Tekon, in Liberia, preparing his GPS tracker for use on the sea.
“O send forth your light and your truth; let these be my guide. ”
In the psalm today, we hear the cry of someone longing for God. Someone who wishes to be guided by the Lord.
When a storm comes, fishermen in Liberia tie their boats together so that they won’t get swept out to sea by the wind.
“The sky was black,” remembers Tekon, a fisherman who was caught in a particularly bad storm. Even though he and his friends tied three boats together, they were carried a long way off, possibly as far as another country.
Fortunately, Tekon had been given training in how to stay safe at sea, and he had a GPS tracker on board.
“People were saying ‘you’ve been talking about this device, you say you trust it, you need to put it on!’ Everyone was panicking and then I panicked. We had fear. I had doubts.”
It took them almost 24 hours but, guided by the device, Tekon and the other fishermen made it home.
“We got onto the beach and everyone surrounded me and cheered. I felt very happy. I followed the training and we saved lives… There were a lot of families who thanked God and some people came to me to thank me for bringing their father home.”
Prayer
God our guiding light, show us the way to follow in your path and to build a world where all people may reach their full potential. Amen.
Act
Donate to our Lent Appeal to support people like Tekon around the world to get the tools and training that they need to guide them home safely.