Family

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Matthew 18 verse 11 "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."

On Sunday night, April 10th, 2005, I received a phone call from my daughter, Eva. She was very distraught. Her husband, Jack, was missing and she had no idea where he was. She is a nurse, and had been working at the nursing home that day. She had came home, and Jack wasn't there so she thought that he had run to Walmart's or somewhere else. Then she noticed that their canoe was missing. A couple of days earlier, I had went by their house to see them. No one was home, so I wandered around the yard, looking at all the beautiful flowers and the great landscaping Jack had done. My attention was drawn to that canoe that was sitting on top of the side of the carport.

When Eva called me, I began to pray for Jack, that the Lord would keep him and protect him. A few minutes after 10 PM, Jack's Mom, Debbie, called me and told me that they had found Jack's vehicle by the river, but there was no sight of Jack. We had received much rain, and the river was full, and the current was swift. After I heard this, I prayed again, and the Lord gave me assurance that Jack would be okay.

We went over to the river where Jack's vehicle was found. Many people were gathered there, including representatives of the Sheriff's Department and of the Georgia Game and Fish Commission. They already had a boat, and were getting ready to go search for my lost son-in-law and his two friends. Eva was really all to pieces, thinking the worst. Just before the boat was to be launched, the sheriff received a call on his radio. Someone reported hearing someone hollering at the next bridge down. We loaded up, and drove over there (about 10 miles). It was dark, and we begin to yell for Jack. No answer. It was now after midnight, so Eva was exhausted and said, "I just want to go home." Eva, her brother, Joel, my girlfriend, Nancy, and I started to leave and were stopped. Debbie said, "Jack just called, they are safe!"

Jack and his two friends were going on a spur of the moment two hour canoe trip. The current was too swift, the canoe capsized, the woods were dark and flooded. They wandered around in the darkness, and then they saw a light. It was a fisherman's cabin. They went inside, found some matches, rags, and alcohol and made torches. They begin to walk down the flooded road, and finally came out of the swamp onto a highway. They were safe!

I really learned some valuable lessons from Jack's episode. Several weeks before this, Jack and Eva had begun an exercise program, including swimming. This ordeal was coming up, and Jack's endurance was tested. Many, many people were concerned about Jack and his friends. They prayed, and went searching for them because they were lost. How happy we all were when he was found safe!

We should be concerned about those who are spiritually lost. We should be praying that they would find their way out of darkness, and come to the light.

Matthew 18 verse 12 "How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?"

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