The day was gorgeous as the sun sent its rays into the bright blue sky, welcoming another new morning for the 245 residents of the tiny community of Shanksville, Pa. Standing on the porch, I waved good-bye to my husband and children as they slowly made their way down our long, wooded driveway.

It felt like one of those “great to be alive” days. I lingered outside an extra few minutes, watching the clear sky and breathing in the sweet scent of the last of the season’s hay being cut in our field.

Two hours later, the scene was to change dramatically. Suddenly the windows of our house rattled, the fan popped from the living room window, and the table toppled over simultaneously with a big bang.

The sky blackened, and sirens began to wail ominously in the background. Feeling a strange movement beneath my feet, I knew something terrible was happening to a community where the words “peaceful,” “quiet” and “serene” have been synonyms since its beginning.

With knees buckling, I found my way to the telephone to see if the school was still standing. Having turned on the television, my eyes were shocked to witness the second attack of terrorists on the Twin Towers; and my heart felt a horror that I have not known before.

This was Shanksville. Bad things didn’t happen here – not in this little town!

Forty-four heroes died in my back yard when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11. The remains of a Boeing 747 lay in a crater just one mile through the woods of our back yard where, just a few days ago, my children had played, camped out with friends, and met to go bike riding.

As more facts of the crash became available, we knew that, along with the plane being diverted from its assumed destination of Washington, D.C., crashing in an open field kept disaster from striking the 520 students gathered in our county school on that fateful day. Five seconds, we are told, kept our children alive.

Forty-four lives were sacrificed so that many others might live, and for that we will remain eternally grateful! We are a privileged community to know firsthand the meaning of John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (NASB).

“Flight 93 made America stronger,” said Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice-President Dick Cheney, as she spoke to family members at a memorial service held later at nearby Indian Lake. First Lady Laura Bush referred to a line from a poem as she spoke to family members of Flight 93. “Love knows not its own depths until the hour of parting.”

Those aboard Flight 93 tried to overpower the hijackers and save lives. Federal Director of Homeland Security Tom Ridge said, “They bonded together and fought back against their captors. We should look to them for inspiration and guidance to remind us we are not helpless in the face of evil.”

My husband, John, and I wondered why we had felt so compelled to plant a church in Shanksville just 10 months earlier. The community is so small that it hardly ever even appears on a map. We know part of the reason now.

Within four hours, members of the newly established Stonycreek Church of Christ began gathering in our home. Kids and adults formed an assembly line around the kitchen table. Bologna, cheese, bread, chips, cookies and juice box drinks passed through the hands of those who volunteered their time to feed the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company and the hundreds of state police, FBI agents and volunteers now pouring into our tiny town.

The pictures on page 24 show this small group of Christians who planned a memorial service for families of victims, made cards for the families, donated hours and hours of time at the fire hall serving food, hosted visitors with meals and tours, and welcomed a newspaper reporter to worship with us. Perhaps this helps us understand more of God’s purpose. A church was planted, and we were given heroes in our back yard so that we could serve the needs of families who, in their ultimate sacrifice, have taught us a real life story of love and compassion. Every time we look out the window into our back yard, we think of Flight 93. God honored us by allowing these heroic people to be constant reminders to us of His wonderful love.

God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. God chooses ordinary places to share His extraordinary love with others. God allowed Shanksville to become the resting place of 44 ordinary people who, in their act of extraordinary love, taught us about the most extraordinary love of all. Not many people are privileged to have such a backyard reminder.

Things like the attack on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers are not supposed to happen, yet they did. Our nation has been awakened from a sleep, and we’ve had our love for this nation and for all of our freedoms rekindled. We now stand united as we sing “God Bless America” and pray publicly to our God.

Small, obscure places like Shanksville do not often make worldwide news – not unless God has a plan and a purpose. As I listen to the prayers of my children, I do not hear words of fear or questioning. Their words are strong – full of faith and courage as their young hearts pray, “Thank you, God, for our blessings. Thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for all the people who love us. Thank you for our nation. Thank you for the church. And thank you for the people of Flight 93.”

Flight 93. Ordinary people. An ordinary town. An ordinary back yard. All coming together to challenge us with an extraordinary mission. A letter was sent to the Stonycreek Church of Christ from a family member of one of the victims of Flight 93: “We are writing to thank you for your kindness to strangers. We came to Shanksville on Thursday, Sept. 20, and we felt your grief, your gratitude, and your comfort. Please know that your actions and words did provide us some comfort as we visited. I think the town of Shanksville is the perfect resting place for the heroes of Flight 93. We would like to return to Shanksville soon to thank you properly for your comfort and support, your prayers, and your tears.”

God is still in control. He remains very involved in our lives. His church will continue to grow, even when we suffer terrorist’s attacks. And sometimes, God can even use our own back yards to fulfill His mighty purpose. Flight 93 and Shanksville. Only God could make sense out of that combination and draw good from tragedy.

Clara Hinton and her husband, John, worship with the Stonycreek Church of Christ, and have 11 children and three grandchildren. They live in Shanksville, Pa. Clara has written several books including Pearls of Wisdom for Him and Pearls of Wisdom for Her.

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