Narrow Escapes

Posted by admin

November 29, 2008

You may have heard of Youth for Christ, an organization created to help young Christians grow in their own faith, while also giving them the support and tools to offer God’s message of forgiveness and love to their peers. Amy King belongs to an offshoot of Youth for Christ, a performing group called Spirit Borne. The kids often reach peers by performing, and then ministering after the shows.

In February 2003, Spirit Borne was doing a production of Joseph the Dreamer in the town of Picton, Ontario. “To picture where this town is,” says Donna, Amy’s mother, “look at any map that includes Lake Ontario. On the north side of that lake (in the middle) you will see a jagged outcrop of land, which juts into the lake. This outcropping is called Prince Edward County and Picton is the county seat, situated near the bottom of this man-made island. I mention this, because its location has always made it subject to some pretty vicious snow and ice storms.”

On that weekend, the weather was brutal, and to make matters worse, the teens would be performing in an old drafty theater. All day long, as they rehearsed, they dashed back and forth through an alley alongside the theater. “Strung across the alley, about three stories up, was a thick hydro cable,” Donna remembers. “And hanging from the cable was an icicle that had developed to such proportions that at its thickest part, it was about the size of a teen’s upper torso. Like all icicles, it came to a sharp deadly point.” Apparently no one noticed the icicle. The teens ran back and forth, avoiding the cold air as much as possible, blissfully unaware of the danger above them. None of the adult leaders saw the icicle either.

After the final rehearsal, the entire cast of about 40 teens plus the adult leaders, went across town to a local church for supper. By the time they returned, people had already begun to arrive, so once again, the teens went through the alley to get backstage for costumes, make-up and pre-performance worship. The last teenager was just passing under the icicle when he heard a loud crack. He looked up, horrified, then raced for the building and got inside just as the deadly icicle, along with the cable, came crashing down, pieces as sharp as glass littering the entire (and blessedly empty) alley. “Can you imagine how tired those angels’ arms must have been, to hold that icicle and the power line up for so long?” a relieved Donna points out. But that wasn’t the end of the story…

The cable turned out to be the building’s main power source, and was barely attached at this point. But the show was scheduled to begin. A repairman and a police officer arrived at the scene. The police officer heard the details of the incident. “Thank God it didn’t come down ten seconds earlier when 40 kids were passing under it,” he said, shaken.

But the repairman shook his head. “There’s no way this cable can carry enough power to handle your lighting and sound systems,” he told the teens. “And it will be intermittent power at best. I can keep working on it during the show, but…”

“Yes, thank you, please do that.” The teens were doing what they always do when faced with obstacles show, kneeling to pray. Whatever God wanted would be fine with them, they assured their Father. The police officer was visibly moved at their faith and their way of dealing with this unexpected turn of events.

Although the audience had been warned that the power would eventually go off—and the show would have to stop—nothing of the sort occurred. Despite the fragile electricity situation, the performance was beautiful, all the way to the end. Perhaps the prayers were even more meaningful, since they too were said in complete light. “I’m sure that many people left that theatre with a renewed faith and belief in the power of prayer and of God’s protection,” says Donna. “One such changed man was the police officer who couldn’t believe what he had seen, but was moved enough that he made a commitment to attend their next show in a town about 30 minutes away. I don’t know if he kept this commitment, but isn’t it amazing, the lengths God will go to, to reach just one of his children?”

The kids agree, and continue to thank the angels.