GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA, (ANS) -- Steve Saint, the 61-year-old son of martyred MAF missionary, Nate Saint, has been seriously injured in Gainesville, Florida, while testing new missionary technology.

Mincaye, one of the tribesmen who killed the five missionaries and now a Christian, holds the microphone for Steve Saint at a Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa missions event

According to an e-mail sent out by his company, I-TEC (www.itecusa.org), Saint sustained a “paralyzing injury” on Tuesday, June 12 at around 10:15 AM while testing “an experimental wing mounted to a vehicle.”

The message continued, “Right now, Steve has no control of feet or hands, but his mind is clear and he does have some motion and sensation in all four limbs.

“Steve’s ministry theme for the last decade has been ‘Let God Write Your Story.’ Shortly after being flown by helicopter to Shands Teaching Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Steve told his family, ‘Let’s let God write this chapter, too.’

“Steve's career as a stunt pilot (End of the Spear) is past. This may end his career as a test pilot for the Maverick, but Steve says that Troy Townsend's skills already surpassed his. And, it will probably end his career as an RV-10 test pilot, but Steve says son Jesse's skills have surpassed his. And this may severely limit Steve's ability to travel and speak, but son Jaime excels in that category already. Steve says it's too bad that spinal cord surgery doesn't fall under General Surgery or son Shaun could take care of him. This injury will mean that Steve's adoring wife, Ginny, will have to wait on him hand and foot, but everyone knows that she already does.

Steve Saint with Mincaye

“Steve's passion to put indigenous God-followers into the driver's seat of ministry to their own people is shared by a growing ‘Team I-TEC’.

The message went on to say, “Steve says ‘don't send flowers’. Instead, buy an I-TEC dental system or I-See kit or sponsor an I-Med module or order your Maverick in your choice of color. If none of these fit your budget, or even if they do, Steve asks that you learn to be a LIFE Coach (talk to Jaime!).

“Let's continue to pray for Steve and his family as they continue to walk HIS trail.”

A later posting on Steve Saint’s Facebook page, says, “Steve was conducting a test on a small aluminum airfoil mounted on a rolling test stand when it became unmounted and struck Steve in the head causing cuts to his head and resulting in whiplash.

“Currently, he has very limited movement capabilities in his arms and legs. Doctors suggest surgery in a few days to help relieve swelling around his spine.

“This accident was not Maverick Flying Car related, a car or an aircraft accident.”

Steve Saint was the founder of the Indigenous People's Technology and Education Center which was to build on the vision of his MAF missionary-pilot father, Nate Saint.

Steve Saint with four Waodani tribesman, three of whom were involved in the spearing of his father, and the other four missionaries

In 1956, Nate and four other missionaries envisioned taking the gospel to a tribe in Ecuador. But soon after successfully contacting the tribe, all five men were speared to death. Their story -- most famously recounted in the book Through Gates of Splendor -- is perhaps the most chronicled missionary account of the past 100 years.

It was also powerfully told in the 2006 docudrama, End of the Spear, which recounted the story of Operation Auca, in which five American Christian missionaries attempted to evangelize the Huaorani (Waodani) people of the jungle of Ecuador. Based on actual events from 1956 in which five male missionaries were speared by members of the Waodani tribe, the movie tells the story from the perspective of Steve Saint, and Mincaye, one of the tribesmen who killed the missionaries. The two eventually formed a bond that continues to this day.
 

Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. Dan has recently received two top media awards -- the "Passion for the Persecuted" award from Open Doors US, and one of the top "Newsmakers of 2011" from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 44 books, the latest of which is "Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s." To order a copy, go to: http://www.amazon.com/CAPED-CRUSADER-Rick-Wakeman-1970s/dp/1908728302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335474883&sr=1-1 . Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.