Peter Sillence Fleming (November 23, 1928 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the

Huaorani The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...

people of Ecuador.

Early life

Fleming was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. At Queen Anne High School, Fleming earned letters in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and graduated as valedictorian of his class. He also won a citywide oratorical contest. In 1946, Fleming entered the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

as a philosophy major. He was very driven in college, working part-time and dedicating much time to prayer and Bible study, as well as keeping up on his classes. He was also elected president of the UCA at his college, and received a master's degree from there in 1951. Fleming met

Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portland ...

during many conferences and mountain climbing expeditions arranged by a large Christian organization. They were good friends and once spent six weeks preaching together across the country. Elliot had a great deal of influence on Fleming and was largely responsible for his becoming a missionary and for his decision to (temporarily) break off his engagement to Olive Ainslie, a childhood friend.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleming, Peter 1928 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Protestant martyrs American people murdered abroad American Plymouth Brethren American Protestant missionaries American evangelicals Operation Auca People from Seattle People murdered in Ecuador Protestant missionaries in Ecuador Victims of anti-Christian violence 1956 murders in Ecuador American expatriates in Ecuador