Ok, here are some more times that I could have died, but the Lord provided what was needed. I guess He still had some work for me to do.

At the end of my senior year at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston I had some free time, so I took a local SCUBA diving course. The opportunity arose to go to Freeport, Texas and dive on the V.A. Fogg, a tanker that had discharged its cargo of benzene and was never heard from again. (see 7 minute YouTube video, “VA Fogg, a ship lost at sea”)

Its radar mast was found 10 days later protruding above the surface, 40 miles off the coast. The ship had exploded in two, with 32 men blown off and only the captain remaining on board in his cabin. The ship rested 110 feet down.

As I descended toward it I found one of the largest fishes I’ve ever seen just off my left shoulder, fortunately a grouper, or large sea bass. The deeper you go, the more air you take in with each breath, because of the increasing pressures, so your tank empties much more quickly than near the surface.

There was some current down there, and the ship has creaking and groaning. All of a sudden I was starting to suck on my mouthpiece, as my tank was nearly empty! It is a good thing that I had my air reserve lever properly positioned, and when I pulled that I had about 10 more minutes of air, enough to slowly make my way back up to our boat.

My first airplane was a Grumman AA-1, a small low wing two-seater, and we belonged to the American Yankee Association, a national group of Grumman pilots. Valo and I had flown to national fly-ins in Bowling Green, Kentucky and Cody, Wyoming [described in a Nevada Herald article]. We had flown down to Gaston’s, a fly-in resort on White River for a regional AYA meet.

After a great trout dinner, we were departing on the grass strip and had a bit of tail wind (you had to go out that way that day). I had pulled the yoke (“steering wheel”) all the way back to take the weight off of the nose wheel, and should have eased it forward as we gained speed, but I didn’t. As we hopped off of the turf, the yoke “froze” and would not move, and we were headed for the trees on the left!

About 5 seconds passed before the yoke returned to normal function, and I decided that it was best to land, which I did. We didn’t quite get stopped at the end of the runway, and we took a trip down the sloped embankment at the end, and when we got to level ground the nose wheel collapsed and the propeller hit the turf and bent. There was firewall damage, and the plane was a total write-off. I later bought a similar sized plane, the Alarus CH-2000. ( If I’d had the presence of mind to take my foot off of one brake pedal, we could have swerved to a stop at the top of the hill, but I would have always had some mistrust for the plane – we never found out what the problem was.)

There’s another story about the Grumman. We were approaching TBO (time between overhaul) for the engine, and it was starting to use oil excessively, so I had it sent to Tulsa for overhaul. Jody, the airport operator had installed the “new” engine, and I was thrilled to be taking the plane up for the break-in flight. I would fly in wide circles around the airport in case of problems.

Well, about the second time around, the engine quit! I was west of the airport and declared an emergency on my radio [the local fire and rescue was standing by when I arrived]. I began to enter the standard approach pattern for NVD and quickly it became apparent that my loss of altitude would not allow for a “normal” landing! As I turned to the runway, the propeller stopped and there I was! I knew that unless I kept the nose pointed down, I would crash and die, so I made a rather steep turning descent to the runway and touched down with a bounce.

Jody towed the plane back to the hangar. Here’s where it gets crazy. Jody ALWAYS refilled my fuel tanks after my return to the airport, and I always checked the tanks for fuel before each flight. But after the engine installation he did NOT fill the left tank, and for some reason on the test flight I failed to check the tank, ASSUMING that he had filled it.

So, when the engine quit I was convinced that the overhauled engine had failed, and headed for the airport. I also at that time failed to run through a checklist for engine failure, which would have solved the problem with the first action – switching fuel tanks! The engine would have roared to life and I would have finished by test flight. This illustrates that one problem adds to another if you are not careful, and it can ruin your whole day!

Here I sit, grateful to the Lord for saving me once more. (My angel may be getting tired!) Never forget, though, that it is the initial salvation experience that is most important.
“You must be born again”!

Dr. Jones

It is so comforting to know that as a child of God I can look forward to His constant provision, both daily and in special circumstances. We are in the end of the End Times, and you must be ready to go in the rapture or face the great trials of the Tribulation. A one-world church has just been formed, Israel is ready to build the Third Temple (they even have the priest identified), and the Middle East is nearing the playing out of Ezekiel 38 and 39 as the head of Iran’s nuclear program was just killed, likely by Israel. The signs are here.

I will relate three separate occasions when the Lord sent persons to help when needed. I mentioned the “angel” last time. The first of these three happened in December of 1976 in Leningrad, Russia. I was in the Air Force, and Valo and I had taken a trip to Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersberg) and had ventured to go hear the Leningrad Symphony. After a delightful experience listening to Beethoven in that beautiful hall with marble columns and crystal chandeliers, we got lost on the subway trip back to our hotel.

