Our first introduction is a man named Steve Saint. He is an entrepreneur, business man, tinker-er, and self-taught dentist. He is also a pilot, started a business in Ecuador where tribal people are actually building planes that are being sold in the US. He has written articles that have made Christian missionaries/agencies mad and books that have challenged our way of thinking about missions and the church. He lives in Florida, but grew up in Ecudor and later served as a 'gopher' to the Waodani tribe. He later served with his wife and 4 kids in Timbuktu.
His father, Nate Saint, was killed when Steve was a small boy...by an unreached tribe in Ecuador...the Waodani. His father was speared on a beach with several others of his friends - one well known friend named Jim Elliot. He was 32 when he died.
Steve became family to the tribe and especially with a man named Mincaye, who actually killed Nate Saint. There relationship is a story of redemption that speaks powerfully to the tribe and many who have heard their story throughout world. Steve and Mincaye toured with Steven Curtis Chapman, sharing their testimony with concert-goers. (Our worship leader, Randy Pearce played with Chapman during this tour and got to know Steve and Mincaye).
If you saw the movie, "The End of the Spear" then you got a glimpse into the live of Steve...since it is HIS story and the story God is writing in his life.
Steve has an organization called, ITEC - Indigenous Peoples Technology and Education Center. The link to their site is: http://www.itecusa.org/
Check out the movie or the book, The Great Omission.
