The lead pilot descended below the clouds looking for his wing man. When he found him, he saw that he had bailed out and was in the ocean. The radio communication from the pilot circling helplessly overhead while his friend struggled in the water stabbed the hearts of the control tower team as they listened.

"My wing man is tangled in his parachute. Have you notified the helicopter?" he said desperately. "He's floating, but having a difficult time getting his life raft inflated. Have you commissioned the helicopter?" Minutes later they heard another message: "He's still not inflated. He's beginning to sink. Where's the rescue team?" Minutes later came another plaintive plea: "Now he's above water, but still struggling. Where's the helicopter?" Still later: "He's under water again, where's the helicopter?" Then seconds later they heard: "He's about four to five feet under. I don't know if he will come up again. Where's the helicopter?" And seconds later: "I can't see him now. I fear we've lost him. Where's the helicopter?"

Where was the helicopter? It never got to the scene. At the investigation and hearing, it was discovered that the rescue team had decided to do some Christmas shopping at a PX fifty miles away. That team was so busy taking care of themselves, they never heard the cries for help.

Knofel Staton goes on to say, "The multitudes are all around us. Many are already in the water without an inflated raft, and the parachute lines of complex living are entangling them. Some are still floating. Others are beginning to sink. Where are the rescue teams?"

You and I are God's rescue team. And friends, there are a multitude of people who need to be rescued.

Ron Newhouse