By R. W. Hambrook.
[The writer of this thrilling story of escape from the very gates of Death, and of how God enabled him to utilize this time of peril to win four souls for Himself — rightly gives all the honor to Him Who chooses human agencies to carry out His divine purposes of mercy.]
AS a substitute for my chief in the United States Office of Education, I spoke before members of the Teachers’ Association at Syracuse, New York. Having been compelled to sleep on Pullmans for two nights, and being tired, I decided to return to Washington by air. It was snowing heavily when I reached the Syracuse airport, but the wind was scarcely evident. About 7:30 p.m., after the pilot had made careful inquiry regarding weather conditions ahead, and received his instructions, we left Syracuse with a pilot, co-pilot, a passenger co-pilot, and myself as the only paying passenger.
We had been flying for about three-quarters of an hour when I became aware of the fact that something was wrong. I did not know at the time that the left motor had stopped in consequence of ice, nor did I know that a small amount of ice had formed on the leading edge of the wings, resulting in a decreased wing efficiency.
The first indication to me that anything was seriously the matter was when we brushed the top of a tree. As a child of God my thoughts naturally turned to Him, and I asked whether He wished me to go home with Him, or whether He still had more work for me to do. His answer seemed to be that my work on earth was not yet finished, and therefore I sought His promises and found comfort in John 15:7: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you.” I searched my own heart and was satisfied that I was abiding in Him and that His words were abiding in me, and then 1 Said: “Lord, I will to live, if You will me to live.”
It may have been seconds or minutes after we brushed the top of a tree before we struck other trees. We were in total darkness, but I had perfect peace; my emotions were not at all disturbed, and I was noting carefully the different events which were taking place. The nose of the plane turned downwards and struck the ground first, and then the plane settled on the snow as level as if it had been laid on special foundations, and without apparent shock to me. It was evident that “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Immediately the two pilots rushed into the cabin and asked if anybody was hurt. As I was the only passenger, they were much concerned with my welfare. To the astonishment of all, neither of us was even slightly harmed. I remarked that God had answered our prayer and had saved our lives.
Gasoline was pouring out of the left tank in the wing; apparently it had burst in striking the trees. We immediately stepped out of the cabin door into snow almost to our knees, and stayed there until all gasoline had ceased running; then we returned to the cabin, turned on the lights, and made a survey of our situation.
The two active pilots, I learned later, spent the night in the open by the side of a small fire which they had lit, in the hope that someone might have heard the sound of our crash and might come to rescue us. The passenger co-pilot and I spent the night in the cabin in a temperature somewhere between freezing and zero, sleeping a part of the time.
The next morning, the pilot and the passenger co-pilot went to seek a way out to the north, taking the aeroplane compass to guide them. After going two miles they decided to return before becoming completely exhausted. Upon returning to the camp, one of the men decided to repair the radio, if possible, and found the antenna broken, but the battery still in good condition. Starting the generators, he called Albany, giving the number of the plane, saving that we were all safe and not injured, stating our altitude, and requesting assistance as soon as possible. Several calls were made at different intervals for the purpose of directing the radio beam upon us to chart our location, none of us having any idea as to where we were.
Try as we would, we were unable to secure wood that burned brightly, or make smoke which would rise above the tops of the trees. A foot of snow had fallen during the night, and with the snow previously on the ground, made a depth of nearly three feet. With no shovel, no ax, and no food to give strength, it proved very exhausting to secure wood from under this depth of snow.
Numbers of times I knelt near this second fire to plead with God for aid, but the heavens seemed as brass, and no answers came. The sky was overcast all day Saturday, and consequently no aeroplane came within reach.
We heard no sound.
Again and again I sought the promises, and my thoughts turned to John 15:77If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7). I wanted nothing to come between myself and God. I was satisfied that I belonged to Him and that I had no will contrary to His will, but still the answers did not come.
We made our plans for Saturday night so that we could secure as much protection from the cold and assist each other, as far as possible, in securing warmth. It was impossible to get wood enough to burn throughout the night. We could light no fire in the cabin without burning it, so we took the fifteen seat cushions and placed them and the curtains under and around our feet. The two blankets we shared, and sat huddled together in the cabin.
Never shall I forget the misery of that night, as the temperature reached 15 degrees below zero. When I went into the cabin I was so cold that it seemed as if my body must shake to pieces. After we had been shivering in our seats for a short time, I began to pray out loud, constantly referring to Scripture. I was most grateful at that time that I had stored my memory with multitudes of His promises, for promise after promise came flooding into my memory as I talked with God regarding His supplying our need. The prayers of that night have all been answered. We were still cold, but I learned again this infallible truth, “In nothing he anxious, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall garrison your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” His peace filled my soul.
It was a distressing night. I do not believe any one of us slept for more than a few moments at a time. As I look back, I see that only God kept us from freezing to death.
About 7:30, or shortly after dawn, we heard the sound of an aeroplane, and all rushed out to see a plane equipped with skis flying a few hundred feet above the trees, less than a quarter of a mile away. Although we waved our arms frantically the pilot failed to see us. This same plane flew over our heads and around us numbers of times during this Sunday, but none of our efforts attracted his attention. It seemed as if some of the thirty-five to fifty planes which were sent out to rescue us were within sight of us a good part of the day.
