Chance or Providence
I suppose the events in our lives can be explained as happening by chance or by providence. As a people of faith we believe that life is not just the roll of the dice but guided by the invisible hand of God. This is certainly evident by what has transpired during a few months in 1998.
First, an unsolicited, unexpected full length article about Matthew 25: Ministries appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, written by Mark Curnutte. Next, our airlift to Nicaragua was rescheduled for late October. The change in schedules would bring us to Nicaragua the very week a tropical storm somewhere in the Caribbean was earning the name Hurricane Mitch and the reputation as the worst hurricane to hit Central America.
On schedule, the United States Air Force Reserve C-5 cargo plane landed at Sandino Airport. In a steady downpour, it was unloaded and the 85 tons of school supplies were trucked to our new warehouse.
The last night in Nicaragua we received an unexpected invitation to from the Vice President of Nicaragua, Enrique Bolanos, to have dinner at his home. He had heard of our work and wanted to meet and thank us personally. It was a delightful evening, we immediately became good friends.
We left Nicaragua the day that Mitch came ashore. It was the first time in 18 trips we took another airline which took us through Houston, Texas instead of Miami, Florida. All the Miami flights were canceled and if we flown out of Miami we would have had weather out the hurricane in Nicaragua. Leaving Nicaragua 20,000 feet up, we could see Hurricane Mitch as it began to settle over Honduras and Nicaragua.
CONSIDER, back home, because of the article which appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, the news media began contacting us and doing newspaper and TV stories about our effort. This exposure put us in touch with many in the Greater Cincinnati area whom we did not know but wanted to help in our relief effort.
Oh yes, our dinner with the Vice President…he became the person who headed up the Relief Committee for the country. He was the one who requested and opened the door for Matthew 25: Ministries to begin sending relief supplies to Nicaragua.
Chance or providence…you be the judge.
Rev. Wendell Mettey
12/1998
Revised 07/1/2014
