The Angel Called Gabriel...

Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: Is there anything too hard for Me? - Jeremiah 32 :27 (KJV)

I was informed that the first responders to the scene of the crash were asking to see me. A young man named Gabriel came to me and told me that he was with the Virgin Nigeria emergency crew and that they were among the first to arrive on the scene. By the time they got there, there were already some people there and the sight that met his eyes shocked him to the core. Apparently, there had been quite a lot of cash on board the aircraft, and it was strewn all over the crash site. Gabriel said to me, “Madam, I'm talking about millions of Naira all over the place.”

Kechi's first picture after the rescue...

People at the scene were busy, not rescuing survivors, but stuffing as much money as they could into their clothes, with bodies lying all around them, people dying or dead within reach. At this point, Gabriel said the urge to join them was almost overwhelming, but a voice came to him saying, “If you touch even one of those notes, you will be destitute for the rest of your life.”This stopped him in his tracks and he began to entreat the others to stop so they could check if anyone was alive.

At that point, he said he heard someone moan and move a little. That was how he saw that a lady, who turned out to be Kechi, was alive. He quickly raised an alarm and Kechi was placed in one of the first vehicles that rushed to the hospital. Then he asked if Kechi survived. I told him yes and then just hugged him for a long time. I told him that God would surely bless him for what he did and would reward him for heeding His command.

I did not dwell on those who can strip dead bodies of cash and valuables because I knew that the Lord I serve is not mocked and what a man sows, he reaps.

To be continued... 

December 10, 2005: My Sister-In-Law's Version

I was driving to Northolt with my friend, Chioma, for a business meeting, when my sister, Kate, called me on my cell phone. “Dorothy, Kechi's plane crashed. Kechi is dead”. I hit the brakes, right there in the middle of the highway. I remember that cars were honking all around us, but I was oblivious, filled with the deepest, darkest despair. The bottom had just fallen out of my world and the pain was overwhelming.

I remember that Chioma took over the driving, while I wailed, 'Why Kechi, why Kechi, God? Why did You take her and not me? I have lived a good life, she is just a baby, why, why didn't you take me instead?' Kechi was a girl I loved with all my life. Right from the day she was born, she and I were very close. I was in a daze until we got to the meeting. I remember the client was very understanding, and even tried to console me; of course the meeting was cancelled.

On our way back to London, I had composed myself a bit, and was driving, until Kate called me again and gave me the most unbelievable news of all! Kechi had been found and was alive.

Right there and then in front of God and the whole world, I stopped my car by the side of the road, and fell to my knees, thanking and worshipping God. Everyone that passed us must have thought I was bonkers! Meanwhile, Chioma went into action and immediately started calling members of her church to start a prayer chain, constantly updating them with every development and new prayer requests.

By the time I got my house, all my friends were there. They had all heard the news and came to comfort me. I remember that I went into the kitchen to make tea for everyone, and while I was there, everything suddenly became too much and I burst into tears. I was particularly sad because Tonia's kids were coming home from the States for the first time that Christmas and they were very excited that they were finally going to meet their cousin, Kechi. It was a double blow to them.

Remembering that day still gives me the shivers. It is an open wound that just never seems to heal.

….My sister-in-law, Dorothy Okwuchi's account.

December 10, 20015: My Brother Obinna, Shares His Experience...

It was the 10th of December. It was a weekend, and I was at work with Pardeep Gupta. It was getting late, nothing happening, same old stuff and I was tired. Then I get a phone call from Uloma. All I remember was her just saying,

“Obinna, Obinna, start praying, start praying, start praying.”

I knew immediately that there was a problem, and it was something serious. Now the scale, I had no clue.

I said, 'Uloma, what's wrong? What's going on?” How bad is it?” 'Obinna start praying, plane crash, plane crash'.

'Ulo, who was in the plane?’