About ten o’clock that morning two of us decided to make one more attempt to find our own way out. We pushed our way through the deep snow for about a mile. Before leaving, I asked God to give wisdom and to show us a way out, that we might bring help to the other two left behind. We had stopped to rest a moment, when I challenged my companion, and said, “I am concerned about your soul. Are you really satisfied that all is well?” He immediately replied, “No, Mr. Hambrook, I am not satisfied.” “Then,” I said, “what is to prevent you from making things right now, before we go any farther?” He replied, “Nothing, if you will show me how.”
You can imagine the delight that was mine in showing him the way of salvation. I began with John 1:12: “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name.” Then I explained by John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” —Whom it was that should be received — that it was Deity, the Christ of God. Then I passed on to, “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” and pointed out from this the Manhood of Christ. Then, “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” and explained how the blood of Christ was necessary to take away sin. Next, refence, was made to Romans 10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The question was put: “Will you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour?” He immediately said, “I will.” I then asked him if he would tell God this fact. Together we prayed, ending with something like this, “I, in this snow, among these trees, accept You, Lord Jesus, as my Saviour.” I asked him, “What are you now?” and referred to John 1:1212But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (John 1:12) again. He replied, “A son of God.” I asked whether he would thank God for this fact in his own words, and there in that deep snow, he, with a towel bound around his head, and I with a seat over my head, with our hats off, he expressed his appreciation to God.
We trudged along.
The thrill of that moment is with me as I write these words. Numbers of times my companion said: “Mr. Hambrook, it seems so different now.”
He suggested that we return before exhaustion was complete. I objected, because I thought we were to go on until we found a way out; but God said, “Go back. There are two more in the camp whom you must lead to Christ.” We literally dragged our feet along and reached camp about 1:30.
On our return to the camp, I put the same questions to one of the other men, with the same answers, and the same results. He, too, thanked God that he was now a child of God!
At 1:45, the third pilot came from the aeroplane into our lean-to. Without his knowing that I had spoken to either of the other two, I put the same questions to him, discussed the same Scripture passages, received the same replies from him. He, too, thanked God that now he knew he was a child of God!
Then I began to understand why God had not answered the prayers which had gone up to Him for rescue. Now all four of us were members of the body of Christ and could go to God in unity and make request for rescue. We prayed around our small fire and told God that we needed His aid, that we had put forth our own feeble attempts, but now realized that He must take action. We requested God to send help before midnight, as we felt that some of us would have passed into death before morning.
It was growing colder every minute. It looked hopeless; but our trust was in God. At 5:15, at dusk, when it seemed as if all search would cease, we heard the noise of an aeroplane overhead, and then saw its lights! As hastily as fatigued bodies would allow, we threw gasoline upon a tree, and then, with an ember from the fire, lighted it. The glare attracted the attention of the pilot, and he began to make circles around us. Our joy can be imagined, for we knew that he would immediately radio to our relatives and friends that we were safe. All of us stood by the flare to indicate that all four were able to stand up.
The first plane left us, after dropping a flare. As the music of the motors died out, it left us with a lonesome feeling, but soon afterward another aeroplane appeared in sight. About 10:30 we heard a shot, and then a shout. Two of the men in our party who had revolvers (as the plane carried mail) went outside and fired them. Never shall I forget how my whole being sobbed in gratitude to God for bringing aid. I was not alone in this, for the one who was behind me also sobbed.
In a few moments, nine men reached us, bringing hot coffee, chocolate, bread, sandwiches, woolen socks, blankets, and other things to make us comfortable. Soon a big warm fire was burning, and we were slowly eating the food so kindly brought us. These men did not know then that they were answering our request to God in bringing us help at a time that seemed impossible, for only those acquainted with these woods can realize what it means to tramp through the deep snow at night over rough ground for four or five miles, in twenty-five degrees below zero.
During the night one of the pilots said: “Mr. Hambrook, don’t you think we ought to thank God for this?” I replied, “Yes, let’s all thank Him.” The pilot at the other end said, “Shall I start, Mr. Hambrook?” and I said, “Yes,” so he prayed, and I prayed, and the other two prayed, thanking God for His wondrous kindness in saving us in our hour of need.
In the morning the men returned with a toboggan. The pilot was carried in on the toboggan; the co-pilot walked most of the way, but he was very weak, having bruised his face and injured his jaw in the crash. On the way I was privileged to talk to the leader of the men who reached us the night before. After discussing the same Scriptures with him as I had discussed with the other men, he held out his hand to me and said, “I’ll do that,” and there, in that snow, in those woods, he repeated a prayer with me, accepting Christ as his Saviour, and he, like the other men, lifted his voice in gratitude to God, thanking Him that now he was a child of God.
The question is, was it worth it? An $80,000 plane was destroyed except for some parts salvaged. The four of us suffered untold agony for two days and two nights. Our relatives and friends went through great anxiety. Nine thousand gallons of gasoline were consumed in one day by aeroplane searching for us. It would be impossible to reckon the total cost of this experience.
Jesus said, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:3636For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36).) So that, if it had cost the whole world it would have been worth it.
Personally, I would not go through the experience again for millions of dollars, but I believe I would go through it again if God wanted it to bring one more soul to Him.
“The Evangelical Christian,” Toronto, with acknowledgments to “Living Links.”