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It had rained heavily all morning but had started to clear as Malcolm Pelley, his wife Grace, and several friends left their motorhome to go bakeapple picking. It was 2 PM on August 3rd, 1981 in the Eddies Cove area on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. Berries were scarce and Malcolm began to wander across the barrens. He became so engrossed with looking for bakeapples that he didn’t realize how fast the evening had passed.

He started back through the woods, in what he thought was the direction of the highway. However, he was walking in circles and kept ending up in the same place he started. After several attempts he decided it was best to overnight in the woods and find his way out in the morning. As the fog rolled in over the hills, the night became cold. Malcolm found shelter by settling down on a bed of tree boughs and covering up as best he could with his raincoat. Sleep was fitful at best, as he shivered throughout the night.

In the morning, Malcolm once again began his quest to make it back to the road. However, as the sun rose higher in the sky, his attempts proved futile. His legs were becoming weaker and starting to fail. Faced with the fact he was lost, he sat down and waited for others to find him. Surely a search party was out by now and rescue would not be long.

However, that day passed with no rescue. He ate blackberries and bakeapples for strength. The second night passed agonizingly slow. Alone, in the dark, his thoughts turned heavenward.

For four long days and nights, he waited and wandered aimlessly. His strength was all but gone. Malcolm’s whole life flashed before him and he realized if help did not soon arrive, he would perish. Thoughts filled his mind of a promise he had made to his 18-year-old brother many years before when his brother lay on his death bed. Malcolm promised he would get saved and meet his brother in heaven. Malcolm knew he was not ready to die. Amos 4:12 says, “Prepare to meet thy God.” He had made no preparation. It was then and there Malcolm realized he was lost both physically and spiritually. The good news is Christ Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). That was him. Malcolm realized he needed a Saviour. In the Christmas story, Mary was told that her Son would be called Jesus because “He shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). That is just what Malcolm wanted.

Perched on a rock in the bakeapple barrens, Malcolm simply trusted Christ as his Saviour. The truth of Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” became reality.

Sitting, waiting, and watching, the thought came to him. “I have trusted Christ to save me from hell; why can’t I trust him to save me from here?” Malcolm silently bowed his head and asked the Lord to save him from perishing on the barrens.

Hours passed. He was now feeble and exhausted. Suddenly, he saw a man on the edge of the bog. At first he thought his mind was starting to play tricks on him. Then a second man appeared. Too weak to call out, he picked up his white shirt, which was drying on a nearby rock, and began to wave it. The two men, who were part of a survey crew, were out looking for bakeapples on their lunch break. The men spotted the white flag waving and went to help. Coincidence? No! A call was radioed in and soon a helicopter flew Malcolm to the hospital in St Anthony, where he made a complete recovery.

Malcolm always delighted to tell his story: SAVED TWICE in one day. Malcolm Pelley came close to losing his life in the woods and losing his soul in Hell. Instead he trusted Christ as his Saviour who saved him twice in one day. On May 12, 1983 he went home to Heaven—SAVED.

My friend, how about you? God says, “ALL we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). This is the Saviour you need, His name is Jesus. Acts 4:12 states, “Neither is there salvation in any other.”

THINK—“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). BUT “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Malcolm called and the Lord answered. Will you call? The Lord is ready, willing, and able to save you.

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