Tom Needham’s parents were Christians, living in the South of Ireland. He was the youngest of ten children, all of whom were brought up in the fear of God.
At the age of thirteen, Tom entered the British Navy. Several years later, he left the navy to sail in a merchant ship for South America. The captain of the ship was a very ungodly and cruel man. One day when they were in the Bay of St. George, Patagonia, Tom and some other sailors were sent ashore in a small boat. Then, without any warning whatever, by instructions from the heartless skipper, he was left behind on that rockbound coast.
Tom was captured by Tehuelche Indians, who were hunting seals, and they took him to their camp. Tom’s captors were cannibals, and prided themselves on the fact that they never spared a white man. However, the chief took a special liking to the young Irish fellow, and through a merciful intervention of God his life was spared. During his year’s captivity in Patagonia he learned the Indian language and accompanied them on their hunting expeditions. He became an expert in lassoing wild cattle and in catching ostriches with the bolus.
But Tom’s heart longed for liberty, and he determined to make a dash for freedom. One day when the Indians were off-guard, he mounted one of the strongest and fastest of the horses and galloped off into the tall pampas. Several of the braves pursued him for miles but he made good his escape. When canoeing down the Parana River he found a war raging between Paraguay and Brazil. Tom was seized as a spy and condemned to be shot. He was led out for execution and the soldiers stood ready to fire.
However, before the word of command was given there was a commotion among the crowd and a man suddenly appeared on horseback. Dismounting, he rushed to an officer standing by and exclaimed: “Don’t you dare shoot that boy. If you do, I will hold your country responsible for the outrage. He is either British or American, and I am the Austrian Consul.”
As he spoke, he waved in the air a parchment document sealed with various seals. The prisoner was released and handed over to the care of the Consul. Tom’s heart was filled with gratitude to the man for being the means of saving his life, and he told him so.
At last after many stirring experiences and hairbreadth escapes, Tom reached the coast and boarded a ship for England. There he learned that all his brothers and sisters had moved to Boston in the U.S.A. So he came to Boston, where his sisters would not at first believe that he was their long-lost Tom. However, his eldest brother, who became a well-known servant of Christ, identified him, and he was welcomed with open arms.
It so happened that an American evangelist was having special meetings in Boston just then. A cousin took Tom to the services. The address that night was on the words, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” Dan. 5:2727TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. (Daniel 5:27).
God carried the words home in mighty power to Tom’s heart and conscience, and he was led to see that he was lost, ruined, and condemned, utterly unable to say or do anything to save himself. That very night he laid hold of the glorious fact that the Lord Jesus was “wounded for his transgressions, and bruised for his iniquities,” (Isa. 53: 5), and by believing on Him who loved him and gave Himself for him, Tom was pardoned (Acts 10:44And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. (Acts 10:4)), justified (Acts 13:3939And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:39)), and saved (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). He immediately confessed Christ before others, and sought to make known the glad and glorious gospel of Christ.
One evening while preaching in a Canadian town, he was telling some of his experiences. At the close of the service an elderly man, trembling with emotion, took his hand and invited him to his home. As they entered the house, Tom Needham saw a painting of the ship, and at once recognized her as the one in which he had sailed to Patonia. The man then said, “I was the captain you told about in your story today. Now I want to ask you your forgiveness.” Needless to say, it was freely and fully given, and Tom Needham had the joy of pointing his former captain, who left him on the Patagonian shore, to the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29). The old captain was converted, his afterlife proving the reality of the change in his heart.
“Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!... for of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Rom. 11: 33,36.
ML 11/26/1967