Last week, the great Margaret Feinberg brought an amazing story to my attention. You’re probably familiar with the tale of Jim Elliot and four other missionaries who were attacked and killed by Huaorani warriors in the Ecuadorian jungle in 1956. Jim’s widow, Elisabeth, is well known for displaying grace and forgiveness in serving as a missionary to the tribe that killed her husband.
The latest chapter in the story, which Feinberg highlights here, is the work of Steve Saint. Steve’s father Nate served as the pilot for Elliot’s team and died alongside his fellow missionaries. More than 50 years later, Steve continues his father’s legacy of using aviation to serve the indigenous people of the Amazon as profiled in this Popular Mechanics piece. Saint leads I-TEC (Indigenous People’s Technology and Education Center), an organization committed to developing “unique tools and training for frontier areas.” The focus of the PM piece is I-TEC’s experimental flying car, Maverick, which is designed for transporting people, medicine, and other resources to areas where the streets have no names (you know, because there are no streets in the jungle).
All in all, it’s amazing story of forgiveness, redemption, service, and innovative technology. Here’s hoping Saint’s story inspires a generation of Christians to combine passionate hearts and creative brains in order to meet needs and communicate the gospel. Thanks again to Margaret Feinberg for the tip!