In Russia you can’t just read the signs for information! As we pondered our dilemma at an underground station, a lady stopped and offered help. She was French, but knew some German and so did I. That was enough to get us on the right train and to our stop.

The second occasion was also in the 1970’s when we were in the Air Force in England. I was to give a talk at a medical conference in Wiesbaden, Germany and had papers indicating that my plane was to stop first at Ramstein, then proceed to Rhine-Main Air Base, next to Wiesbaden. All was well until it became clear that when the plane landed at Ramstein, it was not going any further!

You might say my “heart sank”, but a Colonel stepped over and offered help, drove me to the local train station, and bought me a ticket to Wiesbaden. On the train, I was seated next to a young lady who was on the way to see her boyfriend there, and mentioned that we had to change trains halfway there, something I didn’t know! We had two minutes to do so. When the train stopped in Wiesbaden, we were across the street from my hotel, the Von Steuben! I had to thank God right there.

The third time was on a trip with the whole family to a conference at Stonecroft in the Ozarks. We were 10 miles north of Branson when our van just quit! We had plenty of gas, and it was a mystery. We coasted to a stop at a guardrail on one of those long uphill stretches. It was 5 pm on a Saturday, and what were we going to do??

My daughter Libby and I walked to the top of the hill and found the Ozark Winery (gone now) and told a lady inside of our plight. We said, “Well, there is this guy Earl McGrath who is a mechanic”, and she phoned him. Earl had just gotten out of his work clothes and was ready for a shower, but he agreed to come and help us. Now ask yourself, what are the odds of finding help on a Saturday evening from anybody?

Earl came, towed us over the hill to a church parking lot, and diagnosed our problem. I don’t recall what the exact problem was, but we needed a new battery. Earl drove me the 10 miles to Branson, helped pick out the right battery, then drove back to install it. The van started right up, and earl insisted that we follow him to his shop which was on one of those beautiful bald knobs in the Ozarks. He hooked the van up to his electronic equipment and pronounced everything good. As I remember, he charged me about $35 for everything (!) and I paid him at least double.

So there I was, stranded three times and saved three times. I could not have planned the rescues any better. This has given me great confidence that whatever the situation I find myself in, God provides the way out.

Oh, I have to mention one other time! This did not involve a person, but a mechanical device! We were driving in our little Morris sedan down to Cornwall in England. It was late at night and we were nearly out of petrol (gas). Sometimes we bring problems on ourselves by poor planning. I was getting desperate for a gas station, but not about to find one at that hour (about 10 pm).

We passed what appeared to be a gas station, but with no lights on. I turned in to it for some reason and pulled up in the dark next to a pump. To my amazement, the pump took COINS! I had some 50p coins in my pocket and got enough gas to get us to our destination. To this day, that is the only coin-operated gas pump that I have ever seen. See what I mean?

Trust in the Lord and He will favor you just as highly, love you just as deeply, and bless you just as much as He does me. And it’s not because any of us are so special, it’s because He is!

Dr. Jones

If I ever came in direct contact with an angel, this was the time. Our family was returning from Branson and heading north on highway 13 in our GMC van when the right rear tire blew out.

I pulled out the jack and prepared to change the tire. The problem was that with the jack fully extended, it was not high enough to raise the tire off of the ground. While I puzzled over what to do, a man came riding up on a bicycle and stopped to help. I had not seen anyone on a bike along the highway, and it seemed strange to have him there in the middle of nowhere.

I explained the problem and he immediately walked a few feet from the van and grabbed a piece of lumber, like a 4X4 and arranged it under the jack to provide the extra height. He changed the tire for me, as I recall, then hopped on his bike and rode on north.

I stowed the jack, and as we proceeded on northward I found it amazing that we did not see him along the road, and there were no exit roads there! What do you think? This is but one of a number of times that the Lord has sent someone to help me at just the right place and just the right time. I’ll tell you about more of them next time.

Dr. Jones

In my final year of training at Baylor in Houston, I was blessed to be selected as a Chief Resident in Pediatrics at the Texas Children’s Hospital. During that time I had a “side job” of starting IVs for the injection of a dye to evaluate kidney problems.

It so happened that the president of Panama who was visiting Houston developed “renal colic”, a very severe pain usually caused by a kidney stone. He was brought to the St. Luke’s Hospital ER and I was charged with getting an IV started.

