About
Kris Rystrom Emmert
Award winning author, audiobook narrator, nationally acclaimed inspirational speaker, and Gold Star Wife, Kris Rystrom Emmert impacts readers and audiences with her powerful message on having endured unspeakable tragedy and discovered unshakeable hope. With her contagious zest for life, she weaves her story of loss into a life-changing encounter that inspires others to experience their own healing and to uncover their God-given destinies.
A graduate of Wake Forest University and Regent University. Kris holds a master’s degree in communications. In her writing and on stage she combines her extensive education, military experience, challenges of single motherhood, talents as a businesswoman, and years of teaching at higher-education institutions to reach thousands with her motivating message. Topics include:
- Hope after Heartache
- God’s Unfailing Love
- Inner Beauty Discovered
- Empty Nest – Now What?
- Saying Yes in the Mess
Kris resides in Coastal North Carolina with her husband, Rev. Joe Emmert. They have served together in ministry for over 28 years in VA, TN, TX, FL, and NC. They have 4 children, a granddaughter, and are the founders of Providing Promise Ministries, a 501c3 non-profit ministry.
Kris Rystrom Emmert is a member of Gold Star Wives of America and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.
Operation Provide Promise 1992–1996
Operation Provide Promise was a United States-led allied effort to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The humanitarian relief operation ran during the Yugoslav Wars, from 2 July 1992 to 9 January 1996, which made it the longest running humanitarian airlift in history.
Lt. Cmdr. Jon A. Rystrom and Lieutenants Patrick J. Ardaiz, William R. Dyer, Robert H. Forwalder, and John A. Messier of VAW-124 crashed in Bear Ace 603, also designated AJ 603, an E-2C Hawkeye, while returning from a three and a half hour flight to the ship in the Ionian Sea, 65 miles east of Crotone, Italy, at 0054 on 26 March 1993. The sea was calm, but aircraft contended with solid cloud cover and areas of fog. Winds blew from the south at 14 knots and visibility dropped to about five miles.
Bear Ace 603 launched at 2115 and operated with a second Hawkeye above the Adriatic coast of Bosnia-Herzegovina, monitoring air drops of supplies to refugees and maintaining data links between the ship and allied commands, before both early warning aircraft returned to the carrier. The Landing Signal Officer (LSO) waved off the E-2C because of a fouled deck as the plane approached from aft, and the Hawkeye then passed over the flight deck and flew a mile ahead of the carrier before hitting the water. All five men on board were lost at sea.