End of the Spear

I am currently reading the book End of the Spear by Steve Saint, a powerful story of death and forgiveness. Steve was only five years old when his father, a missionary pilot, and four colleagues were murdered in the jungles of Ecuador. Subsequently his mother and aunt made peaceful contact with the Waodani people, who were considered one of the most savage cultures on earth, many of them converted to Christianity, and Steve grew up living with the people who had murdered his father.

Many years later Steve and his wife and family were invited back to Ecuador by his father's killers to work with them supporting their economic development in the face of external pressures to conform to 20th century change.

End of the Spear is an amazing story of the close friendship and love that developed in the Ecuador jungle between a group of people who used to kill as a way of life, and the son of one of their victims. In time, Steve accepted that the death of the five missionaries in 1956 was the seed for the survival of a culture that was otherwise destined to destroy itself.

Anzac Day is an opportunity for us to remember those who have given their lives and to learn the lessons of history as we seek to develop a community where love and forgiveness are central.

Here's how Steve Saint reflected on his experiences:

“I have long dreaded the thought of getting to the end of life and regretting that I allowed my own timidity or other people's expectations to determine the course of my life. I had decided at a much younger age that several of my beliefs should determine the course of my life...I...believe that Waengongi, the Creator, has an epic script into which my minute presence has been written. ”
― Steve Saint, End of the Spear