After an astronaut got stuck in space for much longer than expected, two senior citizens from his church received a surprise that was out of this world.
Barry Wilmore, a member and elder of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas, recently went to space for what should have been a week-long mission.
In June, Wilmore and fellow astronaut Suni Williams were launched into space as the first humans to ride a Boeing Starliner spacecraft. During the launch, the spacecraft had issues with its thrusters, as well as leaking helium.
To make sure the astronauts were safe, NASA decided to return Starliner to Earth without the passengers, leaving them to stay in the International Space Station until February. NASA has sent the SpaceX Dragon capsule to the station that will be the vessel that returns them home in the new year.
Out-of-this-world Kindness
One of the seniors at Providence Baptist Church, 91-year-old Billy Adkison and a friend of Wilmore's, went into the hospital in the summer with heart issues.
Wilmore's wife, Deanna, told him what had happened to their friend. Wilmore decided to make a call to Adkison all the way from outer space to cheer him up.
"It surprised me, but it made me feel very good," said Adkison in an interview.
Related Stories:
-
NASA astronaut weighs in on new science exhibit at Bible museum
-
NASA astronaut quoting scripture as he watches sunrise from space
Adkison's wife of 64 years passed away in 2020. It was Wilmore who spoke a sermon during the funeral.
"I plan on him doing my [funeral]," said Adkison said, "but I’m going to have to hold off for a bit."
Since Adkison's wife passed, when Wilmore is not busy, he helps Adkison go to and from various doctors appointments and has baked him birthday cakes to celebrate him.
Spreading the Love
Another senior in the church who happen's to be pastor Tommy Dahn’s mother-in-law, also received a call this summer from Wilmore. Suda Smith received a call from Wilmore on her 93 birthday.
"Her countenance of course lifted, her eyes sparkled, and that’s all I can say," said Dahn. "She was just thrilled. She tells everyone she meets, “I got a call on my birthday from space.'"
Smith recently had some medical issues and got out of the hospital, on top of being blind.
"That’s the epitome of Barry’s personal ministry—he looks for those who are down and outers," said Dahn. "He could not have loved my mother-in-law and Billy any more than a simple phone call. It’s more almost than him coming to see them in one sense, when he’s here."
Wilmore and his wife have attended Providence for the past 17 years. According to Adkison, he never uses his position as an astronaut to stand above anyone.
Evident Faith
"He’s really put his life into the church. For us as a church, we miss him," says Dahn. "All the glory goes to God. He does not take the glory to himself."
During the pandemic the church decided to start livestreaming services. This allows bedridden people like Adkison to watch church from where he is, as well as Wilmore to connect with his church from space. Wilmore was even able to run a devotional time with his church, singing "Amazing Grace" with the congregation from space thanks to NASA allowing the church to link to the space station.
While being stranded in space for months on end could scare the average person, at 60 years old Wilmore has a very positive outlook on the whole thing. He mentioned that "the gravity-free environment would give him relief from his aches and pains."
"You’ve got to be resilient and go with whatever the good Lord gives," said Wilmore.