A young newlywed was killed in a helicopter crash just hours after his wedding and his grieving parents responded with a faith that is hard to explain.
Losing someone we love shakes us to the core. Even the strongest believer can find themselves asking God why. Why did this happen? Why now? Why us? But what sets apart a person of genuine faith is not that they never ask why. It is how they still hold onto their faith and trust in His plans. And this family lived out that faith in their most heartbreaking situation.
Dave Fiji, 25, married his bride Jesni on Friday May 29 at The Revere venue near Dawsonville Georgia. They met at New Testament Church over a decade ago. Hundreds of people were there to celebrate them. By all accounts it was a beautiful night.
After the reception wrapped up around 9:30 the couple boarded a Robinson R66 helicopter to fly to Peachtree-DeKalb Airport. The weather had turned foggy and rainy.
Dave was himself a Delta pilot and told his father he would not fly in that visibility. The pilot was cleared to fly at a higher altitude anyway and they took off.
The helicopter crashed in a heavily wooded area southwest of Dawsonville. Dave and the pilot Nikhil Nargundkar were killed. Jesni was trapped under the wreckage and trees for five hours.
When she came to she saw Dave lying on her chest. She is a nurse. She touched him and called out to him. He was already cold.
But even in this tragedy this family leaned straight into God and what came out of their mouths is something you don’t easily forget.
Dave’s father George called him “a precious child” and “a gift from God.” His mother Pheba said something at the altar caught everyone’s attention.
“Both of them told us they could sense the presence of God at the altar,” she said. “A tangible presence of God. There was a special glow and glory over his face that we couldn’t explain. And it was not just us who noticed.”
And then she said this. “We have the confidence that God perfected the work that he started in his life.”
George called it a perfect wedding. “We couldn’t ask anything more.”
Jesni is recovering physically. She described Dave as kind gentle and selfless. The NTSB is investigating the crash with weather as a likely factor.
Please pray for Jesni and the Fiji family as they walk through this.
WATCH: Christian Parents Share Powerful Words After Losing Their Son in Tragic Helicopter Crash
