On May 20, 2006 we (Irbin,
Linda, Itiel age 15 and Isúa age 13) were on a camping trip with
2 other families at Lake Isabella, California.We were
camping right by the Kern River.The Kern Riverwas swollen
because they were lowering the water level of the dam for
maintenance.The current was strong, but all the guys went
off to play in the river anyway.Of course, they planned to
be careful.Irbin felt very confident, having been swimming
in rivers all his life.The guys wanted to tie a rope over
the river so that the younger men and children (ages 7-13) could
play in safety, with always a rope to hang on to.They
found a calm spot and proceeded to do so.After the
children tired, the older men and boys went on to a rougher spot
to do the same thing.Irbin volunteered to swim across with
the rope and it was decided that it would be prudent to tie the
rope around his chest, just in case the current were to grab him.They also decided to tie the other end to his son, Itiel, so he
could brace himself against a tree and not let go.Luis
(20) and Itiel (15) held on and Irbin started swimming to the
other side.As Irbin reached the other shore, he felt the
rope stop him.It seems that Luis had decided that he had
not made it and told Itiel to start pulling.As the rope
pulled at Irbin’s chest, he felt the air being pushed out of
his lungs.He also found himself sinking.Too late,
he remembered the fact of physics, that when you pull a rope
against a current, the object on the other end sinks.His
head banged against the rocks a few times and he managed to come
up for air.He signaled the boys to let go of the rope.They refused, not wanting him to be released into the rapids
downstream.But the boys were no match for the pull of the
current and Luis’ father came to help them.Even the
three of them could not pull him from the river.Irbin
tried to remove the rope, but he was unable to.His life
flashed before his eyes and then he saw the campground from above
the trees and saw me cooking at the grill and the rest of us
sitting on chairs and talking. Then he saw the church with which
he had been involved.Then he felt himself going up and he
was approaching the Throne of God to give an account of his life.
(He didn’t see the face of God, just His bright,
glowing form on the throne and His white robe.)He felt
himself to be about a quarter inch tall.) At that moment he
remembered the words of a pastor who had been through
the Tsunami in December 2005.He said that Jesus had given
His people authority over the earth, including the waters, in His
name.So Irbin, as he was beginning to pass out, called the
name of Jesus out loud, under water, with his last, tiny breath
of air. He heard his voice under water very clearly saying the
name of JesusSuddenly he felt the current push him over to
the shore and onto a rock.It was a flat rock, half in the
water.He crawled out, gasping for breath.The men at
the other end of the rope felt the rope suddenly slide over to
the shore and ran over to him.They told him that he had
been underwater for about a minute and a half but he felt that he
had been under for much longer.He had never before stayed
under water for even a minute.This was truly a miracle.The Hand of God pulled him from the water.Glory to His
Name!