Mincaye Enquedi (also Mincayi, Minkayi, or Mincayani;

Huao The Waorani (''Huaorani'') language, commonly known as Sabela (also ''Wao, Huao, Auishiri, Aushiri, Ssabela'' ; autonym: Wao Terero; pejorative: ''Auka, Auca'') is a vulnerable language isolate spoken by the Waorani people, an indigenous group ...

for "Wasp") (ca. 1935 - 28 April 2020) was a

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

ian preacher and church elder. In 1956, he took part in the now infamous attack on five missionaries during

Operation Auca Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, Christian missionary, missionaries from the United States to bring Christianity to the Waorani people, Waorani or Huaorani people of the Amazon Rain forest, rain for ...

. He is believed to have speared both

Nate Saint Nathanael Saint (30 August 19238 January 1956) was an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian missionary Aviator, pilot who, along with four others, was killed in Ecuador while attempting to Evangelism, evangelize the Huaorani people, Huaorani peop ...

and

Ed McCully Theophilus McCully (June 1, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four other missionaries, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people, through efforts known as Operation Auca. ...

during the attack. In 1958

Elisabeth Elliot __NOTOC__ Elisabeth Elliot (née Howard; December 21, 1926 – June 15, 2015) was a Christian missionary, author, and speaker. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was killed in 1956 while attempting to make missionary contact with the Auca people (n ...

, wife of

Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portla ...

, and

Rachel Saint Rachel Saint (January 2, 1914 – November 11, 1994) was an American evangelical Christian missionary who worked in Ecuador, with her language helper Dayuma translating the Gospel of Mark and the book of Acts into the Wao tededo language of the ...

, sister of

, made peaceful contact with the Huaorani tribe. They came to live with them, learned their language, and taught them the Bible. Mincaye soon converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. He eventually became a preacher and an elder in the Huao church, and became one of the most outspoken of the Huao Christians. He said of the change he saw in his tribe, "We acted badly, badly, until they brought us God's carvings (the Bible). Then, seeing His carvings and following His good trail, now we live happily and in peace." Mincaye became especially close with Nate Saint's son

Steve Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen. Notable people A–D * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Abel (born 1970), New Zealand politician * Steve Adams (disambiguation) ...

, who lived in the tribe for many years. Because he had killed Steve Saint's father, Mincaye felt a special responsibility in raising him. A kinship bond was developed, and Mincaye adopted Saint as his tribal son. After the Saint family came to live permanently with the Huaorani in 1995, Mincaye considered the Saint children his grandchildren. In 1997, Mincaye travelled to the United States for the first time. He made several trips with Steve Saint where they made appearances together. In 2000 they attended Amsterdam 2000, an international evangelism conference presented by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. He also travelled with

Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of cont ...

during his "Live Out Loud" tour.. Mincaye also appeared in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

documentary ''

Beyond the Gates of Splendor ''Beyond the Gates of Splendor'' (also ''Beyond the Gates'') is a documentary film that was released in 2004. It chronicles the events leading up to and following Operation Auca, an attempt to contact the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador in which five A ...

''. He was interviewed and appeared as himself. The 2006 film ''

End of the Spear ''End of the Spear'' is a 2005 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jim Hanon, written by Bill Ewing, Bart Gavigan and Hanon, and stars Louie Leonardo and Chad Allen. The film recounts the story of Operation Auca, in which five ...

'' largely tells the story of Mincaye and Steve Saint's lives. Mincaye was portrayed by

Marco Flaco Marco may refer to: People Given name * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor Surname * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Jindřich Marco (1921–2000), Czechoslovak photographer and numismati ...

as a child and

Louie Leonardo Louie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Louie'' (American TV series), comedy drama television series created by and starring comedian Louis C.K. * ''Louie'' (French TV series), animated series about a young rabbit who draws pictures which ...

as an adult. He also made a brief

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

towards the end of the film, in the scene reenacting the funeral of

References

Bibliography

* Elliot, Elisabeth, ''The Savage My Kinsman''. * Hitt, Russell T., ''Jungle Pilot'' * . * ''

'' (documentary film) * ''

'' (film)

{{Authority control 1930s births 2020 deaths Converts to Christianity Ecuadorian Christians Huaorani people Operation Auca Year of birth missing (living people)