The Power of Testimony

RAY AND BETTY WHIPPS
Momentarily frozen, my body screaming with adrenaline,
I realized what I had done. I was three thousand feet
above the ground in an aluminum can without any power.
Everything was silent for a few seconds as the plane gave
in to the strong arms of gravity that were hauling it back
down to earth.
The nose of my plane was pointing straight up, leaving
me staring at the faint traces of clouds high above. As the
plane plummeted, a new noise began to fill the void left
by the dying engine. It was the sound of wind. While the
plane was sucked down toward the earth, the whooshing
noise grew louder and louder. I seriously doubted I was
going to make it.
We had been taught in flight training that if ever we
got into trouble in the air, we should try to find a spot to
land. Straining my neck in both directions, I looked for
somewhere flat enough and clear enough, but all I could
see were five-​ thousand-​ foot mountains that were covered
in trees. Twisting in my seat, I finally caught the faintest
glimpse of a field. It was my only chance.
Somehow, I wasn’t too worried about dying. If I
crashed, I knew I’d go to heaven, which didn’t seem too
bad. What made every muscle in my body clench was the
thought of what would happen if I made it out alive. If I
crashed the plane, I’d wash out of the program, and I really
didn’t want that to happen.
As I tried to bring the plane under control, it occurred
to me that there was one more thing I could try. I’m still not
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