(HorizonPost.com) – Saturday, August 21, was anything but typical in Waverly, Tennessee. The town, just over 50 miles west of Nashville, experienced devastating floodwaters, forcing people to the rooftops of the surviving buildings. There certainly would’ve been a lot of praying taking place as folks were frightened, wet, and cold, but it could have been one man’s prayers days before that ultimately saved 17 of them.
Days earlier, helicopter pilot Joel Boyers had prayed for God to give him meaning to his life. On Saturday, Boyers and his fiancée flew around power lines and floodwaters to rescue 17 people from Tennessee floods. Story: https://t.co/lef6ora6GM https://t.co/8aNe6rRFIi
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 27, 2021
Joel Boyers is co-owner of Helistar Aviation, and several days before the flood, he asked God to give purpose to his life. As it happened, he was in the air that fateful day having just helped his fiancée, Melody Among, earn her pilot’s license. A panicked woman who had been calling helicopter companies around Nashville to rescue family members stuck on one of the roofs reached him, and he jumped into action. With his bride-to-be helping navigate around electric lines, some individuals caught video reminiscent of the opening of the iconic TV show M*A*S*H with the chopper angling its way in to pick up people.
Beyond the immediate risk to his life, Boyers said he’s already had a chitchat with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and said, “I know [they] can take away my license if they see me flying like that.” The weather was so bad on the day in question that neither the state police nor the National Guard would fly into the area. If nothing else, he and Melody have a new group of folks to invite to their wedding because, as he said, “Her and I will be bonded to those people for life.”
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