Steve Saint
Encyclopedia
Stephen Farris Saint is an Ecuador
ian-born business entrepreneur, pilot, and author. He is known for being the son of Nate Saint
, a famous missionary pilot, as well as for his own work among indigenous tribes.
, Ecuador where his father was a missionary pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship
. In 1956, his father and four other missionaries were killed by Waodani Indians during Operation Auca
, in an effort to make peaceful contact with them.
After the death of Saint's father, the family moved to Quito where Saint attended school. It was during this time that his aunt, Rachel Saint, and Elisabeth Elliot
successfully made peaceful contact with the Waodani and were living with them in the jungle. At 10 years of age, Saint first went to live with the Waodani, staying with them during the summers. He learned about living in the jungle, and also developed relationships with many members of the tribe. In June 1965, "Babae", as he was called by the tribe, was baptized
in the Curaray River
by Kimo and Dyuwi, two of his father's killers who had since converted to Christianity.
to attend Wheaton College
where in 1973 he received a B.A.
in economics. Soon after graduation, he returned to Ecuador and worked for a time as a tour guide. It was there that he met and married his wife Ginny who was from Minnesota
and visiting Ecuador on a short-term mission team. Shortly after the birth of their first child, the Saints returned to the United States and lived in Minnesota where Saint began a successful career as a businessman. They later moved to Ocala, Florida
.
Saint appeared in and narrated the 2004
documentary film Beyond the Gates of Splendor
. In 2005 he published his memoirs, a book titled End of the Spear. In 2006 there was a major film adaptation of the book, and Saint was heavily involved in the production process. He was also the stunt pilot who flew the replica of his father's PA-14
in the film.
He has also authored other books including Walking His Trail.
Saint has been especially close to Mincaye
, one of the Huaorani tribesmen who killed his father. He and Mincaye have made several appearances together in television interviews and at Christian concerts throughout the world. Steve now often visits churches to talk about his life.
, but died in the summer of 2000 of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.
Today, Steve and Ginny live in Ocala, Florida
, and continue to make regular trips to Ecuador.
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian-born business entrepreneur, pilot, and author. He is known for being the son of Nate Saint
Nate Saint
Nathanael "Nate" Saint was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Waodani people through efforts known as Operation Auca....
, a famous missionary pilot, as well as for his own work among indigenous tribes.
Early life
Saint was born in Quito, Ecuador at a mission hospital. He was the second of Nate and Marj Saint's three children. He has an older sister, Kathy, and a younger brother, Philip. The family lived in Shell MeraShell Mera
Shell Mera is a town located in the eastern foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes, about from Quito. Its name comes from the Royal Dutch Shell Company, and the smaller town of Mera, which is to the west....
, Ecuador where his father was a missionary pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship
Mission Aviation Fellowship
Mission Aviation Fellowship is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas...
. In 1956, his father and four other missionaries were killed by Waodani Indians during Operation Auca
Operation Auca
Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States to bring the gospel to the Huaorani people of the rainforest of Ecuador...
, in an effort to make peaceful contact with them.
After the death of Saint's father, the family moved to Quito where Saint attended school. It was during this time that his aunt, Rachel Saint, and Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Elliot is a Christian author and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca of eastern Ecuador. She later spent two years as a missionary to the tribe members who killed her husband...
successfully made peaceful contact with the Waodani and were living with them in the jungle. At 10 years of age, Saint first went to live with the Waodani, staying with them during the summers. He learned about living in the jungle, and also developed relationships with many members of the tribe. In June 1965, "Babae", as he was called by the tribe, was baptized
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
in the Curaray River
Curaray River
The Curaray River is a river in eastern Ecuador and is part of the Amazon River basin. The land along the river is home to several indigenous people groups including the Quechua and Huaorani...
by Kimo and Dyuwi, two of his father's killers who had since converted to Christianity.
Life in the United States
After graduating from high school in Quito, Steve Saint moved to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to attend Wheaton College
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
where in 1973 he received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in economics. Soon after graduation, he returned to Ecuador and worked for a time as a tour guide. It was there that he met and married his wife Ginny who was from Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and visiting Ecuador on a short-term mission team. Shortly after the birth of their first child, the Saints returned to the United States and lived in Minnesota where Saint began a successful career as a businessman. They later moved to Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
.
