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So, as you may remember, we moved into a new hangar this past May. There were definitely many changes that came with our move one of which was an upgraded copy / fax machine. It does some really great things that help make our day to day operations easier . As with many things there was also bit of a “learning curve” along with it. ( Well mainly for myself I seem to be somewhat computer challenged……or so I’m told.) After several months of frustration and struggle with this …..Cameron entered my life. (He actually works for the copy rental company) Boy, was he a life saver!! 

He took his time in getting us all set up and showed me how to use the copier to it’s full capacity interfacing it with my computer. He went so far as to give me his personal cell number should I need anything in the future. Now you better believe I put that in a safe place. I was extremely thankful for Cameron and before he left I shared with him what our ministry was about and gave him a copy of “Answering the Call.” Things went along very smoothly after that at least where the copier was concerned.

Imagine my surprise when just a few months later Cameron contacted me on behalf of his mom, Brenda. She had been living in Spokane and had suffered a stroke. After going out to see how he could help her, he knew he needed to bring her back to Indy. He asked if we could help him make that happen. I assured him that we would be happy to help him any way that we could. He then said, “after coming to Grace on Wings that first time and hearing about what you all did, I would have never dreamed that I would need your services.”

A short time passed and Brenda seemed to get a little better. Cameron was hopeful that he would be able to bring her home on a commercial flight in a few weeks. That was fantastic news and I asked to keep in touch and let us know how the 2 of them were doing. He drove her car back to Indy bringing her things with him including her service dog, Calvin. Only a short time later Brenda had several more strokes and required a pacemaker. It was now evident that she would not be able to fly home commercially. She now had some paralysis and is unable to walk. With the winter weather beginning to set in in the far northwest corner of the country,

Cameron knew we would need to work quickly to get his mom home. We made plans to go out on a Monday and return the next day. As that time quickly approached so did some bad weather. We prayed fervently that it would redirect and allow us to make the trip. Not so….. on Sunday evening late, Hal made the call to postpone our mission until Tuesday when the weather would be much better. Cameron was very understanding.

Now here we are on Tuesday morning with plans to leave early but before we can get out of town it begins to snow. God began dropping these huge gorgeous snowflakes from the heavens. They fell fast and furious and I stood there mesmerized as I watched this blanket of white begin to completely cover everything it touched. 

I found myself lost from all that was going on in the world in that very moment. Snowflakes always remind me of what it must have been like when God sent manna to the Israelites. It continued to fall for several hours with a final accumulation of 4 inches of pure beauty. Several hours from our initial plans for takeoff we can now finally head up to the clouds.

Once above the clouds, the sun was brilliantly glistening and we enjoyed our time getting to know Cameron a little more. We learned that he is not at all a reader however, on one of his trips to Spokane he found the copy of “Answering the Call” I had given to him in his bag. He found himself for the first time in many years reading and it really touched in him. So much so that he gave it to his wife and asked her to read it as well. He shared that his mom is 66 years old and originally from Norfolk, Virginia. He is an only child and they moved around a lot when he was younger.

Brenda has been in Spokane for about 15 months working as an executive director for a non-profit organization helping the hearing impaired. She, herself is also deaf and has a little service dog that she absolutely adores. We arrived in Spokane where they too had snow and extremely frigid temperatures. It was much later than our initial hope but were there and thankful. Wednesday morning came early and off we go to meet Brenda. Cameron had gotten there early to bring her fresh clothes and although she had only been here for a short time it was evident she was well liked by the staff. Many were sad to see her go.

She called me by name as I entered her room before I had a chance to introduce myself. Cameron had obviously already told her about us. Being sure to grab extra blankets to protect Brenda from the bitter cold outside we bid our good-byes. Back at the airport Hal has done all he can to try to warm Nellie up. He greets us and we pray quickly as we all hop on board Nell. We had a great time with Brenda.

She slept for a few hours. At our fuel stop Cameron got off to stretch his legs and Brenda told me that she would have never moved so far away if she had known that Cameron didn’t want her to. She was crying as she said “I promised him I would do everything I could to make it to Indy.” 

She is very happy that she is going to be near him and his family. After taking off again we all had a snack and I asked her to drink some orange juice for me since her blood sugar was a little low. She giggled as she said, “I am a good patient……when I want to be.” She has the sweetest giggle and was such a joy to spend time with. Upon landing in Indy she said, “I made it to Indy with Hal’s help” as she thanked him.

He simply told her, “God gets all the glory for that”. We make our trip to the new facility. Cameron went on ahead of us and stopped to pick up his wife and their 2 children and they are waiting for us when we arrive. Brenda is both smiling ear to ear and crying tears of joy as she sees them. I kissed her on the forehead and hugged a teary eyed Cameron who thanked us for getting his mom home. He is a great son. Isn’t it amazing how God brings us all together. Each of our lives, cross that of many others. We never know how He will bring us together.

Thank you to Hal and Jason for sharing this mission with me.

Many Blessings

Shelli Engle RN