Spirit of Chicago
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“From Chicago with Love-No Strings Attached”
Three years after "Operation Auca" ended in the massacre of five missionaries on "Palm Beach" , the Auca tribe experienced a change of heart, and urged Nate Saint's sister Rachel, and Jim Elliot's widow Betty, along with her four year old daughter Valerie, to come live with them . Working alongside MAF pilots, JAARS pilot Bob Griffin, flying a new STOL Helio Courier named the "Spirit of Chicago" flew weekly supply missions, delivering groceries and medicine to the village of Tiwaeno from mid-1958 to early 1960. With the runway still under construction, Bob delivered necessities by cargo parachute, delayed to open in the last moments of freefall to keep them out of the jungle treetops ringing the village. By the time the Tiwaeno runway was ready, Bob was flying into remote jungle airstrips half a world away.






