Imagine the wind whistling past as you plummet towards the earth at 120mph, nothing but empty space between you and the ground which is rushing up to meet you...
This is exactly what seven brave souls experienced on Saturday, 10 October, when they jumped from a plane at 10,000 feet to raise funds for mission.
Four members of CMS staff were joined by three supporters for this event, which took place at Hinton Airfield, 16 miles north of Oxford.
More pictures on Flickr
By raising sponsorship from their friends, family and supporters, the team of skydivers have made a valuable contribution to the work of the Church Mission Society around the world.
In perfect, clear conditions, all seven members of the group floated safely back to earth with their tandem instructors and all of them thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
All set: Stephen Burgess gets ready to jump. Top: Louise mid-flight(Photo: © CMS)
Over a celebratory glass of champagne and bowl of strawberries and cream, Stephen Burgess said, “Exiting the plane was amazing – just seeing the earth below, rushing up towards me.”
Stephen’s daughter Louise also jumped and said, “It was beautiful – we parachuted down through a perfectly round rainbow.”
The team have raised over £2,000 so far. If you’d like to sponsor them and help them raise even more, it’s not too late; just go to
www.justgiving.com/staffskydivers.
If you’d like to take part in next year’s skydive, or if you’d be interested in a different type of sponsored challenge, click here or contact Ruth Biddulph on 01865 787519 or
ruth.biddulph@cms-uk.org for more information.