~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. (Job 9:8)
COAST GUARD RESCUES MAN FROM HYDRO BUBBLE EAST OF ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA.
The Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber arrives on scene off the coast of Miami to respond to a report of a man aboard an inflatable hydro bubble who was disoriented asking for directions to Bermuda Oct. 1, 2014. The man was later rescued on Oct. 4, 2014, after he activated his personal indicating radio beacon upon suffering from exhaustion. U.S. Coast Guard photo
An MH-60 aircrew with Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater assists a man they medically evacuated east of St. Augustine, Florida, Oct. 4, 2014. The man was rescued after suffering from exhaustion from an inflatable hydro bubble while enroute to Bermuda. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
MIAMI — A man was rescued from his hydro pod bubble 70 nautical miles east of St. Augustine, Florida, by a Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew from Air Station Clearwater Saturday morning.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 7th District command center received a report of Reza Baluchi, a U.S. citizen, floating in an inflatable bubble Wednesday. Baluchi was reportedly disoriented and asking for directions to Bermuda. The Coast Guard Cutter Webber arrived on scene, conveyed the dangers of his voyage and requested Baluchi terminate his trip due to the lack of supplies on board to sustain him.
On board, Baluchi had protein bars, bottled water, a GPS and a satellite phone.
After he refused to leave his vessel, the watchstanders continued to monitor his movements until he activated his Personal Locating Beacon (PLB) Saturday morning. Coast Guard HC-130 airplane and MH-60 helicopter crews out of Air Station Clearwater, Florida, were dispatched to Baluchi's position along with the Maersk Montana, a vessel registered with the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER).
Once the aircrews arrived on scene, a rescue swimmer from the Jayhawk crew safely hoisted Baluchi from his inflatable raft into the helicopter. The MH-60 crew transported Baluchi to Air Station Clearwater where emergency medical services evaluated him. There were no reports of any injuries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The man planned this. He had forethought. He purchased the bubble, bought GPS, bottled water and protein bars. His goal was admirable, wanting to get to the other side. However, his efforts were so far short of the mark that it causes one to both laugh hysterically and mourn his massive inability.
His thinking just wasn't right. It was very wrong. He woke up one say saying, "I can do this!" But reality showed him he could not.
Kind of like our efforts to overcome sin, without Jesus. Kind of like our plans, no matter how carefully thought out or earnest, will ultimately fail in the face of the utter reality that there exists a great gulf, over which we may not come. Reza's great gulf was the Atlantic Ocean.
Ours is our sin.
The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. (Psalm 94:11)
For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. (Ecclesiastes 2:21)
We cannot outrun our sin, we cannot dispense with our sin. It will hinder us in all our efforts to reach the other side. We need someone FROM the other side, holy and perfect, to cauterize our sin from us, burn it out and clean us. The someone of course is Jesus. Bless His holy name.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (Ephesians 2:14)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More about the man Reza Baluchi, who is actually quite interesting. He escaped Iran on the bicycling team (after imprisonment and torture, and other hardships. "I was tired of having no freedom.") Here are a few links to his story. I encourage you to read about him. He has run around the perimeter of the US once and across it twice. He has biked around the world. He planned to run up Everest. He has traveled the world for peace. The bubble was another of his efforts to bring attention to the need for world peace. Again, it is an admirable effort, and I do not believe any layperson has done more in constant and persistent effort in this goal, but it is for naught. One cannot have peace without Jesus. The world needs Jesus. It makes Mr Baluchi's story doubly sad.
Iranian 'Running Man' spreads message of peace (essay)
Run Around The World with Reza Baluchi (2009 video)
I would like to introduce you to one of the most amazing athletes of our time, Reza Baluchi. He has run over 100,000 miles in the past 22 years and last year ran 11,720 miles in 202 days non-stop! He is about to embark upon an epic adventure in September of 2009. He will be the first man to run to every country in the world! Why? Check out http://www.runwithreza.org