This is a report for Mission 344 by Grace on Wings.
Departure: Madison, Indiana
Arrival: Titusville, Indiana
Date: June 4, 2015
Mission Report
Praise the Lord we have another opportunity to serve Him. Today we will be transporting 68 yr. old Dorothy (Dottie as she is lovingly called by her sisters) from Indiana to Florida to be closer to her sisters Alice and Mary Jo.
All 3 sisters had lived in Indiana until recently when Alice and Mary Jo retired to Florida. Dottie who is mentally handicap waited here as her sisters diligently worked at finding an appropriate new home for her close to them. At last this has happened so on this beautiful blue sky day Dottie will be moving to Florida.
Dottie’s family were a little concerned about how she may handle the flight so, in an effort to get to know her better, Alice and Mary Jo shared with us a few things that Dot enjoyed. First off she loves chocolate milk, a woman after my own heart. I loved her already! She also likes cotton candy, suckers and her favorite color is blue they told us. So in preparation for our flight Lisa and I thought it would be nice to have a few of Dot’s favorite things to help keep her entertained in flight. Boy was I ecstatic when God put a blue, cotton candy flavored sucker in front of me at the checkout counter. A definite sale and I couldn’t wait to share it with her!!
In an effort to help reduce cost, Heartland Ambulance generously donated the ground transport from Indy to Madison and back. This allowed Chris time to get to know Dot better as he went down to get her. They arrived back at our hangar in the early afternoon and after Hal prayed for our mission, we all took our places aboard Nellie. Dottie seemed quite comfortable during the flight and she handled it amazingly well.
Once we arrived in Titusville at her new facility we were greeted by the staff and both Alice and Mary Jo who had been anxiously awaiting Dot’s arrival.
The staff were very helpful and accomodating.
I could see not just happiness but delight not only on Alice and Mary Jo’s faces but radiating from their hearts. They were so thankful to have their sister with them. Once our crew and the new staff made Dot comfortable in her new surroundings, we all joined hands to give thanks for this sweet family as well as Dot’s new caretakers. What a great way to end our time together.
“Delight” is not a word that I use nor do I hear on a regular basis yet that was the word that came to my mind as I saw this family reunited. It gave me reason to stop and think about what it meant and how it differs from “happiness”. For me it means: extreme satisfaction, having great pleasure, it is synonymous with “joy”. “Delight” is much deeper than “happy” I think it is something that radiates from inside of us, more of a fulfillment.
PSALM 37:4 TAKE DELIGHT IN THE LORD, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART.
PSALM 149:4 FOR THE LORD TAKES DELIGHT IN HIS PEOPLE; HE CROWNS THE HUMBLE WITH VICTORY
These verses show us that this works both ways. The Lord delights in us and we are to take delight in Him as well. This is not something that we can do on our own but only through the filling of the Holy Spirit. Our “delight” comes from Him and in belonging to Him. There is absolutely nothing in this material world that can do this for us it is simply having a relationship with our Lord and Saviour.
When others look at us do they see the delight of Jesus radiating from us? I can only answer that for myself and unfortunately I am ashamed to say that most of the time they do not see it from me. How about you, how would you answer that for yourself? We need to be in prayer for this each and every day not only for ourselves but for one another. In this world that continues to fall all too fast those who do not know Jesus need desperately to see Him through us. Through our thoughts, our words and our actions. Let each of us take the time today to be the “delight of Jesus” to someone around us. Let’s be intentional about it and in doing so find comfort in knowing that He is taking delight in us.
Thank you to Hal, Chet, Lisa, and Chris for sharing this flight with me. To Him be ALL glory, honor and praise!
Many Blessings
Shelli RN
Col. 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: all things have been created through Him and for Him