Elder Openshaw was the receiver of some terrible, terrible news on Friday. His parents and three of his younger siblings were flying home from the midwest on a small airplane piloted by his dad. For reasons not known right now, the plane immediately crashed after taking off, killing his parents, two of his siblings, and leaving his 5-year-old brother in a hospital. He has another brother who is in Germany doing some schooling.
How would I deal with such devasting news?
What would it feel like to lose more than half your family at once?
Dad sent an email about the day he received the news.
Here's just a quick letter to tell you about Elder Openshaw. You've heard the news about the plane crash in Missouri that took the lives of his parents, a sister, and a younger brother. This is our favorite Elder on the island. He has been here for almost 6 months now and is scheduled to go to Fanning next week with me. We went to his place yesterday morning in the car and picked them up. While we were riding back his phone rang and it was a call somehow from Elder Anderson of the 12. He offered to fly him back if he decided but Openshaw was determined to stay. Maybe today is different. I spent a bunch of time with him yesterday and during the travel he started to waiver about going home for one reason.....the little 5 year old brother who survived the crash. Maybe today he will have decided for sure. He was the only Elder who agreed with me during the last batch of Elders that they were out of control and so disobedient. He is very polite and always courteous and polite. I was so impressed with him that I wrote a letter to his folks and told them what a great missionary he was. He was telling me last night that Governor Herbert had flown in that plane with his dad a few times. I got him hooked on fishing so much that he bought him a pole identical to mine. By the way, his parents lived a few blocks south of where Mom used to live on Dover Lane. [Attached is] a picture of this Elder that I took last night at the baptism. Study his face and see if you can tell that he just lost his family 12 hours earlier.
In the picture [below] Elder Openshaw is in the sunglasses. The Elder on the right is the only one in the picture who knows about the tragedy.
In the picture [below], Elder Openshaw is on the back row far left. He didn't tell anyone about it except the Elders.
I'm sure he is still in shock. I would be. I've been praying for him and his brothers. His life just changed very dramatically and in a way that will never quite be the same.
So . . . how would I cope if I received such devasting news?
Tears would fall. Shock and grief and numbness would be a part of my day and days as I mourned and tried to grasp the awfulness of it all. BUT . . . the sunshine would eventually return because I know Father in Heaven has a plan for us that enables families to be reunited one day. And Jesus Christ ransomed his life enabling life to continue for all mankind. He broke that awful band of death with his resurrection. Death is not the end!!
I look at that elder above and what I see is a young man full of faith and hope and peace. He knows this earth life is just a small fraction of the eternities and that FAMILIES ARE FOREVER :) He knows one day he will see his mom and his dad and his sister and brother again. That is powerful knowledge.
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