Thank you God!

About 50 hours after they had first gone diving, all 8 divers were rescued. It's amazing that all of them were found and that they are all alive. God is good and He does perform miracles. This event is testament to His protection and grace.

Our student's mom is an experienced diver. Of the 8, there were 4 others who were also experienced, one of whom is a diving instructor. On Saturday, April 26, they went diving at QiXingYen (七星岩) off the coast of Kenting (in southern Taiwan). They were reported missing at about 11:30am on Saturday when they did not return to the boat.

We found out about this when our principal emailed us with the news at 9pm on Saturday night.
Immediately, we prayed. What else could we do but pray? Even our attempts to do anything, like watch the news in Chinese, was feeble. (Although now, I'll never forget the word for diving, and my Chinese vocabulary has definitely improved.)

I woke up several times in the night on Saturday - I remember looking at the clock - 2 am, then 4:30am, and dozing on and off between 7 and 8am - each time, I was prodded with a message to "Pray for the mom."

I have never woken up in the night with such a strong message from God before.

On Sunday, I woke, hoping that all those prayers sent out through the night meant that the mom had been found. But, my heart sank when they said it was 30 hours, and no one had been found.

We went to church, and then went over to see the kids whose mom was missing. I'm not sure what the kids thought - a bunch of teachers over at their house. But I hope they felt loved and cared for, because that was what we wanted them to know. We got to pray with them, talk with them, play Xbox with them, and just help them feel like normal kids in an abnormal situation.

I do have to admit that I almost lost hope. When we were with the kids, we watched TV together, and the news said, "It has been 38 hours, and no one has been found."

Night came, and we continued to watch the news, hoping and praying for a miracle. How long could they possible tread water for?? I was sitting on the couch, and feeling guilty that I could sit, rest, sleep, and eat. That night, I again awoke several times, but mostly before midnight, praying.

We found out the next day that it was just around midnight when the instructor diver made it to shore - after a 10-hour swim. The divers had drifted about 90 km from their original location. He then informed them of the location of the other divers. They had split into two groups. The rescuers found one group, a group of 4, soon after. At almost 6am they found another diver. He had given up hope and had let go of the other two divers' hands and was just ready to die. Then, at about 11am, they finally found our friend, the mom of the kids.

We started to imagine how they must have been feeling. When you run a marathon, you know there's an end, and you can push yourself when you feel that you're at your limit. But being lost at sea, wondering if anyone will ever find you must be a terrifying feeling - when should you give up? Do you ever give up? When should you push yourself?

I remember we also prayed that God would grant them all a sense of peace and calm and that His presence would be felt. I'm kind of excited to hear what this mom might have to say. I'm now praying for her health and that she will recognize Jesus as her Saviour.

47 hours after the search started, probably about 50 hours of being in the water, all 8 divers are rescued. What a miracle. What a way to start a new week. Praise the Lord.