by Allie Martin
Nearly 50 years ago, several missionaries died at the hands of a savage tribe in the jungles of Ecuador. The son of one of those missionaries now spends his time taking the gospel to isolated people groups worldwide.
It was in January, 1956 when five young missionaries were speared to death trying to take the gospel to a savage tribe in Ecuador. Nate Saint was one of those killed by the tribe.
Several years after his death, Nate's sister Rachel went to live with the tribe — known as the Huaorani — to continue her brother's work.
Now, one-fourth of the tribe has come to the Lord, including seven out of nine members of the original party who killed the missionaries.
Steve Saint, Nate's son, is now founder and president of ITEC, a ministry which helps indigenous churches to overcome technological and educational barriers. He says his dad's story shows that God can — and does — turn tragedies around for His glory, and that God uses ordinary people to accomplish great things.
“God's call is the highest calling, regardless if it is being a mother or a father raising godly kids, or being a businessman who's just going about his daily work in a God-honoring way,” Saint says. “I think the bottom line of this story is that you don't have to be a superstar for God to do something with you.”
Saint says he was able to forgive those who killed his father because of godly family members.
“It just never even occurred to me that I should be angry at or hate the Huaorani or despise what they had done because I saw the example of my mother, my aunt, and the other four widows — and they were praying for the people,” he says.
“And when Aunt Rachel went back in to live with them — even though we weren't sure that she wouldn't be killed too — she was excited and mom was excited.”
Saint and his family now live in the jungles of Ecuador with the Huaorani.
(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
