Adun (Adul Sam-on), who was 14 years old when he was rescued with 12 others in a Thailand cave, recently spoke about his Christian faith and how the incident changed his life.
The Christian Thai youth issued a statement about the daring multinational, inter-agency rescue in the wake of the Australian release of Ron Howard's film 'Thirteen Lives' based on the 2018 incident.
Details of the Cave Rescue
According to an article by Eternity News, Adun was among 13 members of the Wild Boar children's soccer team that went inside the Tham Luang Nan Non cave in Northern Thailand's Chiang Rai province.
What was supposed to be a quick, fun sojourn into the famous cave turned into a 17-day nightmare for the boys and their coach.
While inside the cave, the boys suddenly became trapped as torrential rains caused by the monsoon rapidly flooded the cave.
The 13 individuals inside had to go further into the cave system to evade the creeping flood, reports at the time revealed.
When news of the trapped team reached the Thailand government's attention and then the rest of the world, a rescue mission that involved skilled cave divers from the UK and Australia ensued.
When some divers finally located the trapped individuals on the ninth day, one of the divers asked, "How many of you?"
Adun, who was the only English-speaking member of the team, answered, "Thirteen."
The teenager spoke Mandarin, Burmese, Wa, Thai, and English.
His knowledge of the last language proved crucial in the rescuers' efforts to get them out of the cave safely.
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Lifting Everything to God
News organizations and rescue experts worldwide viewed the successful rescue as a miracle.
Adun thinks it was because of God's intervention that they all managed to get out of the cave alive.
He explained they were saved because he lifted everything to God.
"By the tenth night, we were losing patience, hope, physical energy, and courage. We could not do anything to help [the situation]. The only thing I could do was to pray. I prayed 'Lord, I'm only a boy. You are Almighty God, you are holy, and you are powerful. Right now, I can't do anything. May you protect us, come to help us all 13," Eternity News quoted Adun saying.
He also told the news outlet that God's intervention came "during the hardest time" of their cave ordeal.
The boy, originally from Myanmar, explained that God answered his intent prayers while trapped inside the cave system.
"It was God and me facing that situation, and I am thankful to him for helping me get out of the cave," he told Eternity News.
Disadvantaged Family Finds Care in Christian Community
The article said that Adun's family did not enjoy similar opportunities as Thai citizens since they came from another country and belonged to an ethnic group.
Fortunately, Adun received various development opportunities from Compassion center, a church-run facility.
There, Adun enjoyed health care, means of education, and vocational training.
More importantly, Adun enjoyed love and care from church members led by its pastor. The report revealed that the pastor's wife is a relative of the boy's father.
The education he got from the Christian center and the love he felt from its community members ultimately figured in Adun's resilience throughout their cave ordeal.
Since their rescue, Adun said he got a full scholarship in 2019 at a New York boarding school in preparation for college.
He advised teens who deal with hardships to practice patience and put faith in God, to "pray and wait on God with hope."
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