Raymond Slupik was only three years old when he had his first trip on a fishing ship, where his father was the captain. As Raymond grew up, he spent a lot of his summer days on fishing ships.
Twenty years after that first trip, Raymond became the captain of his own ship, The Searcher. Then he enjoyed taking his father on board as his guest.
On the evening of December 26, 1985, Raymond had his father along on a fishing trip. That afternoon, The Searcher was returning to the harbor after a day of fishing on Lake Michigan. Small chunks of ice floated on the lake. High winds stirred up the water, tossing huge waves over The Searcher and coating it with heavy ice. The Searcher looked more like an iceberg than a ship. Raymond and his father were doing the job of steering the ship, but the four crew members were inside the cabin, relaxing after a hard day of work.
The crew members were supposed to walk around the ship now and then to make sure everything was safe. But on this particular day, it was so cold they all stayed inside.
When The Searcher was still 17 miles away from Chicago, the ship began leaning badly to one side. This finally moved the crew to action, and they went to find out what was happening. What they found terrified them!
The large door at the back of the ship, through which they hauled the nets, had blown open, and the waves crashing on the ship had washed through the open door, filling the ship with water and chunks of ice.
Raymond knew they were in serious trouble. He quickly called over the radio, “Mayday! Mayday!”
The coast guard answered almost immediately. “Come in, Mayday. Who are you and what is your problem?”
“This is Raymond Slupik of The Searcher. Our ship is leaning badly to one side, and I don’t know how long we can stay afloat.”
“Do you have your life jackets on?”
“Yes.”
“How many men do you have on board?”
“Six,” Raymond answered.
“Can you give me your exact location?”
Raymond reported their exact location. He was told that three helicopters would leave immediately to rescue them.
The water in the ship and the heavy coating of ice on the ship were making it lean dangerously to one side. They didn’t know how long they had until it would completely roll over, but the lake was so cold they knew they must stay on the ship as long as possible.
Finally, the boat came close to rolling over. It was time to abandon ship. The coast guard radio operator heard the captain’s order: “Abandon ship! Hurry up, guys! We’re going under!”
Fifteen minutes later the helicopters arrived and hovered over the area. There was no sign of The Searcher, but they saw a flare on the water. One of the helicopters lowered a steel basket into the water and scooped up one of the crew. He was barely alive, and his hair and clothing froze to the basket as it was lifted out of the water and up into the helicopter. A second time, then a third time the basket was lowered and lifted a man to safety. They searched for the other three crew members, but they were never able to find them. Sadly, Raymond and his father were two of those who were never found.
Children, why do you think the boat was called The Searcher? I don’t know, but it makes me think about how we are all searching for happiness in our lives. Do you know who to go to in order to find true happiness? The Lord Jesus said, “The thief [comes] not, but ... to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:1010The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)). The thief is Satan, and he never gives anything to anyone that gives them true happiness. He only wants to destroy lives and keep people from the true happiness that God alone can give. But Jesus came to give us life that will last forever — life that is full of joy! I hope you have trusted in the Lord Jesus as your own Savior. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)). If you are lost because of your sins, all you need to do is call to Him, and He will save you.
If you have trusted the Lord Jesus to be your Savior and He is the Captain of your life, He will take you safely all the way to heaven. He says in John 10:28,28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28) “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish [or, never be destroyed in hell], neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”
Messages of God’s Love 11/26/2023