Facing Trials
Above: This woman and child are members of Mary’s ethnic group. The two were photographed in the shadow of a DC-3, which Denny Dyvig, a pilot on loan from JAARS, flies for AIM AIR in Africa.
Two days packed with countless challenges—I had flown 2,500 miles, at times battling inclement weather. I had landed at seven different airstrips, five of which were dirt or mud. Two airstrips were not located where I had been informed they were.
One airstrip was was 700 feet shorter than I had been advised and was less than our normal minimum length. At one very narrow airstrip, the wing tips of the Douglas DC-3 aircraft were at risk of touching nearby trees. Another was so muddy I had serious doubts that, with 13 passengers and their baggage, we could take off without getting stuck or tipping over.
After landing at one airstrip, a large helicopter flew low over our plane and landed just feet from us, buffeting the DC-3 so violently I was concerned about possible damage. Matching the stress of our days was the restlessness of our nights, as our tent offered no reprieve from the oppressive heat.
It felt good to get back home. I was tired as we parked the aircraft in front of our hangar, installed the control locks and engine covers, and completed the paperwork. I was hungry and anxious to enjoy the good supper I expected my wife, Sue, was preparing.
As we finished closing up the plane, our flight scheduler called me on my cell phone. “Did you hear Mary’s story?”
I knew he was referring to an African woman we had picked up about 1,000 miles outside of Nairobi. Mary spoke no English. As I briefed her in another language before takeoff, I sensed a gentle and humble spirit. I also noticed large scars, more like welts, on her face.
Mary had been captured and held as a slave. Eventually she escaped, along with all her children. She hid in 10-foot-high grass, but her captors pursued her and set fire to the area. All of Mary’s children died in the flames, but she survived along with the unborn child in her womb.
Mary was a sister in Christ. The organization Voice of the Martyrs had asked us to fly her out to Kenya, where a plastic surgeon at a mission hospital would perform reconstructive surgery.
My two days of stress paled in comparison with what Mary has experienced in her life. As I heard her story, tears came to my eyes. I contemplated the privilege I had of bringing this sister in Christ out of her place of suffering to find help.
Mary harbors no bitterness or anger—only peace. May God grant all of us this kind of peace when we face our own trials.
—Denny Dyvig is a JAARS-trained pilot on loan to AIM AIR, a Christian missionary aviation organization in Africa. He and his wife, Sue, have served as missionaries in Africa for nearly 30 years.
