Autumn Nelon Streetman Gives Birth on Late Mom's Birthday Months After Gospel Stars' Plane Crash
The only surviving member of a beloved Gospel group is celebrating the birth of a new family member, just five months after losing most of her family in a plane crash.
Autumn Nelon Streetman, the last surviving member of The Nelons, gave birth to her son on December 1, the same birthday as her late mother, Kelly Nelon Clark, who died in that crash.
The singer shared the news on Instagram earlier this month that she welcomed her first son, Rhett, with husband Jamie Streetman.
"The sweetest blessing God has ever given us," she wrote in a caption last week.
Autumn shared shortly after delivery that giving birth to her son was "the hardest, but most rewarding thing" she has ever done.
"Happy Birthday Mama, I think you would love this birthday gift," she added.
As CBN News reported, the young singer lost both her parents and sister in a plane crash on July 26 while the group was on their way to attend the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska.
The Nelons had plans to meet in Seattle before the cruise. Autumn and her husband, Jamie, took a commercial flight, while the rest of the family took a private jet out of Georgia.
Autumn later learned while in baggage claim in Seattle that her mom, her stepdad Jason Clark, her sister Amber Nelon Kistler, and brother-in-law Nathan Kistler were killed along with pilots Larry and Melissa Haynie, and the music ensemble's assistant, Melodi Hodges.
During a memorial service held in August, Autumn expressed that despite the grief and pain, she was trusting God.
"I do believe that God gives us something that's worth trusting, and that is Him and Him alone," she said. "In a matter of three minutes, my entire life changed. My precious family, my friends, my livelihood — gone, with no warning."
The Gospel singer did admit that despite knowing that her family is in Heaven, "it's still very, very hard."
"I have good days, and I have bad days. There are times when I think I should have told my mama I loved her one more time, but she knew. They all knew," Streetman told Woman's World in August.
The Nelons' most recent recorded album, Loving You, was released on August 30.
When announcing the release, Autumn thanked fans for their prayers and support for her and her family after the tragedy.
"I had no idea how big of an impact this album would have on my life, especially what I am walking through right now," she shared. "There's a song on there called, 'The Hand of an Unseen God,' and the lyrics say, 'in my weeping/in rejoicing/when my world is good or when it falls apart/I'm held by the hand of an unseen God.' I had no idea I would be walking through those lyrics right now."
Autumn shared that her "only peace" is knowing her family is with the Lord.
"I know that what they are seeing now is nothing compared to what we have down here…Someday sooner than we think, we're all going to be there," she said.
The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation, but Churchleaders.com reports that there is a possibility that the plane's autopilot system malfunctioned.
CBN News recorded this video of Amber Nelon Kistler singing this poignant rendition of "It Is Well" with her husband Nathan Kistler standing next to her in the U.S. Capitol in 2023.
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