God's answer arrives -- just in time

Nov. 11, 2008

by David Bell   Twenty minutes into an hour-and-a-half flight last month, missionary pilot Dave Douglas received an urgent request to medevac a snake-bite victim.   A young tribal girl, Julien, was bitten the night before by a venomous snake and the poison was beginning to spread through her body.

Dave was not far from the girl's village in Papua New Guinea and was able to land the plane, offload his passengers and fly Julien and her father to a waiting ambulance.

Upon returning to the village to pick up his passengers, Dave heard that the tribal people had been praying all day for an airplane to come for the girl. They had thought about trying to get Julien out by dugout canoe -- a long trip that she might not survive.

The people decided to pray one last time before putting Julien in the canoe. As they finished praying, they heard the plane fly overhead. They praised God that the plane arrived in time.

"What a thrill to be able to stand around the airplane together afterwards and praise the Lord for His intervention in this desperate situation," wrote Dave.

At the hospital Julien received an anti-venom injection and is now recovering from her ordeal.

While the Cessna 206 that Dave was flying has space for medical evacuations like this one, the Kodiak will provide room for more serious situations. A Kodiak can fit a stretcher with the patient, a relative and a nurse – and if needed a doctor or a missionary to translate for tribal patients.

The added utility of the Kodiak could save lives.