The witness of stranded astronaut Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore

Christian astronaut Barry Wilmore, known as “Butch”, has finally returned to earth from the International Space Station (ISS) after an unexpected nine-month stay due to problems with the spacecraft which transported them there.

The man from Texas spent almost 300 days on the ISS with fellow astronaut Sunni Williams despite having only expected to remain there for eight.

Wilmore’s testimony during this time has impacted many. He participated in church services and prayer meetings virtually, giving the congregation a video tour of the ISS. In an interview, he stated: “My feeling on all of this goes back to my faith. It’s bound in my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He is working out His purposes for His glory throughout all of humanity, and how that plays into our lives is significant and important, however that plays out … Some things are for the good. Some things look to us to be not so good. I am content because I understand that.”

Wilmore is an elder of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas. Tommy Dahn, the pastor at Providence Baptist, told en how pleased the congregation were to have Wilmore with them again on his first Sunday back: “Barry shared some thoughts and then took questions for about 30 minutes afterwards. “It was a great time for our congregation to have him back, plus in the last nine months we’ve had quite a few additions, so it was their first experience with the one we’d been praying [for] together for so long.

“He is not returning to his responsibilities here at the church quite yet but I don’t think it will be long. He is enjoying his family and still [re]adjusting to gravity.”