It was a warm spring day when two Florida teens found themselves in a horrifying situation – stranded at sea, trying to fight against a strong current. Then, a miracle happened…
Stranded At Sea
Tyler Smith and Heather Brown of Christ’s Church Academy were participating in the annual “Senior Skip Day” on April 18th when the unexpected happened. The childhood friends were swimming off of Vilano Beach when they found themselves stranded two miles offshore.
https://www.facebook.com/385087818211811/photos/a.1688445751209338/2151421018245140/?type=3&theater
As the teens were getting swept farther and farther from shore, panic began to set in. It was then they knew what they had to do: pray. Smith told WJAX,
“I cried out, ‘If you really do have a plan for us, like, come on. Just bring something.'”
It was just moments later that they saw a boat in the distance by the name “Amen.”
https://www.facebook.com/eric.wagner.9469545/posts/1725389960941094
Rescued By Prayer
Brown explained her quick reaction,
“I started swimming towards it. I was like, ‘I’m going to get this boat. Just stay here. I’m going to get this boat. We are going to live.'”
The owner of the “Amen,” Eric Wagner and his crew were sailing the 53-foot yacht from Florida to New Jersey when they heard “a desperate scream.” Wager explained, he saw an arm flailing in the water just 200 yards off and knew something was not right.
After what “felt like forever,” the “Amen” had finally reached the teens. Wagner described that both Smith and Brown were in a state of exhaustion, and feared that they might have had hypothermia. Once getting them on board, he covered each teen with towels and blankets.
“Within 10 minutes of getting them on the boat, they were back to normal and talking normally,” Wagner said.
The crew called the Coast Guard and were able to get Smith and Brown to a rescue boat in less than an hour.
The incredible occurrence secured both the teens and the crew’s faith in The Lord.
Surviving at sea: Two teens stranded off shore in St. Johns county are saved by a man sailing to New Jersey. Hear their prayers, and you will not believe the name of the boat that saved them. @ActionNewsJax at 6:00 pic.twitter.com/0U209wl2Si
— Bridgette Matter (@Bmatternews) April 30, 2019
Brown explained, “The first words that came out of my mouth [when they pulled her aboard] were, ‘God is real.'”
While Smith expressed, “There’s no other reason, no other explanation in the world other than God.”
Wagner also felt an overwhelming sense of emotions following the rescue.
“There were too many coincidences, in my opinion, for this to be a coincidence.” He continues, “I truly believe it was divine intervention. It had nothing to do with me. I was just put there at the right place at the right time and I did the same thing anyone else would have done, pulled them aboard.”
The power of prayer, y’all. God bless Eric Wagner and his crew for helping these teens reach safety.