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Nate Saint




Nate (born Nathanael), from his childhood was an avid flier—he began taking flying lessons in high school, and during World War II , he served in the Army . He enrolled in Wheaton College following the war, but dropped out before graduating in order to join the 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, from which he supplied local missionaries with Medicine s, mail, and other necesities.

In September of 1955 , after the arrival of three teammates ( Jim Elliot , Ed McCully , and Peter Fleming ( Roger Youderian would join them a few months later), Saint found a Huaorani settlement. During the following months, Saint and the team lowered gifts to the Indians in a basket tied to the plane, and soon were receiving gifts back as well. After three months of air contact, they decided to attempt to meet the people on the ground, and on January 3 , 1956 , they set up camp, using a portion of the beach as a landing strip. Their initial personal contact with the Huaorani was encouraging, but on January 8 , 1956 the entire team was killed on the beach when armed Huaorani met them. Saint's body was found downstream.

Saint and his friends became instant heroes worldwide, and '' Life Magazine '' published a 10-page photo essay on their mission and death. They are credited with sparking an interest in Christian missions among the youth of their time, and are still considered an encouragement to Christian missionaries working throughout the world. Today, a small school for the children of missionaries in Ecuador bears his name.

The son of Nate Saint, Steve , now works with the Huaorani indians, and often travels around the world preaching the Gospel , sometimes accompanied by the man who killed his father.
In 2005, a documentary based on the story was released entitled '' Beyond The Gates Of Splendor ''. The following year, a film was made called End Of The Spear , which was released January 20 , 2006 .


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