I searched the usual sites, the “antecubital fossae“, where they usually draw your blood at the front of your elbow, but he was rather stout and I could not find a vein there. [the most difficult ever was in a severely dehydrated child where the only place available was the jugular vein in the neck] Eventually I settled on one in the back of his right hand.

I introduced the needle, and immediately the vein “blew”, or leaked. I was starting to sweat, as his bodyguards were hovering close by. I then used one on the back of his left hand, and thankfully it was successful; I’m not sure what my fate would have been had it not!

The chief of radiology at Texas Children’s used to tell patients if he blew a vein that “we have your right kidney injected, now we have to inject for the left”. Anyway, that’s what he told me.

So, the president of Panama got tested and treated, and that was the closest I have ever been to a prominent political figure. I praise the Lord for getting me through that one!

Dr. Jones

As promised, this article will tell you about how Valo and I got to have a lovely evening meal in the Houses of Parliament in London, England. It typifies the special blessings that God has showered on us that we never deserved, but that God is pleased to send to His children.

As I was concluding my pediatric training at Baylor, I had to make a decision regarding the military. This was during the Viet Nam war, and according to the law I could be drafted into the service any time up until I was 35 years of age. Wanting a bit more stability in my life, I opted for the Berry Plan, which allowed me to finish my pediatric training and then go into the military as a specialist, and pick my branch. I chose the Air Force and they sent us to England, where we served for 3 years, as I took advantage of concurrent travel for the family (Valo, and Sam and Scott who were 9 months old when we departed from McGuire AFB in New Jersey)

We were blessed to live in the little village of Eynsham, which is 8 miles from Oxford, and had its thatched-roof cottages. We could jump on the double-decker bus at the stop around the corner from our apartment, get off at the Oxford train station and take the train to London or on to Dover to board a hovercraft to France and catch a train to Paris, for instance.

During our stay I was contacted by Dr. Joseph Merrill, the president of Baylor College of Medicine. He told us of his upcoming visit to England and wondered if we would like to join him for a meal in the Houses of Parliament in London. We didn’t have to think that one over too long! I don’t recall what all was on the menu, but it was very nice, and we enjoyed the occasion thoroughly even though Parliament was not in session!

We were also contacted by the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor, Dr. William Blattner, who wished to visit us on his trip to England. We did have a lovely meeting, and we took him to Stratford-On-Avon to a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theater – Romeo and Juliet. Sometimes I had to pinch myself to realize that we were actually there and enjoying these things!

There is so much more to tell about living in England – we loved it there. We joined a little Baptist church in Eynsham, and we have felt at home any place we have been in the world. There are always Christian brothers and sisters to make one feel comfortable.

That brings up the topic of “citizenship”. Yes, we are citizens of the United States of America (how blessed we are for that!), but even more importantly we are “citizens of Heaven”. That’s what the Bible calls Christians. It’s a fact that all who have not called upon Christ Jesus for salvation are still “citizens of Hell”. Yes, all one has to do to spend eternity in that horrible place is nothing! If you think you are in that category, don’t wait another day to ask His forgiveness. We are in the last of the end times, and you do not want to be “left behind”. There will be opportunities to accept the Lord after the Rapture and during the Tribulation, but it will not be easy in those bloody times. “Behold, now is the day of salvation.” Next time I’ll tell you how I blew a vein in the President of Panama!

Dr. Jones

Here is another in the series on how I have been so blessed by God through my life. For this one I go back to the year that I was an intern in the pediatric program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. I was at St. Luke’s Hospital, and would often see David the “Bubble Boy” as I walked through the connecting passageway to the Methodist Hospital next door.

For those who don’t know, David had SCID, Severe Combined Immune Deficiency, a rare condition which rendered him incapable of generating antibodies to fight off even the mildest of infections. NASA later made a “spacesuit” for him so that he could go outside, but he eventually died of exposure to some normally benign germ.

One day, out of the blue, my attending Resident, Sandy Lewis, asked me if I wanted to take a ride in the Goodyear Blimp. Sure, I thought, fat chance of that! But he was serious. When I asked how he was able to offer this, he said that he had just purchased a new set of Goodyear tires. They must have been premiums!

Well, the day came for the flight, so Valo and I drove up to the Goodyear blimp base north of Houston and signed in. It was rather windy, and we were told that we might not be able to go due to the winds. After some time, though, we were allowed to board the rather small capsule below the huge envelope, and there may have been one or two other people besides us as passengers. I believe we were on the “America”.

As we slowly lifted off, I counted 16 guys holding onto ropes below us! We climbed on up above the base, and I recall a small airplane (like a Piper Cub) zooming past us! It really was like an airship, as we slowly pitched forward and back with the winds. After maybe 15 or 20 minutes we turned around and had not gone very far at all. The landing was a bit bumpy due to those winds.

