Article February 7, 2005 Issue

'I WILL NOT DIE'

A TSUNAMI SURVIVOR'S REMARKABLE DELIVERANCE

By Vatham Pandian

In December I attended the wedding of my niece in Sri Lanka. One of my sisters lives there. We also formed part of the retinue escorting the bride and groom to India, where the groom lives. We later returned to Sri Lanka. After lunch on Christmas Day, a large group of us, including close family and friends, traveled to a beach hotel in the northeastern section of the island.

The next morning, while most of us were at the breakfast buffet, we heard a raging sound of wind and water. Then a series of massive wall-high waves hit us, striking at about 8:45 a.m. At first, I held on to one of my nieces, who had been sitting next to me. But I was swept away along a doorless corridor of the hotel, as more of the gigantic waves pounded on everything. I do not know how to swim.

Furniture toppled over me, and I lost hold of my niece. As I tumbled in the water, a Bible verse came to me: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord" (Ps. 118:17). I repeated these words over and over as I was being dragged down to the bottom. The waves kept coming, and I took in a great deal of seawater.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

CHRISTIAN HEALING IT'S POSSIBLE NOW