Nate Saint
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| Nate Saint | |
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| Born | August 30, 1923 Pennsylvania |
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| Died | January 8, 1956 (aged 32) Curaray River, Ecuador |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Wheaton College |
| Occupation | Missionary Pilot |
| Spouse(s) | Marjorie Saint (née Farris) (Feb 14, 1948 – Jan 8, 1956) |
| Children | Kathy Saint Drown Steve Saint (1951) Philip Saint |
| Parents | Lawrence Saint Katherine Saint |
"Nate" Saint (August 30, 1923 – January 8, 1956) 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.
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[edit] Early life
Nate Saint was seventh in a family of eight children who grew up near Philadelphia in an atmosphere of deep Puritan piety. His father, Lawrence Saint, was an eminent designer of stained glass windows. The family attended prayer meetings on Wednesdays and Sunday morning and evening services and Sunday school. Said the father: "We didn't encourage the children's friends to come and play on Sunday. I read the Bible and each of the children prayed, beginning with the eldest."[1]
Nate was an avid flier from his childhood on — he began taking flying lessons in high school, and during World War II, he served in the U.S. Army. He was forced to leave the army because of an infection that flared up in his leg. He enrolled in Wheaton College following the war but dropped out before graduating in order to join Mission Aviation Fellowship. In 1948, with his wife, Marjorie Farris, he began working in Ecuador, establishing an air base at an abandoned oil exploration camp called Shell Mera, from which he supplied local missionaries with medicines, mail and other necessities.
[edit] Operation Auca
In September 1955, after the arrival of teammates Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, and Peter Fleming (Roger Youderian would join them a few months later), Saint found a Huaorani settlement while searching by air. In order to reach the remote tribe, Saint and the team lowered gifts, including machetes and clothing, to the Huaorani in a bucket tied to the plane. The Huaorani were a widely feared tribe, because of their chronic fear and anger. They tended to attack and kill any outsiders without provocation. Nevertheless, the tribe displayed excitement on receiving the gifts, and soon gave back gifts of their own. After three months of successful air contact, the missionaries decided to attempt to meet the people on the ground, and on January 3, 1956, they set up camp four miles from the Auca settlement, using a portion of the beach as a landing strip. Their initial personal contact with the Huaorani started out encouraging; however, on Sunday, January 8, 1956 the entire team was killed on the beach when armed Huaorani met them. Saint was speared first, and by a young warrior named Mincaye.Saint's body was later found downstream and buried with those of the other men.
[edit] Legacy
Saint and the other four men became famous worldwide as a result. Life Magazine published a 10-page photo essay on the story, which was also covered in Reader's Digest and many other publications. The story is credited with sparking an interest in Christian missions among the youth of their time[citation needed] and it is still possible today to find Christian missionaries working throughout the world who claim to have been inspired by it.[citation needed] Today, a small school for missionary children in Shell, Ecuador bears Nate Saint's name.
Rachel Saint, Nate's sister continued the mission efforts to the Huaorani, which eventually came to fruition.
In 1966 Marjorie Saint married Abe Van Der Puy, president of HCJB. He died in 2003, and Marj died on November 22, 2004 from cancer. She is buried in Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, south of Ocala, Florida. (28°46′46″N 81°53′35″W / 28.77944°N 81.89306°W)
The son of Nate Saint, Steve, now works with the Waodani Indians and often travels around the world preaching the gospel, often accompanied by, Mincaye, one of the killers of Palm Beach. In 2005, a documentary based on the story was released entitled Beyond the Gates of Splendor. The following year, a feature film entitled End of the Spear was released on January 20, 2006, a week and a half after the 50 year anniversary of the killings. Saint wrote a book about his experiences, also titled End of the Spear, to coincide with the release of the film.
[edit] References
- Biographical sketch
- Jungle Pilot by Russell T. Hitt ISBN 978-1572930223
- End of the Spear by Steve Saint ISBN 978-0842364393
[edit] External links
- Missionary Aviation Fellowship history
- Nate Saint Memorial School
- Five Missionary Martyrs
- Articles and Links about Nate Saint
- End of The Spear Movie
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