So, why did Sandy choose to ask me to go? Why didn’t he go? I really don’t know the answers, but I give God the credit for the experience. It was certainly a unique form of flying!

Next: dining in the halls of Parliament in London!

Dr. Jones

When I look back over my life I find it to be amazing how situations and circumstances have “aligned” for my own good so many times. Just as it says in Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…”

For example, I would likely have wrecked my future by following through with my plans to attend SMS University in Springfield with a friend who later flunked out there. I had done well in chemistry and biology at Nevada High School, and was surprised at the Senior Assembly to be given a couple of awards – first, recognition from the Board of Curators of MU as a “student of high scholastic promise”, and then to be given the Bell Telephone Science Award.

In addition, I had been driven to Columbia, Missouri by our principal, Garland Kiethley, to be interviewed by the Governor’s Selection Committee to decide which two students from Missouri would be selected to attend the West Virginia Centennial Science Camp. I came out number three.

It “just happened” that my grandparents had moved from Nevada to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and just happened to attend First Baptist Church there as did the Dean of Students of John Brown University, Audrey Thomas, who happened to be shown a newspaper clipping of me by my Grandmother, and happened to phone me on a Saturday morning and offer me a “full ride” scholarship which I accepted. My grades at JBU allowed it to continue for all four years, and there I met my beautiful wife. None of this was planned! How many people get a full scholarship without even applying?

I spent three summers excavating Osage Indian sites for the University of Missouri Department of Anthropology, and sometimes felt “special”, as when I was given the task of using a grapefruit knife and whisk broom and paint brush to carefully uncover a skeleton at the Brown Site north of Nevada. (which was better than digging holes or breaking up rocks with a sledge hammer!) Or the time at Stockton the next summer when our supervisor, Rolland Pangborn, chose me to drive his car to Springfield and deliver a package to an address on Grand. But then, I am God’s favorite! And it’s not that I’m so special, it’s that we who are Christians and therefore God’s children are treated like family. Each of us is His favorite!

I mentioned last time that God is outside of time and space and knows the end from the beginning. He tells us of the beginning in the first verse of the Bible, and also in the very first Hebrew word in that book He tells us of the end. There are at least four other Hebrew words included in that first one, “Beerisheet”. I mentioned before that you need to look on YouTube at “The Beerisheet Passover Prophecy”, which is an hour and 5 minutes long, and I found that it proves to my satisfaction that the Great Tribulation begins in 2023.

That is only 3 years away, and for Christians it means that we will be removed any time between now and then. This is the “rapture” at which time all Christians will simply disappear. The “Restrainer”, the Holy Spirit, will be removed from Earth at that time, and all Hell will break loose here. You do not want to be left behind and go through all of that turmoil, the worst conditions on earth ever. Many will be saved during those 7 years, but at great cost (such as beheadings). Do not take the “mark” if you are still around! At the conclusion of the Tribulation Christ returns to earth and touches down on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (where some of you saw a photo of me riding a camel!)

I have described how blessed I was to have not only gone to Israel in 2017, but to have been in Jerusalem on the same day as President Trump, and to be there on the 50th anniversary of “Jerusalem Day”. (that was 50 years after the “Six Day War” in 1967) Our trip could not have been planned better.

I have related that my two strongest spiritual gifts are discernment and teaching. I was able to discern that world events are largely controlled by an elite “oligarchy” that has worked for decades to bring forth a one world government with its “Beast System”. We are almost completely there, but have been granted a delay by the election of Donald J. Trump as president. I have agreed with those who see a coming economic collapse, and I set up a “gold IRA” back in 1986. It has taken longer than I expected to occur!

I forsee a reversal in the recent election results as the various forms of election fraud by the Deep State are exposed and dealt with. We need for President Trump to continue to do what is best for America, and to forestall Marxism for as long as possible. Of course, the Republicans have their own share of corruption that needs exposure, and I see that happening as well.

I recently revealed my thankfulness at being so healthy, with normal lab results, healthy blood pressure with no medications, and attribute it to many things such as trying to eat mostly healthy foods, exercising, getting enough sleep, drinking good quality water, and staying in fellowship with my Christian brothers and sisters.

I also have discovered that it is very important to believe what the living Word of God (the Bible) tells us, and I pay attention when we are told the reason that so many Christians are sick and die early. At Communion I realize that the juice represents my salvation through Jesus’ blood, and that the bread represents my healing through his “stripes”, the lacerations and beatings that He was given at the whipping post before He went to the cross.

