“Austin Appelbee, a teenager from Western Australia, survived a harrowing four-hour swim after he and his family were swept out to sea near Quindalup.
As nightfall neared and there was no way back to shore, his mother made the agonizing decision to send Austin to swim for help. Battling powerful waves, Austin swam nearly four kilometers, abandoning a damaged kayak and even removing his life jacket when it began to slow him down.
He later told the BBC that prayer, Christian worship songs, and thoughts of his family gave him the strength to keep going.
“I don’t think it was me who did it — it was God the whole time,” Austin said. “I kept praying and praying. I told God, ‘I’ll get baptized.’”
After collapsing on shore and crying out for help, Austin learned hours later that his mother and siblings had been rescued alive after drifting almost 14 kilometers out to sea.”
