Rocky Miller’s last memory of his plane sinking into the sea was the splash. <\/p>\n
“I remember the spray of the water coming over the aircraft,” Miller said. <\/p>\n
During a talk Wednesday at EMU’s Lehman Auditorium, Miller detailed how a malfunctioning engine nearly took him and his co-pilot to a watery grave in the Caribbean. Listen to the podcast of the chapel led by Miller <\/a><\/p>\n\n His brush with death demanded more than resilience from the 53-year-old Mennonite pastor. The drama, said Miller, forced him to see how tenuous and precious life is, and how he should live it. <\/p>\n “I told my congregation the following Sunday that you never know what day you’re gonna leave this Earth,” said Miller, a 1979 EMU grad, who now lives in Sarasota, Fla. “First, you need to make peace with the Lord, and second, with the people around you. Third, never leave here without proclaiming love to your loved ones. And fourth, I told them, we need to prioritize our lives.” <\/p>\n On the late afternoon of Dec. 20, 2007, Miller’s plane was en route from Bradenton, Fla., to the Dominican Republic with household items for residents there and its neighbor, Haiti, and the Bahamas. <\/p>\n On the way back, 31 miles from shore, the craft’s lone engine suddenly failed. Miller and his partner radioed for help, then braced for the worst. <\/p>\n The plane found a shallow area, about 18 feet deep, in a region of the Caribbean called the Bahama Shelf. A little farther north, said Miller, and the plane likely would have capsized in much deeper water, leaving little hope of recovery. <\/p>\n At impact, Miller briefly blacked out. <\/p>\n “When I woke up, I was at the bottom of the ocean, upside down,” Miller said. “I was thinking, ‘God, you’ve got to get me out of here – I’ve got a wife and kids.'” <\/p>\n After both men wriggled from their seat belts and swam to the surface, a nearby sailboat that had witnessed the scene raced over. The couple in the boat helped Miller and his friend into their vessel, offered them tea and took them to safety. <\/p>\n Miller figures that, counting extrication, his swim from the plane to the surface took a minute. <\/p>\n “I had no air left in my lungs – I know I got [more] air from somewhere,” he said. <\/p>\n Miller’s wife, Diane, first heard only that her husband had made a “water landing.” Only later did she learn the full story. <\/p>\n Miller’s daughter, Melissa, who usually accompanied him on such trips, stayed home to pack for school. Melissa Miller, 21, is a senior studying psychology<\/a> and Spanish<\/a> at EMU. <\/p>\n “I’m thankful that I wasn’t on the plane, but I don’t dwell on it,” she said. “I’m grateful for God’s mercy and timing. God’s hand was in this.” <\/p>\n Witnesses to Miller’s account of his survival agree that his testimony was thought-provoking. <\/p>\n “We don’t all get second chances,” said Rhonda Rittenhouse, 38, a human-resources assistant at EMU, who lives in Harrisonburg. The fact that Miller cheated death proves, said Rittenhouse, “that God is present” in people’s lives. <\/p>\n Lori Gant<\/a>, 49, of Harrisonburg, and director of the Lilly Foundation at EMU, says that Miller’s message connects with everyone. <\/p>\n “It’s all about love,” Gant said. “Making sure we tell each other we love them, and being thoughtful to one another each day. It’s about living life to the fullest.” <\/p>\n Miller, who also runs a construction business, marvels that he suffered no serious injuries. He believes God spared him for a reason, perhaps so he could stay involved in his church’s move to a new site in Sarasota. <\/p>\n “People at my church feel like God wanted me to still be a part of that,” Miller said.<\/p>\n![\"Rocky](\"\/news\/images\/09\/rocky-miller.jpg\")
Rocky Miller (l.) talks following his university chapel presentation with EMU President Loren Swartzendruber and Kirk Shisler, vice president for advancement. Photo by Tom Mitchell<\/div>\n\n Engine Failure <\/h3>\n
Few Second Chances <\/h3>\n