Participants:
Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ003121S
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00:25 Imagine being set adrift down here
00:28 in these shark-infested waters 00:31 in the pitch darkness of night with the thunder crashing, 00:36 the lightning flashing, and no sign of likely survival. 00:45 Join us today 00:47 as we hear Neil Watts' incredible story of survival 00:52 and the amazing way that God heard his prayers 00:55 and assisted Neil in surviving 00:58 and in making his way to the beach. 01:28 Neil, 01:30 this beach has special significance to you, 01:31 doesn't it? 01:33 It certainly does, Gary. 01:34 As I sit here today 01:35 and think back to exactly 11 years ago, 01:39 since I arrived first on this beach 01:41 in the middle of the night 01:43 and just looking out over the ocean, 01:46 thinking back as to what happened that night, 01:48 it brings back lots of memories. 01:50 I'm so glad I'm alive to tell a story though. 01:53 Yeah. 01:56 Let me, perhaps, 01:57 first go back to the beginning of the story 01:59 when I was in Espírito Santo 02:02 ready to take the flight down to Port Vila. 02:06 It was a fine evening, and the sun had just set, 02:10 and I was waiting for the flight. 02:13 And just thought it would be a routine flight 02:15 of about one hour. 02:18 I had, by the way, left my wife at Santo, 02:21 which was unusual. 02:22 She would normally only come if I was with her. 02:25 And looking back now, 02:26 of course, I'm so glad that happened. 02:28 I praise God 02:29 that she wasn't with me on that flight. 02:32 But we eventually boarded the plane. 02:35 I had hurt my back a few days before 02:38 and that had been very frustrating for me. 02:41 But that night because of my bad back 02:43 when I entered the rear of the plane 02:45 where the door was, 02:46 instead of going right down to the front, 02:49 where I normally would have sat, 02:50 always used to sit down in the front, 02:52 I just went straight to the seat 02:54 across from the door and sat down, 02:57 tightened my seat belt up 02:58 as tight as I could to support my bad back. 03:02 On the seat where my wife would normally sit, 03:05 I put my computer 03:06 and settled back for the flight. 03:09 Now the other passengers... 03:11 Who was with you on the flight? 03:13 There was 12 people on the flight, 03:14 the pilot and his engineer and 10 passengers. 03:21 Two of the passengers were from Perth, 03:24 they sat right in front of me. 03:26 Dr. Nicole Leeks and Tim Hurford, 03:30 her husband 03:31 and I was sitting, as I said before, 03:33 the straight opposite the door, 03:34 just behind me was a man from Vanuatu, 03:38 Wesley Rasu 03:40 and there were other passengers in front of us. 03:44 And the flight took off and it was smooth 03:47 for the first half of the flight, I guess. 03:50 And then it began to get rough. 03:53 A lot of turbulence. 03:55 It was stormy weather outside. 03:56 I could see lightning flashing, 03:58 I could see the rain beating on the windows 04:01 and the plane was going from side to side, up and down. 04:06 In fact, I remember thinking to myself, 04:07 when I get back to Port Vila, 04:09 I'll tell my friend 04:10 who was waiting for me at the airport, 04:12 "This was the roughest flight I've ever had." 04:14 Little did I know what was going to happen 04:17 in the next few hours. 04:19 So it got rougher and rougher and more turbulence. 04:23 And eventually, we began to feel a bit apprehensive 04:26 because we're overdue. 04:28 I looked at my watch, 10 minutes overdue 04:31 and a little while later, 15 minutes overdue. 04:34 Tim and Nicole in front of me 04:35 are also looking at their watches 04:37 and the passengers began to sense an unease. 04:40 And I began to feel that well maybe we're going to crash. 04:43 There's something wrong here. 04:45 And I remember just praying to the Lord that 04:48 "Lord, if You want to save me, You can do that. 04:50 If it's not Your will or if I die tonight, 04:53 I'm ready but please look after my wife, Lord." 04:56 And I just sat back 04:58 and tried to wait and see what would happen. 05:00 It wasn't long after that, 05:02 that the pilot had been turning from side to side. 05:05 And we knew that something was wrong. 05:07 He was lost perhaps, 05:09 but he revved up the engines really, 05:11 really hard, full power, full throttle. 