What began as a simple family day at the beach off Western Australia became a terrifying ten-hour ordeal for Joanne Appelbee and her children. Strong winds carried them far beyond the safety of the shore, leaving them clinging to paddleboards as daylight faded. Realising help was needed, Joanne sent her 13-year-old son Austin back to raise the alarm. What followed was extraordinary. After a damaged kayak capsized, Austin was forced to swim four kilometres through rough seas, eventually abandoning his lifejacket and pressing on exhausted and afraid. For hours he prayed, sang Christian songs, and fixed his thoughts on his family, not knowing whether they were still alive. Reaching land at last, he made the call which triggered a rescue operation. Hours later, Joanne and her younger children were found alive, cold and frightened but safe. Though rescuers called his effort 'superhuman', Austin simply described it as doing what had to be done.

Psalm 136 says, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures for ever.’ During lockdown thousands are encountering God through prayer and praise with online networking. ‘Germany together in prayer’ brought a million Christian churches, ministries and groups plus prominent political leaders together to pray online.In the same week ‘World Prayer Together’ united millions of worshippers across the nations. Meanwhile, Holy Trinity Brompton reports a record number of Alpha sign-ups and there is an increased openness to the gospel as more people seek spiritual truths on search engines. Praise God for declining rates of infection and the solidarity of communities practising limited communal contact. And for many the ‘imposed’ furlough is resulting in families having more time together and the rest resulting from cancelled non-essential travel.