It’s too bad that this important fact about our health is neglected by almost everyone at the Lord’s Supper observance. But, it is as plain a day in I Corinthians chapter 11, verses 29 and 30. Read those carefully and see what it tells you. You partake “unworthily” by not properly discerning the Lord’s body in the bread. Each time you take the cup and eat the bread, thank Jesus for giving His blood for removal of your sins (forever), and for taking that torture for your healing, and you will be more firmly planted on the road to good health.

In the next articles we will see more examples of God’s blessings on me and my family, such as riding in the Goodyear blimp, and dining in parliament in London. Perhaps this will prompt you to look back for special gifts in your life. If you have not placed your life in God’s hands, maybe they will serve as a nudge in that direction.

Until next time, blessings…

Dr. Jones

This will be the first in a series of articles that will illustrate a large number of exciting, and sometimes miraculous, events in my life. I have often looked back and noticed what I call a “golden thread” through my existence that is reflective of the hand of God… things that have happened to me that would not normally be expected to happen, people who have appeared at various key times for my benefit.

I was born in Nevada, Missouri, and currently live a half-block from that place, originally Nevada City Hospital. I grew up on West Cherry Street right across from Main Hall of Cottey College, a fun place for a young boy to be. (The location of my boyhood home is now a parking lot.)

That house had an enclosed back porch, with glass windows that one could open outward. I recall the time when I was around 7 or 8 and was climbing up into one of those windows when the glass shattered and I fell outward. The door to the basement was open and I fell headfirst down onto the concrete steps, with broken glass preceding me. I remember there being some blood, but no serious injuries

Now I will tell you of a time that I nearly killed the whole family! I’m guessing that I was around 10 years old when my brother and my parents and I went to see my grandpa’s coal mine, the Thornhill Coal Company near the Kansas state line. It was a nice sunny day and we were walking around and climbing over rock boulders when I noticed a length of orange dynamite fuse sticking up. Well, I had a book of matches in my pocket, and what is a fuse for, anyway? Dynamite fuse is considerably harder to light than firecracker fuse, fortunately. Though I tried several times to light it, there was just enough breeze to prevent ignition; otherwise, our family line would likely have ended right there.

The time I knowingly came the closest to death was when I was age 14 and I went on vacation to South Dakota with my family and a good friend, Fred. We stayed in Spearfish Canyon and visited Iron Creek Lake. Fred was in better shape than I at the time, and a better swimmer. We both swam across the lake to a dock on the far side, and I was somewhat surprised when he suggested that we swim back across! We were perhaps a third of the way back when I realized how tired I was and made the wise decision to turn around. Shortly thereafter my legs began cramping and I had to roll over on my back and use my arms to continue the struggle. I was pondering how sad my mom was going to be when they pulled my body out of the lake when my feet contacted weeds growing on the bottom. That gave me strength to make it the rest of the way back to the dock.

There was also the time when I was at Nevada High School as the senior pole vaulter. I had the very first fiberglass pole used at NHS. (Before that we used aluminum poles). The new one was white, and I noted that it did not have near the flex that the chocolate brown poles did that other schools used. At a meet in Springfield as I planted the end of the pole and began my upward swing I was in a near vertical position when the pole snapped in two and I landed almost on my back. I am thankful that I did not break my neck, and perhaps an angel help lower me down, as when I landed on those basement steps years earlier.

At one time I owned a Triumph GT6+ sports car with its famous Lucas electronics. I was returning from Osceola on a moonless night on highway 82, and was enjoying traversing all of those curves at a fairly high rate of speed. Just as I entered Eldorado Springs my lights went out! I broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that if that had happened just a short time earlier on one of those curves, I may well have ended up in a rollover with serious injuries or worse.

Many don’t know that I have owned two airplanes. The first was a low wing 2-seater, a Grumman AA-1. Valo and I had flown into Gaston’s Resort on White River for a regional meeting of the American Yankee Association, and enjoyed a great trout dinner. Afterward, we were on the takeoff run and upon lifting off, the yoke (“steering wheel”) froze! I could not turn it, and we were heading straight for the trees to the left of the grass runway. This would likely have resulted in fatalities, but after about 5 seconds, the yoke released and returned to normal function, and I decided to land. I was not able to get stopped at the end of the runway, and we took a ride down an incline that resulted in a collapsed nose wheel and bent propeller (and firewall damage and a “totaled” airplane). More angel action?

As a Christian, I am aware that God knows the end from the beginning, and He is outside of both time and space. He also blesses us with His favor, love, and mercies (which are new each day). And the angels are described as ministering spirits to help us. The next several articles will show how “all things work together for our good,” how blessed I have been, and how God has sent people (and angels?) to help in other special situations.

Dr. Jones