Mission and Miracles

A group prayed in earnest as they gathered in the predawn hours asking God to watch over them and direct the missions trip they were about to embark on.  With the last bag crammed into the already overloaded van they were on their way.  Miami was the airport that would ultimately lead to their destination of Barahona, Dominican Republic.  Their arrival at the Miami airport was pretty routine until….until it was realized one team member had not come with her passport.  She thought it was there, but "there" it wasn't.  Would the dream of taking her first missions trip, the one she worked so hard to raise money for and set her sights upon for so long, go up in smoke before it even started?  Not a chance.  It was determined she could still leave the country; it was reentry to the States that might cause the problem.  Nonetheless, she would go in hopes her passport could be overnighted to Barahona to guarantee her return.

As the team made their way through security time was growing very short.  The flight was to leave within minutes.  As each member's carry-on bag was carefully checked a hammer was found in one member's bag.  A hammer - after all the team was going to engage in some light construction work, so a hammer didn't seem to be so unusual.  "Nope.  Not allowed in the seating area of the plane.  It has to be shipped with the under-stored luggage."  As two team members dash off to box and check the hammer with baggage the final boarding calls are beckoning.  You could feel every second ticking away as the doors of the plane are pulled shut, but not without the two team-members scooting through the open crevice of the closing door.  One second later and the team would've been minus two members.

The packed flight of several hundred people went much as expected until...until final descent.  Upon descent the plane made several sudden jerks downward.  What was going on?  Why such a rough ride all of a sudden?  The pilot's voice soon brought the news.  It was uncertain if the plane's nose gear was engaged in the landing position.  The plane's instrument panel did not indicate it was down and locked into place.  After repeated sweeps by the airport the plane would circle over the ocean again, dump it's fuel, and prepare to belly-flop onto the runway.  Emergency fire and rescue personnel were already preparing for the mop up.  With one last sweep and a multitude of prayers ascending to heaven the plane meets the runway, and as we roll to a stop we realize the hand of God that kept us safe and had been with us since we prayed that morning - the hand of God that performs miracles when people are engaged in His mission of spreading the gospel to every corner of the world.