i-TEC's Portable Dentist Chair
Yesterday evening (New Years Day), I watched one of my favorite movies, End of the Spear. If you have not seen it, you need to. The movie centers on the events and aftermath surrounding the tragic loss of 5 missionaries in the Ecuadorian jungle in 1956 during an attempt to bring the Gospel to a tribal group known as the Auca’s (the Quecha word for enemies). In the attempt, know as Operation Auca, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and Ed McCully, lost their lives. The subsequent publicity through Life magazine, and other outlets has inspired generations of missionaries, including me. Since I do not want to spoil the movie for those unfamiliar with the story, and the fact that several other books have been written dealing with every aspect of these events (See a list of resources at the end of this post), I will not go into further details regarding the movie.
What I do want to talk about is the current work of Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint, through the Indigenous Peoples Technology Education (i-TEC – www.itecusa.org) Center in Dunnellon, FL. After the death of his aunt, Rachel Saint, Steve Saint, along with his family, moved to Ecuador to live among the Waodani people (formerly known as Aucas). During their stay with the Waodani, they asked
Steve to help them gain skills that would allow them to better interact with the outside world and better care for their own people. As was typical for most of the 20th century through out most of the world, missionaries had ministered to the Waodani by giving them things and doing tasks for them: medical & dental treatment, building churches, giving them equipment, etc. As a result, the Waodani got the message that they we not capable of doing these things for themselves. They were dependent on outsiders. i-TEC was founded to deal with this issue – to provide the Waodani with the skills and tools needed for them to not only care for themselves, but to be better equipped to take their place in God’s Great Commission. Even today, with an estimated population of 2,000, only 80% of the Waodani have heard the Gospel with only 40% professing faith in Jesus Christ (Christianity Today, Jan 2006). The best hope for all Waodani to hear and respond to the Gospel lies with the Waodani themselves and they must be empowered to do the work that God has called them to do.
Check out the video below featuring Steve Saint explaining the problem and the how the work of i-TEC is seeking to equip the Waodani, and others, for ministry among their own people and beyond.
History of Operation Auca
Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot (Hendrickson Biographies) by Elizabeth Elliot.
Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot.
JUNGLE PILOT by Russell Hitt.
Dayuma: Life Under Waorani Spears: A Tragedy That Shocked The World. A Vision That Refused To Die. (International Adventures) by Ethel Emily Wallis.
End of the Spear by Steve Saint. (Book)
End of the Spear – (DVD)
Appropriate Technology Resources
i-TEC Web Site – www.itecusa.org
The Great Omission: Fulfilling Christ’s Commission Completely by Steve Saint
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