Miracle Stories

---

Miracle in Panama
By Dan Blankenship
© 2007 Dan Blankenship


The recent rescue of plane crash survivor Francesca Lewis from a remote mountain area in Panama is definitely a modern day miracle. This 12-year-old American girl survived a plane crash that killed everyone else onboard, suffering only contusions, muscle injuries, and hypothermia; she is expected to make a full recovery. Rescuers fought their way through rugged terrain, strong winds and heavy rains to get Francesca to safety. After five hours, they emerged from the jungle with the girl under their care. In video clips of her rescue, the teenager has an angelic appearance as she is wheeled past video cameras on a stretcher.

The plane, a Cessna 172, was split in half when it struck a tree. Panama National Civil Protection Director Roberto Velasquez called it “miraculous” that Francesca could have even survived the “initial impact”, let alone the crash to the ground and the hypothermia that followed. Francesca’s friend (Talia), the friend’s father (Michael Klein), and the pilot (Edwin Lasso) all died in the plane crash. (1)

I personally believe God had His hand on this young lady, Francesca Lewis; no other explanation is going to suffice for me. My dad was a private pilot and my uncle was a pilot in the United States Air Force. I spent so much of my younger years watching air shows that I actually became bored with them. And if there is one thing I remember about my years of learning about airplanes, it’s that it is highly unlike for a Cessna to hit a tree, break in half, slam into the side of a volcano, and anyone to walk away. Francesca did. And after that, she survived the elements for more than two days. Anyone who would deny the miracle in Panama is simply ignoring the facts as they are presented.

I hope and pray that God continues to keep his hand upon this young lady, and that He uses her to tell others about his awesome power. The world needs more modern day testimonies that accurately portray the impossible as possible, the unbelievable as believable, and holy intervention as an everyday occurrence. Francesca will be a teenager soon; her miracle can bring revival to those that are falling away from faith. I strongly believe her story needs to be told for the world to hear.

Psalm 77:14 NIV: “You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples.”

(1) Yahoo News. Surviving Girl Evacuated in Panama Crash. [updated 26 December 2007; cited 26 December 2007] available at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071227/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/panama_missing_plane;_ylt=Aqr0K.EYpNtOm25EdVNhjLGs0NUE

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE