Born in Caracas, Venezuela, I had no idea when I came to Kansas for college that I would become a citizen of the United States of America. My deep sense of gratitude and love for this country was keenly awakened the summer of 1984. Along with my Kansas-born wife and our two children, I spent thirty-seven hours in a hijacked plane while traveling from Venezuela to the Caribbean island of Curacao.
I was not yet a citizen of the U.S., but my wife and children were. As any husband and father would feel, I deeply feared for their safety. Fortunately, President Ronald Reagan sent a team of Special Forces to aid in a successful rescue of all the passengers. His response became the seed in me that grew to a loyal sense of duty and patriotism for this country. Eventually, I would myself serve eight years in the U.S. Army as a veterinarian.
Reflecting After Release
Following our freedom, I remember waking up early the next morning when my seventeen-month-old son awoke. I sat down for my usual time of prayer and reading God’s Word. The chapter for the day was Psalm 23. As I prayed and worshiped through it, my heart was filled with immense joy and fellowship with God. The words jumped off the pages as God spoke to my heart:
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters…
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;…
I knew something wonderful had just happened, and I marveled at God’s grace. Hebrews 4:16 came to mind. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” I now understood grace in an entirely new way – it includes God’s power and comfort in time of need. During the thirty-seven hours as a hostage on that airplane, while fearful for my family, I somehow still possessed an unusual peace and a strange joy in my heart.
Personal Peace
My hijacking story was preceded by the most important decision made in my life. The peace and joy first became a reality in February 1975, eight months after arriving in Kansas to pursue a degree in animal science and industry. I had begun reading the New Testament, discovering the difference between religion and Christianity, between knowing about the Creator and knowing the Creator Himself, between belief and trust.
One day as I read the third chapter of the Gospel of John, I realized my need for repentance and personal trust in order to be born into God’s kingdom. I placed my trust in Him as my Lord and Savior and I understood that I was forgiven and made right in the eyes of God.
While I can’t imagine ever again being held hostage in a plane, I am confident that God will always make available to His children His “grace in time of need.”
Marcel Perret-Gentil
Animal Research- Univ. Veterinarian
Univ. of Texas, San Antonio