46 Days Adrift by Barry Donnelly

Author:Barry Donnelly [Donnelly, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography, Survival at sea
ISBN: 9780987358554
Publisher: JoJo Publishing

1 6 :T h eW a rw i t hH e a v e n

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I can’t stay at home. Tiene comes with me to see the Kiribati Protestant minister. I pretend at being strong, as his house is always full of people attending his needs. Ministers in Kiribati are treated highly. They’re special because they serve God. Their task is to conduct services, visit the sick, or prisoners in gaol, help people with problems, pray to God with others, and offer spiritual support through prayer. I’m told he’s in his office, so I knock and my sister follows me in. He says, “Hello, what can I do for you?” I explain the situation, that my son left earlier to come to Betio, but their boat has not returned. I tell him I believe they’re drifting off course, and ask him to pray for the safety of Ben and his two friends. I’m shocked when he replies Ben and his friends left without considering Jesus, who’s important in their lives. In other words, they did not place God in priority before setting out. He adds that God has plans for each of His people; some will die on land, some in the air and others at sea.

The minister continues, telling us the story of a female minister who went for a holiday to Maiana. She was pregnant at the time, and after a two-year preaching stint, went to see her parents, and was never seen again. Tiene begins to sob, while I protest angrily. I feel like walking out, but put a stop to my rising anger. I expect nothing more than a few soothing words, not hellfire and damnation. After such a cruel lecture, he says, “Let us pray.” I can’t be bothered closing my eyes. I stare at his closed eyes and muttering lips. Then we leave. I tell my sister I’m not satisfied with the minister, and decide to never again enter the church I went to with my parents, to the place I took Ben, and where he was baptised.

From there we go to visit the search master, in charge of looking for people lost at sea. He and his family can’t believe the story of Ben’s terrible fate. He asks questions, the kind of questions I hate answering.

“Why did you travel separately? Couldn’t he have waited until the weather was fine?”

I want a search, and some genuine help, but I have to wait until next day for him to negotiate with the Marine Department.

Again there’s little satisfaction. I feel desperate. I need a miracle to happen, but I know Kiribati is slow, and there’s no way of getting quick answers. Kiribati, after all, is a third world country.

My Aussie friends contact the Australian Embassy. Ben and I are Australian citizens, but we have to wait for daylight. Tiene is very strong through it all. When Ben’s boat didn’t show, she reported the incident to the police, but the reply was, “It may be a false alarm; we’ll have to wait.

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