Nate Saint

The story we should have told you from the beginning centers around a man who came to Ecuador in the late 1940s. Nate Saint, along with wife Marj, arrived in 1948 to the very small town of Shell Mera in central Ecuador a year after Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) decided that they needed a pilot mechanic to live on the outskirts of the jungle. This pilot would fly over the huge jungle expanse dropping off supplies to the many missionaries that lived among the various indigenous populations. Nate would be their contact with the outside world.  However, in 1950 he soon discovered that not only would people need supplies to be brought in, but those in dire need of medical attention could greatly benefit from being brought out.  In fact, approximately 65,000 jungle natives had no hospital and no doctor to serve their needs. 

This concern led Nate to take the money that he inherited from his grandfather's estate to purchase ten more acres for the expansion of his mission which at this time only held a house and a small parcel of land.  Shell Oil, which had pulled out of the region due to multiple problems and little success, willingly sold their land right next to the jungle to Nate so that he was able to expand the airbase and plan for a small hospital.  Immediately he began flying two missionary doctors on sunny days into the interior so that they could supplement the supplies of the dedicated living among the indigenous tribes, and so they could address any minor and major medical needs that anyone might have.  Thus, Nate's service to these two doctors meant the saving of many lives and the tremendous reduction in time spent for them in travel through a very hard, treacherous expanse.  What would normally take ten or more days to traverse, could be reduced to a mere hour with the help of Nate's small yellow plane. 

Over the years, Nate's service to the indigenous and to the missionaries that served them was profound and greatly appreciated.  Finally in 1954 Nate hired Indian boys with machetes to slash the trees and underbrush on the land that he had purchased years earlier.  In 1955 construction began on the building with Roger Youderian at the helm while Nate continued to fly over and into the jungle.  It was that same year when Nate discovered an Auca village by air.  For centuries this one tribe had eluded the eyes and influence of the outside world. Since the 1500s when the Spanish explorers came to the South American continent, the Auca had resorted to violence to keep themselves separate. They were not interested in mingling with outside influences and were certainly willing to kill any and all who would enter their territory.  In fact, they were one of the reasons that Shell Oil gave up its notions of drilling in Ecuador; the Auca had taken the lives of a number of Shell's employees.  Their fear of the Auca led them to leave much in the same way that the Ecuadorian government and military, and other indigenous tribes had previously responded to them.  The Auca were feared by all.

However, this did not deter Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, and three other friends, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, and Pete Fleming.  Once on a flight over the jungle Nate spotted their village and became elated at the challenge that lay before him.  So, Operation Auca began.  For several days Nate would use ingenious means to send the Auca gifts by air using a long rope and bucket.  The gifts were well received and the tribe even placed some of their own in the bucket for the men to retrieve.  All looked very positive, so the five men worked hard to see how they could best make inroads with a people that all others were terrified of.  Finally in the early days of 1956, Nate and the others chose a spot on a sandy beach along a riverbed four miles from the village where they landed and began to construct a treehouse so they could stay safely at night.  Eventually three Aucas wandered out of the jungle much to the delight of their unsuspecting hosts.  The Auca, very much a pre-historic civilization with only strings for clothes and nine-foot spears for weapons, were intrigued by men who flew in the air and who knew a few phrases in their language.  After an overnighter with them, these curious guests wandered back into the jungle leaving the five men feeling overjoyed and hopeful about what would happen next.

What did happen next seemed improbable.  A couple of days later, on the afternoon of January 8, the five friends heard movement in the jungle and began to call out in their limited language to the Auca that they knew were approaching.  When the Auca revealed themselves they were toting their nine-foot spears with a definitive look to using them.  Soon, all five men lay impaled either on the beach or in the water and the plane was stripped of it's metal.  When Marj Saint back at the Saint house awaited Nate's expected radio message at 4:30 p.m. did not hear from her faithful husband, she knew something was amiss.  Within a few short days, many came from the US and from Quito to find out what had happened.  After days on foot, a search party discovered the bodies of four of the five men and a bare airplane frame.  The devastating news took its toll on the five families as well as on those working for a number of mission organizations; and Life and Reader's Digest carried the stories to the rest of the US.  Ecuador had made a name for itself in world news.

However, the story does not end there.  Rachel Saint, Nate's sister, along with Elizabeth Elliot, Jim's wife, decided to continue the mission that their brother and husband had begun.  These two women and Elizabeth's young daughter moved into the jungle and began to live among the Auca Indians.  It was this act of love and forgiveness, along with the fact that the five men who had been killed each had a weapon on their person and had refused to use it, that spoke volumes to the warlike tribe.  In their language there was no such word or even concept for forgiveness.  Yet, here they witnessed for themselves the overwhelming story of ones who chose to forgive rather than exact revenge.  Eventually this message compelled them to follow the One who would desire such a way for His people.  Today the Auca have even changed their name because 'savage', which is what it means, no longer fits their existence.  They call themselves the Waorani and they live a very peaceful existence. 

It should also be noted that Rachel Saint lived with the tribe until her death.  Elizabeth eventually returned to the States and has written several books.  Steve Saint, Nate's five year old son at the time of his death, today lives among the Waorani.  He calls the man who martyred his father "Grandfather" and he loves the people as his own.  Steven Curtis Chapman, a contemporary Christian singer, has befriended Steve Saint and has included him in his concerts.  Steve has also written to tell of his father's story.  Beyond the Gates of Splendor and End of the Spear are movies that retell this story.  We've not seen them but would love to do so now that we are keenly aware of the history behind them.

So, that takes us to today for us.  The school that our kids attend and that Doug and I volunteer at is Nate Saint Memorial School.  It is the school that Nate Saint purchased land for so that missionary children would not have to attend a boarding school in Quito, which at the time was 13 hours away.  We have been to Nate and Marj's house

which is just a few feet away from the school and have listened to the sound of many a plane on sunny days take off from the runway that Nate and his fellow missionaries used to make history here.

 

It is an awesome thing to be a part of this story.  The legacy of this man and his friends brings to life one scripture in particular:  there is no greater love than that of a man who lays down his life for his friends.  Though Nate was not a friend of the Auca at the time of his death, he is why they are our friends today.  He gave his life so that others could live.  He lived much like Jesus:  doing today what some call impossible so that others might be brought into the Kingdom of God.  May our lives here and your lives there be much the same. 

For more info, check out this site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Saint

Thanks for reading.
Blessings, kim