End of the Spear, Steve Saint

I don't live the most adventurous life, but I compensate by reading books like this one. Steve Saint moved his wife and four children into the deep Ecuadorian jungle to live with the Waodani tribe. Good excuse to write a book, eh? If you've read Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliott, then you already know the beginning of this story. Steve's father, Nate Saint was one of the missionaries speared to death by men from this very tribe, back when Steve was five years old. The rest of the story is that Steve has practically adopted Mincaye, the man who killed his father, as a second father. They share a friendship you would never think possible. If you've ever had to forgive someone and found it difficult, you'll be amazed at the miracle of this story. While the elements of the story itself are fascinating (a wild pig for a pet; monkey meat for dinner...) I was also impressed with the quality writing. You really get a taste for the language and customs of the Waodani, the distance and isolation of the world they live in. Their mindset is so far removed from ours. The Waodani thought white people, being so pale, must live inside trees. When Steve brought Mincaye to the States, his culture shock was more severe than an American in the jungle. Mincaye told his people back home that we don't use money - everything is free in America! You just show a little plastic card... More sobering was that they'd never heard of war as we know it. Men who used to kill with spears and had the highest mortality rate of any known population were horrified that our people sometimes kill total strangers en masse with bombs and guns. The Saints' ministry is not what we think of as typical missionary work. They had to re-interpret the Bible just to get basic concepts of Christianity across. Following God became "walking Waegongi's (God's) Trail." Stephen Curtis Chapman is a character in this story, and he was even instrumental in shedding light on an old, unknown miracle. [Listen to the song "No Greater Love" on the album DECLARATION and you'll hear Mincaye chanting at the end.] The ending of this story lets you know that in the middle of that long past tragedy, God was watching over the missionaries that died, over their families, and especially over five-year-old Steve Saint.