One pilot’s incredible experience highlights God’s care for the isolated.

There is an ebb and flow to how God speaks and moves. It’s clearly seen throughout the story of Scripture. There are times—like in Exodus—where His hand can very clearly be seen. Yet there are other times—as in the book of Esther, some of the prophets, and the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments—that God is silent.

This pattern of the miraculous and silent waiting is common in our daily lives and was especially evident to Aaron and his MAF teammates, as he conducted a recent medical evacuation flight.

Aaron is an MAF pilot serving in an undisclosed location with MAF. His program had experienced months of radio silence. For reasons outside of MAF’s control, the flight requests just were not coming.

One day, God broke through the silence.

Aaron received a flight request to a very remote island off the coast to pick up a young woman who was experiencing kidney failure. Without an MAF flight, the trip from this island to a hospital would consist of an all-night ferry ride followed by a harrowing 12- to 14-hour drive over bumpy roads. This woman’s life was on the line and an MAF airplane was the only option!

“When we landed, two things caught my attention,” said Aaron. “The first was a huge lightning bolt just off the end of the runway, and the second was the moan from this lady as we transferred her into the plane. This lady was in a bad way, and this storm was growing fast. I prayed.”

A black wall of clouds formed at the end of the runway and began to spread to the left and right, enveloping the airstrip on both sides.

“As the doctors were stabilizing the patient, I watched the fingers of this storm extend past us on the right and on the left as the lightning cracked. But when I looked behind, the black wall was stopped and my runway was clear.

“God physically held back the storm so that we could depart and climb toward the sky ahead, toward hope for my patient.”

In the Bible, miraculous events pierce through periods of silence: God delivers His people out of Egypt, God brings His people out of the Babylonian captivity, and He sends his Son to rescue the world from sin and death.

And God is still moving today.

“It is so evident He is at work around us. So don’t lose heart when all you see is darkness coming from every direction in the world. When the storm is encroaching on your life and it looks impossible, remember that our God can speak just one word and the storm obeys.”

Through your support, MAF and pilots like Aaron are able to partner with God to bring hope to isolated people all over the world—and sometimes God shows up in miraculous ways.

*For security reasons, the last name of the pilot and the place he serves cannot be published.