to Ecuador's capital city of Quito and ran a boardinghouse for the children of jungle missionaries. She chose to never remarry and lived with one of her sons until recently passing away in 2004.	Nola Baxter Marilou McCully Nola has a passion for reaching people in the prisons. She was especially affected as we saw the power of God touching men's lives at Shelton and Monroe last year.
Roger Youderian husband of Barbara While serving as a paratrooper in World War II, Roger had a religious experience during a chapel service, after which his fellow troopers noticed an "uncanny calmness and peace" about him. Roger met Barbara while attending Northwestern College, where they both studied missionary medicine. They were married in 1951 and left for Ecuador shortly thereafter. Roger was killed by the Waodani, along with four missionary friends, in 1956.	Randy Radke Roger Youderian Reaching people, particularly youth, motivated Randy to get involved with this project. He is excited about the opportunity to bring the powerful message of this story to people who might not ever set foot into a church.
Barbara Youderian wife of Roger Barb met Roger at Northwestern College, where she was taking missionary medical classes. They married in 1951 and moved to Ecuador. After Roger was killed by the Waodani in January of 1956, Barbara chose to stay in Ecuador, moving to the capital city of Quito where she ran a boarding school for the children of missionaries. Barb chose to never remarry and is currently enjoying retirement in Florida.	Kathy Carlucci Barbara Youderian Kathy's heart is for missions, having studied it in college. Even though she is not able to go herself, being a member of this team enables her to take the message of missions beyond the borders of her home church.