It has been one year since Bob & Neiba Norton and 5 others went missing in the jungles of Venezuela. Not a day goes by that I don't think about and miss my good friend Bob.
To everyone who has supported the search effort with their resources, time, talents and prayer I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Although we have still found nothing, we have not given up. The search for the lost is rarely what we think it will be when we set out on the journey. None of us knew it would be a year later and we would still not have located the precious souls from that ill fated flight from Karun to Ciudad Bolivar.
My good friend and co-lead with the U.S. Analyst Team, JD and I are planning on traveling to Venezuela on March 20. Two team members from the documentary film project "Finding Bob Norton" will be traveling with us to obtain footage of searcher and witness interviews, and the continued effort to locate Bob and the others. While we are there, we will investigate every lead that has surfaced over the recent months and will determine what if any areas of the jungle need additional searching.
For those interested in following the development of documentary, the link is:
We believe the story of Bob's life is powerful and worth telling. His challenges, his pilot training and skills, his work with AMA and GMI, and of course now the search for him and the others. To see how a seemingly ordinary man did such extraordinary things as a medical missionary pilot on a shoe string budget in a challenging environment. The value he showed others in the risks he took on a regular basis to help those in need.
May God bless the efforts of all who continue . . .
Bob Edwards
Dear AMA Family,
It has been a year this week since the disappearance of the AMA airplane and passengers. You have followed the search, grieved the loss, and prayed. Maybe we will eventually have answers to what happened; maybe not. However, we have our memories, our hopes, and God’s promises of a reunion day. It has been a difficult year for our family and we wish to thank each of you for the support and caring spirit you have shown. God has heard every prayer, and for reasons we can’t understand He’s not wrought deliverance such as we’ve wished. I still pray that His kingdom will be advanced and people eternally saved.
The other day I listened to one of Bob’s piano music CD’s while working in the greenhouse. Many of the songs which he included are also favorites of mine. As the melodies played the words spoke. I believe these are the messages my brother would encourage us with.
Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Great is Thy faithfulness . . .all I have needed thy hand hath provided. What a friend I have in Jesus . . .all our sins and griefs to bear. Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. There is a place of quiet rest near to the heart of God. I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today . . .to be faithful to His dear cause. He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock . . . and covers me there with His hand. Until then, with joy I’ll carry on . . .until that day my eyes behold that city . . .until the day God calls me home.
As the search and waiting continues, and regardless of the outcome, let us be faithful in our sphere of influence and make a difference in someone’s life.
God bless you,
Barbara (Norton) Kay