Cool Guy!!

Friday afternoon, the S.M.A.T. students graduated. I had planned on going to the graduation because I have gotten to know a couple of the guys and wanted to see them walk. I didn't have an invite in hand but I figured it would probably be o.k. Low and behold, I got the invitation one day before the graduation and as I read it, I was shocked to see that Steve Saint was speaking at the graduation. For those of you who are not aware, Seve's father Nate, along with four others, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Ed McCulley and Roger Youderian, were all speared to death in 1956. Their heart's desire was to reach this brutal tribe in Ecuador that was killing each other to near extinction and share the gospel with them. Out of fear of hell for the Woadani tribesmen, these five men, though armed, refused to shoot them which resulted in their deaths on a tiny sand bar just small enough to land a plane on. Though the loss was tragic, Nate Saints sister Rachael couldn't just sit around and sulk in her brothers death and do nothing. So just like every 1956 woman would do, she decided to go and live with the Woadani. Through her courage along with several others, the Woadani tribe, almost entirely, came to faith in Christ and eventually converted the tribesmen around them that were also practicing murderous lifestyles. Well, upon Rachael's death to cancer, Steve Saint was almost pushed into moving back to Ecuador and taking the place of his aunt. It was a blessing to hear his story. Most everything that I have typed up this point, he didn't talk much about. More than anything, his apeal to the students was that they would never take their eyes off the one thing that touches God's heart most on this earth. The people. He said, that his father died for the Woadani. Every night, his mother Marj Saint would pray for these people, even after the death of her husband and his aunt thought it necessary to pack up and move to one of the most hostile people groups Ecuador has ever known. In his eyes, as a little boy, his only option was to think that these were the most important people in the world.This is a valuable lesson. If we would sacrifice and pray for our neighbors, co-workers, Iraq and others, we would probably think they are pretty important people too. A shame that many don't even take the time to meet any of them. Nor do many even think their neighbors are important enough to do so, let alone pray that God would show them His grace and mercy. My appeal to you all that read this that love Christ, would just be an echo of Steve Saint's to the students. Please don't take your eyes off the importance of the people that God has placed in your lives. Don't live day to day, so involved in your job's and agenda's that the people who move the heart of God are neglected. Rather, "make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil" Ephesians 5:16.