05:15 And I thought that maybe he had been coming down to land 05:18 and was a little bit low and needed some extra lift 05:21 or otherwise, 05:22 perhaps he saw a mountain in front of him 05:24 and was trying to get out of the way. 05:26 I wasn't sure what it was, 05:28 but I just sat there praying and wondering 05:29 what was happening. 05:31 And then he cut the engines and I went dead silent. 05:35 About two seconds later, 05:37 there was this great thump and bang. 05:39 We are thrown forward in our seats. 05:42 Fortunately, I wasn't injured. 05:43 Although, later on, 05:44 I found I had a small crack in one of my ribs, 05:47 but that wasn't too significant. 05:51 But immediately, 05:52 and this is what shocked me and it was an awful experience. 05:55 It's like a nightmare. I can still see it. 05:57 The door between the cockpit and the cabin, 06:01 where we were, just burst open and water poured up the aisle. 06:05 And within a few seconds, it was up to my knee. 06:08 And I thought 06:10 the first impression of the noise was, 06:12 you know, we were in the forest, 06:14 it was a tree. 06:15 Eventually, I could, you know, 06:17 I could hear and feel the rushing waves 06:21 coming through the plane, 06:23 even sitting from the backseat. 06:26 My mind actually 06:28 should have left me a little bit. 06:30 And eventually, I came back to my sense 06:32 and I knew what was happening on the water. 06:34 So, you know, 06:36 realizing that the plane was actually beneath the water. 06:41 I struggled with my seatbelt, 06:42 while I was doing that 06:43 Tim Herford and his wife went across the door. 06:46 They opened the door and jumped out, 06:49 Wesley Rasu jumped out in the water as well, 06:52 and then I think I was next. 06:54 And I dived into the water and it was dark, it was stormy, 06:59 the rain was pouring down and the waves were quite rough. 07:03 And then people began to get out behind me as well, 07:06 a couple more. 07:07 And eight of us eventually got out into the water, 07:11 four people never came out of the plane. 07:21 But in this chaos, it was just very wild. 07:26 There are people yelling out and screaming, 07:29 as you can imagine the wind and the rain. 07:31 It was just chaotic. 07:32 It was a real nightmare experience, 07:35 I can tell you. 07:37 It was dark, it was gloomy, it was dark. 07:39 It was... 07:41 The wave, you could feel the wave, 07:42 sort of raging and, 07:44 you know, the feeling wasn't really too good. 07:46 And that's the first encounter 07:48 that, wow, it's not only the plane crash, 07:50 but the weather was terrible. 07:52 I decided to get up onto the wing, 07:54 because the plane was half under the water at the stage, 07:57 so the wing was down almost at water level. 07:59 And so I called out to those near the door 08:01 still to try and get some life jackets. 08:04 Now I think, it was Wesley Rasu 08:05 that was able to put his arm in and get one, 08:09 another one floated out. 08:11 And I think that was about all. 08:13 So two people in the end had life jackets. 08:15 Two out of the eight? 08:17 Two out of the eight. 08:18 There were two men who didn't come near us. 08:20 They were at the other end of the plane, 08:22 they went to the tail end. 08:23 And somehow when we called out, "Let's stay together, " 08:26 they didn't come to us. 08:27 I'm not sure what happened. 08:29 I think one of them in couldn't swim, 08:31 I was told that later on. 08:33 But six of us were together 08:35 and I remember thinking that 08:36 this is a really drastic situation. 08:39 We might die tonight. 08:40 And so I cried out as loud as I could 08:42 over the wind and the waves to the people in the darkness. 08:45 I couldn't see them. 08:47 And I said, "Look, we're in trouble here. 08:48 I'm a pastor. I'd like to pray for us. 08:51 Is that okay?" 08:52 And people called out, "Yes, please." 08:53 So I lifted my head above the waves 08:56 as much as I could 08:58 and cried out as loud as I could, 08:59 and just prayed a simple prayer that God would hear us 09:02 and give us a strength and courage to keep going 09:06 and hopefully reach shore safely. 09:11 Then the plane began to sink. 09:15 And it went down very quickly in about three minutes. 09:19 It was an eerie sight, 09:20 I can tell you as I imagine it now. 09:22 You can think of it, 09:24 just going down below the dark water. 09:26 The lights still inside 09:28 and then the little red light on the back of the tail 09:31 just spinning and going down into the darkness. 09:34 Realizing that there are four people 09:36 including the pilots still on board. 09:39 There's no one to tell us what to do, 09:40 no flight attendant to say anything, 09:43 only two people had life jackets. 09:45 And it was a pretty desperate situation. 09:48 In fact, I had to help Wesley get his life jacket on 09:51 because it wasn't working properly 09:53 and I had to blow it up for him 09:55 because it wouldn't inflate 09:57 and it wouldn't strap up properly. 09:59 So even one of the two life jackets 10:00 wasn't a real good one. 10:03 So Nicole and Tim and myself, we were without life jackets. 10:08 We decided just to keep close to Wesley, 10:11 he was the one that had a light on his life jacket, 10:14 the other man had a whistle, but no light. 10:18 So we just had this little glow that went around a few meters. 10:21 And we tried to keep as close to that as we could. 10:23 And we started swimming slowly toward Port Vila. 10:27 The waves are raging, the wind is blowing, 10:31 the rain is falling, 10:32 and it's very hard 10:34 to actually try to force yourself 10:37 against the current. 10:40 One of the worst thing was that 10:42 you couldn't see anything. 10:44 There is no star, there is no moon, 10:46 there is no light, where you can see. 10:48 And even, it's just darkness. 10:51 It's just about 2 meters where you couldn't see anybody. 10:54 It was gloomy dark. 10:57 But from my heart, 10:58 I knew that we were going some way. 11:01 We're going to be reaching our land. 11:04 If not, 11:05 there will be a daylight break somewhere 11:07 where it'll give us more hope. 11:09 And having a team swimming together 11:14 that is a strength to the whole thing. 11:18 You know, that's the comfort, that's the strength, 11:20 that the encouragement that actually keeps you going. 11:23 It seemed at first that we'd probably get picked up, 11:27 someone would surely come and look for us. 11:29 And so I remember thinking to myself, 11:32 well, let's not go too fast at this stage. 11:34 Let's try and keep our energy a little bit 11:36 as the six of us swim off, 11:38 because I thought 11:40 they will come and find us eventually, 11:41 just try and keep alive till then. 11:44 But, of course, no one came the whole evening. 11:47 And unfortunately, 11:49 after about an hour or so 11:51 one of our number, a gentleman from England, 11:54 a British anthropologist, 11:55 who I think had been injured in the crash. 11:59 He drifted off into the darkness. 12:01 He called out once to his friend, 12:03 who's the other man with a life jacket. 12:05 And I don't think he could hear him. 12:09 Now I called out and said, "Don't panic, 12:11 try and just keep afloat. 12:13 You've got as much chance 12:14 as the rest of us of being picked up." 12:18 Well, that was a last we saw him, unfortunately. 12:21 We kept swimming 12:22 and eventually getting tired and tired. 12:25 We were getting stung on our legs. 12:29 I don't know what they were, some kind of stingers. 12:32 We were covered in fuel from the plane, 12:35 which incidentally, later on, took all my skin off, 12:37 just peeled off a few days later. 12:39 That burned my skin. 12:42 But I remember thinking about sharks. 12:44 You know, I don't know 12:45 if you've ever swam at night in the dark 12:47 and you've got things stinging your legs 12:49 and you wonder what might take your toes next. 12:52 And I remember thinking that, 12:54 well, there might be sharks here. 12:56 And I was just about to call out the others 12:58 and say something about, I hope there's no sharks here. 13:01 And I fortunately didn't say anything. 13:05 But, you know what, 13:06 the Lord must have taken that from me 13:08 because the rest of the night 13:09 I never even thought of sharks. 13:11 Looking back now, I'm just so pleased, 13:15 so grateful to God 13:17 that happened because I would have panicked. 13:18 That would have made the situation even worse, 13:21 but the fact that I never even thought of them again 13:23 was just a wonderful thing. 13:31 Neil said, 13:32 "Well, you know, 13:34 we are in a situation that is pretty hard 13:38 and there is a heaven and there is a God. 13:44 If you believe in God, we have to make a prayer. 13:47 You know, let's make a prayer." 