Return to Ecuador
In 1994, Rachel Saint died in Ecuador after spending 36 years with the Waodani. Saint immediately traveled to Ecuador to bury her. It was then that the Woadani tribe who had known Saint as a child asked him to move his family down to live with them. After thinking the decision over with his family, he accepted the tribe's invitation, moving to the jungle in 1995. Saint worked with the Woadani to improve their living conditions by building a community center and develop a desperately needed economy.Later life
Saint left Ecuador in 1996, feeling that his continued presence in the tribe would hinder their progression towards self-dependency. He has, however, made several subsequent trips, and continued to work with the tribe. On one such trip, he was helping a group of Waodani Indians put together their own airplane in Shell. A group of Quechua Indians approached him and asked why they could not build an airplane for their tribe. Saint replied that they could, and this was when Saint discovered the need for a global effort aimed at teaching practical skills to indigenous people. Shortly later he founded the Indigenous Peoples Technology and Education Center, Inc. (I-TEC) whose projects include an airworthy flying car, the Maverick. Saint is seeking backing for commercial production.Saint appeared in and narrated the 2004
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
documentary film Beyond the Gates of Splendor
Beyond the Gates of Splendor
Beyond the Gates of Splendor is a feature-length documentary film that was released in 2004. It chronicles the events leading up to and following Operation Auca, an attempt to contact the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador in which five American missionaries were killed...
. In 2005 he published his memoirs, a book titled End of the Spear. In 2006 there was a major film adaptation of the book, and Saint was heavily involved in the production process. He was also the stunt pilot who flew the replica of his father's PA-14
Piper PA-14 Family Cruiser
-See also:-References:* Peperell, Roger, Piper Aircraft and their forerunners, Air-Britain Ltd, 1987, ISBN 0-85130-149-5* Simpson, Rod, General Aviation Handbook, Midland Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-85780-222-5-External references:*...
in the film.
He has also authored other books including Walking His Trail.
Saint has been especially close to Mincaye
Mincaye
Mincaye Enquedi is a Huao Ecuadorian preacher and church elder. In 1956, he took part in the now infamous attack on five missionaries during Operation Auca...
, one of the Huaorani tribesmen who killed his father. He and Mincaye have made several appearances together in television interviews and at Christian concerts throughout the world. Steve now often visits churches to talk about his life.
Family
The Saints have four children: Shaun, Jaime, Jesse, and Stephenie. Shaun is a medical doctor, and Jesse works for I-TEC. Stephenie briefly attended the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
, but died in the summer of 2000 of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage.
Today, Steve and Ginny live in Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
, and continue to make regular trips to Ecuador.
Books
- The Great Omission: Fulfilling Christ's Commission Completely (2001). ISBN 1-57658-216-7
- End of the SpearEnd of the Spear (book)End of the Spear is a book written by Steve Saint. It was published in connection with the film of the same name. The book chronicles the continuing story that began with Elisabeth Elliot's 1957 bestseller Through Gates of Splendor....
(2005). ISBN 0-8423-8488-X - Walking His Trail: Signs of God Along the Way (2007). ISBN 978-1-4143-1376-4
Articles
- Did They Have to Die?, Christianity TodayChristianity TodayChristianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
(September 16, 1996). - The Unfinished Mission to the Aucas, ellie Christianity TodayChristianity TodayChristianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
(March 3, 1998). - Looking at Missions from Their Side, Not Ours, Mission Frontiers (May – June 1998).
Contributions
- Jungle Pilot: The Story Continues (1997), epilogue to the updated edition of Jungle Pilot: The Gripping Story of the Life and Witness of Nate Saint, Martyred Missionary to Ecuador by Russell T. Hitt, (1957).
- Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (2006).
Other sources
- Stephen F. Saint Biographical Information
- Hitt, Russell T. Jungle Pilot
- Washington Post article
- interview
- Interview with Mission Frontiers
- Profile at World View Weekend
- Remarks by Frank Wolf on the floor of the United States House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...