On this date, November 17, 2018, John Allen Chau, a
Covenant Journey alumni, was martyred by the Sentinelese tribal people on the
island of North Sentinel.
We, the comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will remember him
as a Christian Martyr:
 |
John
Chau
(December
18, 1991 to November 17, 2018)
|
U.S. Missionary
Killed on North Sentinel Island Had Missouri Ties
NOVEMBER 22, 2018 BY
An American
killed in a bow-and-arrow attack by a secluded tribe on an Indian Ocean island
had ties to the Show-Me-State. 27-year old John Chau was apparently
working for a group called All Nations that trains missionaries and sends them
around the globe to spread their religious beliefs. All Nations is based
in Kansas City. They issued a statement Wednesday saying they are
mourning Chau’s death and that they’re working to confirm the circumstances
with authorities in the United States and overseas. Chau is believed to
have been killed in an attack on North Sentinel Island. Visits to the
island are illegal due in part to the secluded and often violent attitude by
the local tribesmen toward outsiders. The seven fishermen who escorted
Chau to the island have been arrested.
Christian
Martyr: John Allen Chau
Nov
21, 2018
John Allen Chau, a Covenant Journey alumni, was martyred on November 17
by the Sentinelese tribal people on the island of North Sentinel. "When I heard the news of John’s death, I couldn’t
believe it. I was numb. John loved people, and he loved Jesus. He was willing
to give his life to share Jesus with the people on North Sentinel island,"
said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Covenant Journey. "Ever since
high school, John wanted to go to North Sentinel to share Jesus with this
indigenous people," said Staver.
"John loved his parents and his family. Our thoughts and prayers go
out to them. While we grieve, John is celebrating eternal life with Jesus, whom
he loved dearly," said Staver.
Born on December 18, 1991, John was one month away from his 27th
birthday. He was a graduate of Oral Roberts University where he obtained a
Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science (Sports Medicine). He
desired to complete an M.D. degree at Loma Linda University. He was an athlete,
an outdoors adventurer, and a lover of Jesus. He had been on several mission
trips in the United States and in South Africa.
John was also an alumni of Covenant
Journey since August 2015. Covenant Journey is a ministry that provides a
life-changing 10-day experience in Israel for Christian college-age students who
demonstrate leadership skills. The mission of Covenant Journey is to strengthen
the Christian faith of college-age students and introduce them to Israel
through an immersive program in the Holy Land. In his Covenant Journey survey
about his experience in Israel, John wrote: "This
trip impacted my faith by opening my eyes to the complete reality of being
where Jesus Christ actually had been when He was my age! I don't think I had
fully grasped the humanity of Jesus before this trip, and it definitely has strengthened
my faith and made the Bible more alive to me."
Students
selected for Covenant Journey pay only $500 and the remainder of the costs are
underwritten. Students from more than 300 colleges and universities have
participated in Covenant Journey.
The North
Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman Islands under the jurisdiction of India.
The Sentinelese tribal people are isolated from outside contact and have a
long, violent history. In the 1990s, the Indian government imposed a three-mile
buffer around the island and warned people not to enter. In August 2018,
the Indian government removed the Restricted Area Permit from 29 islands, which
includes North Sentinel.
Historically,
the government has not prosecuted the indigenous people of North Sentinel
Island when they have murdered outsiders. Before John’s martyrdom, the
last reported murder was in 2006 when some fishermen came too close to the
island, and the Sentinelese captured and killed them. India refused to
prosecute or hold anyone responsible for their deaths.
 |
John
Chau
(December
18, 1991 to November 17, 2018)
|
Based
on information that has become available since his death, it is now
known that John went to Port Blair where he reportedly hired fishermen to
take him near North Sentinel. About one-half mile from the island, he left the
boat and paddled ashore in his kayak. Last Thursday, November 15, a Sentinelese
boy shot John with an arrow, but it hit his Bible which he was holding to
his chest. The tip barely penetrated the Bible but saved him from the attack.
John left the
island and returned the next day on Friday, November 16, to make contact
with the people. Because of their isolation, no outsider knows the language of
the Sentinelese. He took gifts seeking to befriend them.
On Saturday,
November 17, the fishermen returned to take John back to Port Blair. They
reportedly saw that John was shot by arrows but kept walking. He was killed by
the Sentinelese. The tribals placed a rope around his neck and dragged him
along the shore where they would bury his body. The fishermen turned their boat
around and informed authorities upon their arrival in Port Blair. Helicopters
dispatched to North Sentinel to investigate John’s murder were unable to land.
Even when the
island was devastated by an earthquake and a tsunami, the Sentinelese shot
arrows at helicopters and boats bringing humanitarian relief. In its effort to
preserve the distinctness of the indigenous Sentinelese, the Indian government
has granted extreme autonomy - even to the point of allowing the senseless
murder of outsiders. Here is a video
about the tribe.
“This is not right,” said Staver. “His family deserves to bring John’s body back home where he
can be buried. Human life is a universal inalienable right. John was seeking to
bring them peace and the Prince of Peace. May his sacrifice bring about change
and new life to many in North Sentinel and around the world,” said
Staver.
Reportedly, a total of seven people, including the
fishermen, have been charged with culpable homicide for either knowing or
participating in John’s mission to the island. Some unknown people (presumably
the Sentinelese) have been charged with his death, but the Indian government
has thus far refused to prosecute the Sentinelese for prior murders. In their
efforts to “protect” the Sentinelese from outside visitors, the Indian
government has essentially treated North Sentinel as a sovereign island.
“While some reports suggest that John
Chau was merely an adventurer, his purpose in visiting North Sentinel was not
for sightseeing. He took gifts to them and carried his Bible because he wanted
to befriend the Sentinelese to share Jesus with them. He loved Jesus more than
life. John was a courageous martyr for Jesus. John’s life and his love for
Jesus, to the point of giving his own life to bring the gospel to others,
will be remembered and will echo throughout eternity. I know that God will
bring good out this loss,” said Staver.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://www.covenantjourney.org/details/john-allen-chau
Burial of the Dead
1662
ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in
the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered
from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We give thee hearty
thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the
miseries of this sinful world; beseeching thee that it may please thee, of thy
gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to
hasten thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith
of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and
soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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