Rescued from a Cornfield, Restored into Service

I’d like to tell you a story of an airplane . . . (from 1990)

The DC3 is an exceptional aircraft that just won't die! Modern technology hasn't improved on it in decades. It's one of the safest large twin engine airplanes. It has the ability to continue to climb out of a normal takeoff after rotation even if it loses an engine.

The Chief Tariri is no exception. After serving for years in the jungle of South America, it was brought up to the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, NC (where we were going through training) to be completely refurbished. Careful hands worked it over nose to tail – wingtip to wingtip – extended wings; beefed up cargo capacity; new radios . . . boy it looked sharp! Gleaming aluminum in the North Carolina sun with two blue stripes down the fuselage – just sitting on the ramp it looked proud!

All this work was to ready it for a critically needed new assignment in East Africa – in a cooperative effort with Africa Inland Mission.

As the Chief waited for final FAA clearance it was participating in "missions at the airport" events, along with other JAARS aircraft.

As this pristine missionary bird sat on a grass strip in Kidron, Ohio, 27 people buckled up for a ride. After taxiing out to the end of the strip, its twin 14 piston radial engines thundered as the Chief rolled down the soft grass runway. Seconds later, the Chief was plowing through acres of corn waiting to be harvested. Except for one of the pilots who got some cuts, miraculously, all aboard escaped without injury.

The experienced crew had done their best to recover from an engine failure, just after rotation – from a soft, grass airstrip. The line of trees at the end of the runway had kept them from a complete recovery, but they were able to just barely clear the trees and land in the neighboring cornfield. There was corn everywhere, and there the Chief lay, with what appeared as crippling damage. Africa, it seemed, was not to be.

Just before this incident, Leslie and I were just finishing our Intercultural Communications Course and looking forward to our membership status and an assignment with Wycliffe Bible Translators. At the culmination of a 14 year dream, almost two years of intensive training was nearing completion. We joyously told our supporters to expect news of our assignment approval in our next newsletter. Like the DC3, we were ready to take-off for Papua New Guinea.

Our newsletter was written, partnership development plans made, and the children were excited. We roared over the trees and right into the cornfield. We were completely blindsided. Two men were telling us we would never make it in Wycliffe without counseling. Somewhere in the files from our initial Quest orientation course were questions no one had since talked to us about, but fueled concern of the membership office. We were grounded.

We recognized that we had been dealing with a spiritual battle for some time. We met with our course director who was as shocked as we were. He laid hands on us and prayed for us and we felt a complete lifting of the darkness that we had been feeling for months. We got back on track. Finishing our job orientation was a real struggle, as others were given assignments, but we were ministered to by the Personnel and Radio Department directors. They could hardly believe we just didn't pack up the kids in our van and go home. But we changed our plans and went on.

We took a month and a half long partnership development trip throughout the northeast and midwest. We then spent two weeks at a spiritual retreat center in the Appalachia Mountains with a counselor. After a lot of being evaluated, introspection, counseling and prayer, our counselor brought us together to discuss his evaluation. "It's my professional opinion that you are God's people trying to do God's work and Satan is doing his utmost to keep you from going on. You two must have quite a ministry ahead of you." He then recommended that we immediately be given our Member-In-Training status along with our assignment.

You see, a whole group of people went out to that cornfield to help bring the crippled DC3 out and into the repair process. The Chief Tariri is again sitting proudly – on a ramp in East Africa. Loving hands came to its rescue to return it to working condition and to ministry.

We too, had loving hands help us out of our "cornfield" and pray for, and encourage us on to our field of ministry.

The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."