Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Lost in the media coverage of Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, two NASA astronauts rescued last week after being stranded on the International Space Station for nine months, was their humble gratitude to God for helping them return home safely.
“My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith,” Wilmore said. “It’s bound in my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He is working out his plan and his purposes for his glory throughout all of humanity, and how that plays into our lives is significant and important, and however that plays out, I am content because I understand that.”
“I understand that he’s at work in all things, some things are for the good — go to Hebrews chapter 11 — and some things look to us to be not so good. But it’s all working out for his good, for all those that will believe. And that’s the answer.”
Williams added during their final press conference from space, “I’ve been up here long enough. Right now, I’ve been trying to remember what it’s like to walk. I haven’t walked. I haven’t sat down.”
Wilmore is an elder at Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas. His pastor, Tommy Dahn, told a Houston television station that the astronaut has been a part of the church for the past 17 years and has made it a point to stay active in church, even while in space.
“He’s still listening to his sermons,” Pastor Corey Johnson said. “We had a Bible institute, and he took one of our classes last semester. He’s engaged. He’s serving the people as he’s able.”
The crew left last June on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station for an eight-day mission, but it took an unexpected turn when they began to experience mechanical issues on their original spacecraft. Wilmore and Williams ended up spending 286 days in space – 278 days longer than anticipated when they launched. They circled Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles by the time of splashdown.
“Thank you for this, @elonmusk, @SpaceX,” Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship wrote. “We are grateful to God that these astronauts were safely rescued.”
The dramatic rescue mission captured global attention as the faith community rallied behind the crew. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also posted about the rescue mission. “Welcome home, astronauts Wilmore, Williams and Crew-9,” he wrote. “This rescue embodies America at its best — we can still achieve great things.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