'Obinna, the plane crashed. Ijeoma was at the airport to pick Kechi. The plane just crashed in front of her. It was very fatal. The plane exploded. At that point, the worst case scenario crossed my mind and I thought, “Oh no. Plane crash at its descent into Port Harcourt airport. No emergency services. So my first reaction was 'No this cannot be. Ulo must be mistaken'. Ulo had dropped the phone at that point. I could imagine the millions of phone calls going on here and there and all she was doing was putting me in the loop. I had left my desk to take the call, so I rushed back to my desk and told Pardeep that there had been a plane crash and my niece was in that plane. We rushed to Sky news and confirmed that indeed there had been a plane crash. Gosh, my heart sank. I thought the worst had happened. I did not think anything at all would come out of this. So I packed my bags and called Op, my wife, immediately. I told her what was going on and that I was heading home immediately. Op panicked, we were very agitated. I called Ulo back. “What's going on, update please!”

“Ijeoma is still at the airport and there is no news”. I was still thinking the worst. I got downstairs, got into my car, and started driving home, had my hands-free on. Ulo called me back and said she heard there were some survivors, so I called Op, and we started praying again for the survivors. At that point, even while praying, I was thinking, 'Is it possible?' I had heard that there were ten or so survivors, and I began to question if it was possible that Kechi was one of them. I knew in my heart of hearts, that I had given up. My faith was not strong enough.  I was thinking, what are the chances, what are the odds? This was me using logic again.

Meanwhile I was still driving home. It was the hardest drive I had ever made because I had to concentrate on driving when what I really wanted to do was to close my eyes, open them and be in Port Harcourt. I wanted to be involved. Ulo and I kept on calling each other continuously all the way from the city to my house, and I was calling Op from time to time to update her.

I cannot remember now whether I was still driving or if I had gotten home when Uloma called to say , 'Obinna, start praising God, start praising God. Kechi survived!’

I asked, 'how?’

'Kechi is in a hospital somewhere in Port Harcourt. They found her!’ I have never been that overwhelmed with joy in my life. Nothing has come close since then. It was like someone had been given a new lease of life. It was like God said, 'You guys had complete faith in the face of such a disaster, so I'm giving you a fresh start. Let's see what you do with it. ‘ That was the way I felt at that moment.

At this point, I cannot put the time line together because the news was coming in fragments and I could not really get Uloma to be very articulate because I knew she was also going through a lot, but the way I understood it, Ije had already been to the crash site and was waiting with other parents when someone called her, 'Are you Ijeoma Okwuchi? Your daughter is alive. Come to the hospital.”

There was still news coming out of Nigeria that the remaining survivors were dying one at a time, and I was praying, “God please. You can't do this again. You have given her back her life. Please don't take it again”.

The next news I heard was that Kechi was going to be moved from that hospital to a different one. I think Mike had come to join her at that point, and then the news got very sketchy again, but then we understood that Kechi was transferred to Shell Hospital. Then the rest is history.

….My brother, Obinna's account.

Awesome Plan From An Awesome God...

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose - Romans 8:28

As though the miracle of sparing Kechi's life was not enough, God blesses me with another one. This testimony below is a MUST READ: 

We left Kechi around 1.00am and went to a nearby hotel owned by my brother-in-law's friend. The owner offered us a room to stay as long as necessary. When I got inside the room, I prostrated myself on the floor to my Creator. I could not pray, I could only wail and give thanks to God.

After a while, a waiter brought in a malt drink from my husband. It was only then I realized that I had not had even a drop of water since Saturday morning when I had rushed out of my house, almost late for the airport.

Mike came in and we knelt down to pray. In all the years I had known my husband, we had never knelt down together to pray. Awesome God!

I asked Mike to lead the prayer and He told God that because He had spared Kechi, he and his family would worship Him forever. Alleluya!

We lay down and drifted off for a couple of hours. Kate had packed an overnight bag for me and by 4.00am, we woke, prayed and dressed up and left for the hospital.

To be continued...