The Oshkosh Experience
My next few blogs will be sharing some experiences I had at Oshkosh Airventure 2009. As I mentioned previously, I was back there this year for the third time consecutively. My third invitation to participate in the Author’s Corner with my book, The Aviator’s Devotional, proved to be even more successful than the years prior. However, my greatest experience was working with the mission aviation authors.
One of the authors was Gracia Burnham. Depending on your age, you may or may not remember her and her husband Martin’s ordeal in the Philippines in 2001. Martin was a missionary pilot for New Tribes Mission, and Gracia was his missionary assistant. They were both captured by Muslim terrorists and held in the deep jungles for over a year. During that time, they endured sickness, injury, attempted rescues with bullets flying everywhere, and starvation. The terrorists held out for ransom from the U.S., which never materialized. After just over a year, the Philippine army, responding to frustration and embarrassment, attacked the terrorist camp with overwhelming firepower. In the crossfire, Martin was fatally shot, and Gracia was seriously injured by bullets. She was rescued, placed on a medivac helicopter, and flown to the hospital having to leave her dead husband in the jungle.
Gracia now oversees a foundation for mission projects and accepts a limited number of speaking engagements. She wrote two books chronicling her experience and her recovery. The first and most popular is, In the Presence of My Enemies. It is a breathtaking account her day-by-day captivity. I highly recommend it for youth and adults. You can Google the title and get numerous sources for purchase. Her second book, To Fly Again, is a most inspirational read, also.
More to come on Oshkosh Airventure 2009.