A Pretty Cool Day!
A pretty cool thing happened today! So, today Nathan and I were going to do a proficiency flight and an airstrip maintenance inspection flight. We needed to do this to prepare for an upcoming eye clinic, a group that is coming out next month, and also to look at some damage from the monsoons.
The first airstrip that we went to is a very high-altitude airstrip. We are preparing to do the eye clinic there! So, we landed there and got to talk to some of the local guys about our plans and theirs. Both Nathan and I got to practice (landings) there a little bit. Then we went on to the second airstrip to inspect it. As we were getting ready to land, there was a cow on the runway! So, we went around to try to buzz the airstrip to scare him off. He ran a little bit, but still stayed on the runway. After 2 or 3 attempts we decided to continue on to the next airstrip. We were a little disappointed that we weren’t able to land there.
The third airstrip we went to has a lot of traffic during Semana Santa (holy week). They worship “the black Jesus” there. This specific location is one of two places in Mexico where they have a pilgrimage to worship “the black Jesus” so there is a huge pilgrimage every year. Because of this it gets super busy. We went to go inspect the airstrip. Often, we get people coming from around there for a Christian Huichol Camp that the church also has during Semana Santa. We use the plane to shuttle people to the camp. So, we landed there and it went well. We decided to inspect the airstrip a little bit, while we were there. As we were walking back to the airplane, there was a lady waiting for us. She asked if we were the pilots and we said we were. She said “hey, there is a guy who has just been injured. He needs to get to a hospital. Are you guys able to take him?” and we said “Yes!” We said we could do it. As long as it was one person, we had room. She went off to get him.
When we finished our inspection, we got back and were able to talk to a man who we work with. He stores dental equipment there and was asking for some help with that. While we were discussing that with him, the patient and his wife came over. He had cut his hand, within the last half hour, with a chainsaw! He had a bandage wrapped around it, but the blood was still coming through it. We were able to pack up him and his wife into the airplane.
This was really cool because if we had gone to this airstrip first, we would not have been there when he sustained this injury. Also, we would have had too much fuel to be able to safely take off, with the additional weight of him and his wife, to bring them to Tepic.
It was amazing how God’s ordering of which route we took, and the fact that there was a cow on the second runway, put us in God’s perfect timing to be able to help this man.
After we landed in Tepic, we were going out to our car to take him to the hospital. There just happened to be at that exact moment a guy we know who has a taxi who was sitting there waiting for him! Someone from the village must have called ahead, and he was ready and waiting for them. So, they got in the taxi and off they went!
It was an amazing day today to see how God planned which route we took and which runways we went to, to be able to do multiple types of proficiency training and relationship building and be able to help with an emergency medevac! God just planned all of those things perfectly for it all to work out! So, yeah! It was a pretty cool day today!
Written By Simeon Koranek, Field Pilot
