Act 5

The Aucas welcome Dayumae and the other two women home, and even provide Elisabeth with a hut of her own with a hammock for her to sleep in. The Aucas are intrigued by them and find Elisabeth's behaviour very amusing. There She Goes Again gives us the Aucas' perspective of Elisabeth, her daily trips to the river to wash her pots and clothes and her pre-occupation with books. After spending some time with the Aucas, Elisabeth muses on the adjustments she makes to Auca life in The Hammock My Home. Faithfully, Elisabeth and Dayumae teach the Aucas from the Bible. She lives with them for two and a half years before returning to America with Valerie. But her stay with the tribe leaves the Aucas with much to ponder. In O Who Are You?, the Aucas are haunted by the question of why an outsider would risk her life to tell them about Jesus.

The Journalist appears again, amazed at the turn of events. He realizes then that love has triumphed over all in Transformation. Years later, another amazing act takes place. Stephen Saint, Nate Saint's son, is baptised by one of his father's killers, Kimu, at the river where the five men were killed. Kimu pronounces that by the grace of God, the entire tribe now knows Jesus Christ. Elisabeth has the last word, encouraging the throng of people gathered to love and obey God above all else. They sing He Is No Fool (Reprise) as a fitting finale to the musical.

Act 1

The year is 1949. Talk Of The Town see the celebration as a journalist interviews a group of excited graduating students at Wheaton College about their hopes and ambitions. He learns that one of them, Jim Elliot, has set his sights on being a missionary to South America. Listen Young Man talks of this foolishness to throw his future away. But Jim was not moved. He Is No Fool reveals how Jim saw the luxury and pleasures of this world in contrast to the eternal prize that counts in serving God. He even issues a challenge to his good friend Ed McCully to join him as a missionary, but Ed declines.

The next scene introduces Elisabeth Howard as she muses over the man that God has chosen for her in Betty's Song. Elisabeth (Betty) had met Jim when they were both in a Foreign Missions Fellowship group. Their mutual admiration is revealed in a chance meeting and Jim is impressed with Elisabeth when he learns she has decided to be a missionary.

That Christmas, Jim learns that a missionary in Ecuador needs help. Jim feels the call to go, but as a single man. He confesses his love to Elisabeth. Must I Choose shows how he agonises over having to choose between serving God and being with the woman he loves. But the choice is clear to him-he must obey God. He also reveals that he has learnt of a tribe called the Aucas, one of the most savage tribes in South America, being known to kill upon contact with outsiders. Jim's interest in this tribe is piqued, and his first response is a desire to reach them with the gospel. Convinced of his calling, Jim leaves for Ecuador with Pete Fleming, a family friend.

Act 2

Jim and Pete arrive in Shandia, Ecuador, and set up a school for children in the village. They also started to learn Spanish, making some progress in Uno Dos Tres. However, in July 1953, Ecuador experiences its wettest rainy season in thirty years. There is a terrible storm. After five days of continuous rain and the threat of the nearby Napa breaking its banks and flooding the surrounding settlements, Pete and Jim are forced to abandon their hut and move to drier, higher ground. Uno (Reprise) laments the year’s work of Jim and Pete was is destroyed in six days.

Jim sends news to Elisabeth in Dos Rios, that “Shandia is no more". Eventually Jim hears from Elisabeth and is overjoyed to learn that she has been offered a missionary's job in Ecuador. He composes a poem, She Came Today, upon her arrival. Then Jim receives another piece of good news: Ed McCully, whom he had challenged to give his life to God, is coming with his wife Marilou to join him in Shandia. An opportunity also emerges for a mission post to be established in a village called Puyupungu. It would be ideal for a married couple to be stationed there. However, Ed and Marilou are too new to the jungle to start the mission and Pete is returning to America to get married. Then it becomes clear to Jim that this was an opening for him and Elisabeth to take up the task.

As time passes, Elisabeth gives birth to their first child, Valerie. All this while however, Jim is still thinking of the Auca Indians and prays for God to open a way for him to reach them.
Not long after, Jim learns from Nate Saint, a pilot with the Missionary Aviation Fellowship, that an Auca girl has left her tribe and sought refuge at a plantation owned by a Quichua Indian. Nate and his wife Marj arrange for Jim to meet her. In Dayumae's Warning, the Auca girl tells a frightening story of a family feud that has left the rest of her family dead. She warns Jim and Nate not to trust the Aucas. But Jim is adamant and wants Dayumae to teach him the Auca language.

Some time later, in a routine flight over the jungle, Nate spots a clearing he believes to be Auca territory. Together with Jim, they gather three other men, Pete, Ed and Roger Youderian, another missionary, and plan to make contact with the Aucas. Their first move will be to fly over Auca territory and offer them gifts using basket drops. In His Name Is Jesus, the five men and their their wives reiterate their commitment to reach the lost for Jesus.

Act 3

The Aucas hear the sounds of an aeroplane overhead and eagerly receive the gifts that are dropped via baskets. They even beckon to the plane, inviting it to land. The five men decide it is time to make ground contact as the gestures from the Aucas thus far seem friendly. Nate has found a stretch of beach near the Auca territory to land on. They nickname it Palm Beach. On January 3 1956, the men land on Palm Beach.

They call out to the Aucas using the phrases Dayumae taught them. Three Aucas emerge from the jungle. After spending the day in friendly casual contact with the men, the Aucas return to the jungle at nightfall. In At The Door, the excited men anticipate the impending meeting with the rest of the tribe, the culmination of months of prayer and work. The next day, they go to meet the Aucas again. Nate excitedly radios Marj to await a report from them at 4.30pm. The five men move towards the jungle to meet the Aucas. They are speared to death.

The next scene brings us back to the Saints' home where Elisabeth meets Marj and confirms that Nate did not radio at 4.30 pm. A search party is launched as the wives of Pete, Ed and Roger arrive to join Elisabeth and Marj. Later, a member of the search party reports that the bodies of the five men have been found.

At this juncture, the Journalist appears again and scorned the foolish acts of the men and the religious fervour that caused their deaths as Such Tragedy.

Act 4

Little Valerie Elliot asks her mother when her father is coming home. In Goodnight, Tonight, she sings of how she misses her father and wishes he were home. Then unexpectedly, Elisabeth receives word from Marilou that two Auca women have left their tribe and appeared at a Quichua settlement. She goes to meet them with Dayumae. It turns out they are Dayumae's aunts, whom she thought were dead, and they reveal that other members of Dayumae's family are still alive too. Dayumae is overjoyed and decides to return to her tribe. She asks Elisabeth to go with her, to teach the Aucas the Bible so that they will stop their killing. In Invitation, Dayumae promises to protect Elisabeth and says that she will not be perceived a threat because she is a woman. The Journalist reappears as the voice of secular reason and scepticism, warning Elisabeth against making another reckless and foolish decision. However, Elisabeth prays over it and decides to go with Dayumae.