13:48 And that was very encouraging to me. 13:49 That's very encouraging because in a rage of, 13:52 you know, waves and darkness and gloomy weather, 13:57 that sort of word gives me the encouragement, 13:59 gives me the passion to feel positive about myself 14:02 and know that there was someone that is close to me, 14:05 which, you know, I thank God about that. 14:08 That was, you know, God's grace. 14:13 So, Neil at this stage, 14:15 how long would you been in the water? 14:17 Probably about four hours approximately, Gary. 14:20 And by that stage, 14:22 I had swallowed a lot of salt water. 14:24 My tongue and my lips were swollen 14:27 and I was feeling really weak and cramping allover. 14:32 I really wondered whether I could make it. 14:35 Every now and then there'd be a school of heavy rain, 14:36 which was a blessing 14:38 because I could open my mouth 14:39 and just let some fresh water on to my tongue. 14:43 And that was something 14:45 that I look forward to the next rain school. 14:48 But I swim on, I guess, for another half hour, 14:52 I was getting weaker and my arms were aching, 14:54 my legs are cramping. 14:56 And I lay on my back for a few moments 14:58 just to rest my shoulders and arms. 15:01 Not wanting to drift away too much from where the others 15:04 were in the little light on the lifejackets. 15:07 And as I lay on my back, I was thinking, 15:09 "Should I just give up now?" 15:11 I know... 15:13 You know, 15:14 God doesn't always answer prayer, 15:16 the way we would like. 15:17 Doesn't matter who you are, people still die. 15:20 I know God has His reasons, but I wasn't afraid to die. 15:24 And I had the assurance of salvation. 15:26 I knew that the next moment if I died, 15:29 I'd open my eyes and see Jesus coming. 15:31 And that was to me a tremendous comfort 15:34 to know that I could go through this experience 15:36 and not be afraid of death. 15:38 And I thank God for that. 15:40 But I lay on my back and I was just wondering, 15:42 should I keep trying 15:43 because the lights are still miles away, 15:46 I probably won't make it, 15:47 should I just dive under now and give up, 15:49 I was exhausted. 15:50 And just as I was lying on my back, 15:52 looking up above me, 15:54 for the first and only time in the night 15:56 the clouds just parted. 15:58 And they're right above me for about 10 seconds or less, 16:01 it was a bright star. 16:03 And in that condition I was, you know, 16:05 I just took that as a sign that God was giving me that 16:08 I've not forgotten you. 16:10 You know, I know your situation, 16:11 I can still see you. 16:13 You might be in the dark, but you're not alone. 16:16 And that was a wonderful experience. 16:23 He gave me courage. It enabled me to keep going. 16:27 And I remember saying, 16:28 "Lord, if you're still got a work for me to do, 16:30 let me get to shore and give me the words to speak 16:35 and loosen my tongue 16:36 that I might get to praise You more. 16:38 Help me to think of my family 16:39 and express my love to them more." 16:41 And, you know, 16:42 you make certain resolutions 16:44 when you think 16:45 you might be able to come out of a very desperate situation. 16:50 And so that gave me fresh courage to swim on. 16:53 We kept swimming on. 16:54 And, you know, 16:56 you're tempted to still get discouraged 16:57 because it's still same that we weren't going anywhere. 17:00 And I remember thinking of the story of Jonah. 17:04 You know, the story in Old Testament of Jonah, 17:06 who was swallowed by a big fish 17:08 and there in the belly of this fish 17:09 he cried out to the Lord. 17:12 And he said, 17:14 "In my distress I called to the Lord, 17:17 and He answered me. 17:18 From the depths of the grave I called for help 17:21 and you listened to my cry." 17:24 And I think just quoting that text 17:27 and being reminded of how Jonah was saved, 17:29 it gave me courage again to keep going. 17:32 Despite the cramps and the tiredness 17:34 and the thirst and everything else 17:35 that was going on, 17:38 I said, "I've got to make it." 17:39 And I said, 17:40 "Lord, if you got work for me to do, 17:42 let me get to shore soon." 17:43 And it wasn't long after that. 17:45 And I guess by then we've been swimming 17:47 maybe five hours, 17:49 we noticed that we just come into a bay. 17:52 We can just see a silhouette of a peninsula on either side. 17:56 On one side we saw a bright light, 17:58 on the other side 17:59 we saw a small flickering light. 