- Frank Drown
Frank Drown (born ca. 1920) is an American
author and formermissionary . He and his wife Marie worked for 37 years with theJivaro Indians of easternEcuador , who were known for theirhead shrinking .The Drowns worked alongside missionary
Roger Youderian and his family for three years in the 1950s. They had also been instrumental in directing them to the mission field. In 1955, Roger joined with four other missionaries inOperation Auca , an effort to reach theHuaorani , another Indian tribe in the area. When the five men turned up missing, Drown led the ground search party into Huaorani territory to locate the men. They discovered four of the bodies, including Roger's and buried the men and amass grave . Drown led a quick funeral service at the gravesite before a severe tropical storm blew in. Roger's wife Barbara continued to work with the Drowns for many years after Roger's death.In 1959, after 15 years living in Ecuador, and three years after his fellow missionary had been killed, the Drowns were asked to write a book about their lives as missionaries. After the success Elisabeth Elliot's best-seller "
Through Gates of Splendor ", the publishers believed such a book would be in demand. And so the Drown's co-authored a book which became the memoirs. It is called "Mission to the Headhunters".Drown was interviewed for the 2004 documentary "
Beyond the Gates of Splendor " where he described in detail what happened during the search party's expedition.The Drown's son Ross became a missionary pilot and is now in business. He married Kathy Saint, the daughter of
Nate Saint who was also killed during Operation Auca.Today the Drowns live in retirement near
Kansas City, Missouri .References
* [http://www.missiontotheheadhunters.com/index.htm Mission to the Headhunters] official site
* [http://store.avantministries.org/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BK-00020 Mission to the Headhunters] at Avant Ministries
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1857927214 Mission to the Headhunters] atAmazon.com
* "Beyond the Gates of Splendor " (2002 documentary)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