18:02 And it was hard to tell which was the closest. 18:05 Now we had to make a decision of which way to go. 18:08 It was then that I just prayed to God 18:10 and I said, "Lord, you can see where we are, 18:12 you know what the best way to go is. 18:14 Please help us to come to a consensus 18:17 to know which way to turn." 18:19 And, praise God, when we talked about it, 18:21 we all said, "Yes, let's go for the smaller light." 18:25 When Pastor Neil prayed in the ocean, 18:27 I could feel the courage 18:28 and confidence rising from within me 18:32 that despite all the gloomy weather. 18:35 You know, the things that you couldn't see, 18:37 but surely there is a God that's able to take us through. 18:41 And that brought confidence to me 18:43 and even the team, even those who don't believe. 18:47 That's amazing. 18:49 That is amazing. 18:58 And so we begin to swim toward this light. 19:02 And I don't know how long it took, 19:03 probably about another hour before we saw a, 19:07 like a white beam across or grayish, 19:10 I guess, it was in the semi-darkness. 19:13 And we saw that that was a beach. 19:15 And so we knew we're headed for the shore and almost there. 19:19 After a while we got closer to the beach 19:21 and I was able to actually feel a reef. 19:24 And as I put my hand on the reef and just sat on it 19:26 for a moment to rest, 19:28 both my legs really cramped up. 19:31 And it was just agony. I was in tears. 19:33 It was just so painful. 19:35 And I thought then 19:37 if that had happened 19:39 just a few minutes before in the deep, 19:40 I wouldn't not have made it. 19:41 I would have been so close, but never made it. 19:43 So I thank God 19:45 that I was able to keep going till then. 19:46 And after that I got off the reef 19:48 and we're able to come across quite smoothly, actually. 19:53 I had fear that maybe I'd be cut to pieces 19:55 and stand on a stonefish and get poisoned, 19:58 but I thought well, it doesn't matter. 20:00 I'm going to be alive, and I don't care 20:01 if I'm bandaged from head to foot. 20:03 So we eventually made it to shore. 20:05 We're collapsed on the beach. It was just exhausting. 20:08 We just couldn't stand up for a few minutes. 20:11 Finally, we stood up, we got each other together, 20:13 we put our arms around each other. 20:15 And I just prayed a prayer of thanks 20:17 that God got us to shore. 20:19 And I thank him too that we've come to this place, 20:22 which was obviously the closest. 20:24 I found out later 20:25 that if we'd gone to the other light, 20:26 it would have taken us to a place called Devils point. 20:29 Oh, what a sinister name. 20:30 A very sinister. 20:31 And strong currents, sharks, rough sea, sharp coral. 20:36 And we're just so fortunate that God led us to this place. 20:54 Father in heaven, 20:55 we thank You so much for the gift of life. 20:59 And Wesley and I and others 21:01 who were fortunate to survive this experience, 21:04 we are so grateful. 21:06 We don't know why we were saved and others not, 21:08 but we do thank You for this privilege. 21:10 And today, we just remember 21:12 those who lost their lives and their families, 21:14 they may even yet still be mourning. 21:17 And we commit unto You today in Jesus' name. 21:20 Amen. 21:52 Now while we rejoice in God's deliverance 21:54 of Neil Watts and the other four survivors 21:57 of this dreadful accident, 21:59 some may reasonably think, well, that's great. 22:02 This man and four others survived this dreadful accident 22:06 against incredible odds. 22:08 So praying must have worked for them. 22:11 But what about the other seven passengers 22:13 who perished? 22:14 Why did God save five passengers 22:17 and not the others as well? 22:19 This raises the question of unanswered prayer. 22:22 Why does God seem to answer some prayers and not others? 22:28 Well, could the answer be this. 22:30 God does hear all our prayers, He does answer them all. 22:34 He answers all genuine prayers. 22:37 It's just a matter of how God answers our prayers. 22:40 God answers our prayers in one of three ways. 22:45 One, yes, right now. 22:49 Two, yes, but not right now, wait a while. 22:54 And three, no, it's not what's best for you. 22:59 We all have our own ideas about what's best for us, 23:02 but there's one major difference 23:03 between our perspective and God's. 23:07 He knows what the future holds and we do not, 23:10 so we must trust in God to guide us. 23:14 It's something like a headstrong young child 23:17 wanting to play with a pair of sharp scissors, 23:20 but a wise parent says no 23:23 because the parent sees the situation from experience 23:26 and sees the bigger picture. 23:28 And because they love their children, 23:31 parents put boundaries in place 23:33 and don't just give their children 23:34 what they want when they want it. 23:37 So it is with God, 23:39 we don't always understand the situation 23:42 or see the big picture. 23:44 It's no coincidence 23:46 that the Bible invites us to call God our Father. 23:52 We don't always understand 23:54 what our Heavenly Father is doing 23:56 and He doesn't always give us the reason 23:58 for His actions and decisions. 24:01 So we must trust Him 24:04 based on the knowledge that He loves us 24:06 and will only do what's best for us. 24:09 God sees the big picture, the end from the beginning. 24:13 He sees the future and knows what's best for us. 24:16 Therefore out of love, he might often say no. 24:21 We can't always understand why God says no, 24:25 but we must trust His wisdom and love. 24:28 God's knowledge of us and of this world 24:31 enables Him to see what is best for us. 24:34 His wisdom and knowledge allows Him to give 24:36 what He knows is best for us 24:39 and to give it in the best way and at the best time. 24:43 We learned this from Romans 8:28 which says, 24:48 "And we know that all things work together for good 24:51 to those who love God, 24:53 to those who are called according to His purpose." 25:04 I hope this program has shown you 25:06 that prayer can be one of the most powerful 25:09 and most positive experiences in life, 25:12 even when we don't immediately get what we want. 25:15 Remember this, God is only ever a prayer away, 25:20 no matter where you are, 25:21 no matter what your circumstance is, 25:24 no matter what your condition, 25:25 no matter how distant you feel from Him. 25:28 Irrespective of how unworthy you might feel, 25:32 God is only a prayer away from you. 25:35 He will hear and He will answer. 25:41 If you're experiencing challenges in life 25:44 or are in a desperate situation 25:46 and would like to reach out to God, 25:49 if you'd like to find out more about prayer 25:51 and how to experience a relationship with God, 25:55 then I'd like to recommend the free gift we have 25:58 for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. 26:02 It's the booklet How to Pray. 26:05 I'm sure you will enjoy this small booklet 26:08 that shares simple principles 26:10 on how you can make connection with God 26:13 and make your prayers more meaningful. 26:16 This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely free. 26:20 I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:25 So make the most of this wonderful opportunity 26:28 to receive the gift we have for you today. 26:33 Phone or text us at 0436 333 555 in Australia 26:39 or 020 422 2042 in New Zealand 26:44 or visit our website TiJ.tv 26:47 to request today's free offer 26:49 and we'll send it to you totally free of charge 26:52 and with no obligation. 26:54 Write to us at GPO Box 274, Sydney, 26:58 New South Wales 2001, Australia 27:01 or P.O. Box 76673, Manukau, 27:05 Auckland 2241, New Zealand. 27:08 Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:13 If you've enjoyed our visit to beautiful Vanuatu 27:17 and our reflections on prayer 27:19 and what it means to communicate with God, 27:22 then be sure to join us again next week 27:24 when we will share another of life's journeys together. 27:28 Until then, 27:29 let's pray to the God in heaven 27:31 who does hear and answer our prayers. 27:35 Dear Heavenly Father, 27:37 we thank You 27:38 that we can come to You in prayer. 27:40 We are grateful 27:41 that You give us the privilege 27:43 of being able to talk to You as a friend 27:45 and that we can send up a request to You 27:47 at any time and in any place. 27:50 Thank You for hearing and answering our prayers. 27:53 And even though 27:55 You don't always answer our prayers 27:57 exactly as we wish, 27:58 help us to trust You 28:00 and to remember that You love us 28:03 and will always do what is best for us. 28:06 We want to keep in constant touch with You 28:08 through prayer. 28:10 Please teach us how to pray more effectively. 28:13 And we ask this in Jesus' name. 28:16 Amen. |
Revised 2020-10-04