Tag Archives: Inspiration

Three Boys Found Man About To Jump Off Bridge, Grabbed Him And Didn’t Let Go

The mentality of ‘not wanting to get involved’ often prevents people from making a huge difference when they see something unjust or tragic about to happen.

Fortunately, children are much purer in their hearts than adults, and ‘not wanting to get involved’ was far from the thoughts of three heroes no older than 14, when on Sept. 21, 2017, they saved a suicidal man from jumping to his death.

Devonte Cafferkey, 13, Sammy Farah, 14, and Shawn Young, 12, were coming home from St Mary’s High School in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, when they noticed a man sitting at the edge of an overpass in Waltham Cross, with a rope strung around his neck.

Yet, they didn’t panic, and simply approached the man and tried to coax him from the edge.

They attempted to dissuade him, but he turned and prepared to jump. At this point, they grabbed onto him and refused to let go.

Shawn calmly called for help, and two passers-by came to help rescue the man, James Higlett, and 47-year-old Joanne Stammers.

Stammers said that when she approached the man, he was crying.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning show last year, Devonte told interviewers that they ran and got help and saw a rope around his neck. They were persuading him not to jump, while he was crying and wiping his eyes. The boys said, ‘You’ve got family, it’s not worth it.’”

Carol, Shawn’s mother later explained that the boys told her that as they were holding on to the man, he began passing out, making it harder for them to manage his weight and hold him back.

Fortunately, the boys held onto the man long enough for the road around the Waltham Cross to close as a precaution, and the man was taken to hospital at around 6:20 pm.

Carol was fascinated by the maturity of the boys. When Shawn told her what happened when he came home, she left him to finish, and she was smiling all the time, as there was nothing she could add to it.

While trying to keep the man back and talk him out of suicide, Shawn passed the boys his mobile phone saying ‘if it rings, don’t answer it’.”

Jacqueline Cafferkey, Devonte’s mother, said the incident was traumatic for him, and he did not want to go to school that Monday, which “never happens” according to his mom. She adds that she is filled with pride, and she keeps telling him that he has saved someone’s life, which is a huge thing.

Mohamed Farah, Sammy’s dad, described his son as a ‘quiet and humble boy’, that likes to help people. He adds that the act of the boys was bravery.

Joanne Stammers is disabled with Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome, a rare condition that makes her highly prone to blood clotting. Yet, this did not stop her from helping the man, and at the end, she was left with bruises all over her arms.

All five heroes will receive awards from the Royal Humane Society, a charity that promotes life-saving interventions.

Carol added that she is extremely proud of all three of the boys and that it is great that they are getting recognized for doing something good in the community.

The heroes received the Special Achievement Awards at the Broxbourne Youth Awards for their bravery.

Joanne said the award was a “great honor” and she keeps in touch with Jacqueline Cafferkey, Devonte’s mother. She added that she is pleased for the boys, and she hopes other children will learn that it’s worth stopping to help someone.

Joanne was on her way back from seeing her mother in Waltham Cross when Shawn asked her help. She keeps going under the bridge once a week, but she avoids the route now, whenever possible.

Suicide is a major national public health issue in the United States. On average, adjusted for age, the annual U.S. suicide rate increased by 24% between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 to 13.0 suicides per 100,000 people, the highest rate recorded in 28 years.

Additionally, suicide is generally underreported, as a result of the stigma surrounding it.

Unfortunately, rates have continued to increase.

Pinpointing the reasons for suicide rates rise is challenging partly since the causes of suicide are complex. Risk factors include health factors (like depression, substance use problems, serious mental illness and serious physical health conditions including pain), environmental factors (like access to lethal means and stressful life events such as divorce, unemployment, relationship problems or financial crisis) and historical factors (previous suicide attempts, a family history of suicide and a history of childhood abuse or trauma).

Christine Moutier, MD, chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, claims that at the individual level, there is never a single cause of suicide. There are always multiple risk factors.

Experts claim that a key message is that there is genuine hope for people considering suicide.

Joel Dvoskin, Ph.D., ABPP, a clinical and forensic psychologist in Arizona and New Mexico maintains that suicide is about despair, and the only cure for despair is hope.

By helping people to regain hope, we could talk them out of it and persuade them to see the beauty of life once again.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. ~John 15:13

Florida teen dies protecting 5-year-old sister during home invasion

A 15-year-old is being remembered as a “hero” after he died protecting his younger sister during a robbery at their Florida home. 

Khyler Edman was at his family’s house in Port Charlotte, Fla., last Thursday when a man broke in, according to WPTV. The burglar, identified as 27-year-old Ryan Cole, fought with Edman, who was reportedly defending his 5-year-old sister

“The suspect broke into this residence and a violent encounter ensued where we believe the teenager was trying to protect the home and protect his younger sibling,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell told WPTV.

Cole received multiple stab wounds during the fight and eventually fled the scene. He was later caught and identified while trying to break into a different home, police said.

Authorities canvased the area where they found Cole, and noticed that the Edmans’ door had been forced open. Inside the house, they found Khyler’s dead body, as well as his younger sister, who was unharmed. 

“There is no hero that can amount to Khyler,” Crystal Stone, a spokesperson for the Edman family, told WINK-TV. “He loved his family. He was his sister’s keeper.”

Khyler, a 10th grader at Charlotte County High School, was remembered by teachers and classmates as an honor student who was well-liked by his peers.

“[He] the kind of kid that anyone would be proud to call their son,” a spokesperson for the school told WINK. 

“Khyler was a hero. He was a gentle soul. His life was taken away too early,” a neighbor also told the station.

Cole, who has been arrested multiple times this year, is now being held on burglary charges. Police said they will continue to investigate to determine if he’ll face further charges.

Meanwhile, Khyler’s family and friends have planned a “Celebration of Life” ceremony for Saturday, Oct. 5. The event will also serve as a fundraiser, with 100 percent of the proceeds going toward the Edman family.

A GoFundMe page was also set up, in remembrance of Khyler, with donations going toward funeral costs and helping the family move to a new house so “they aren’t faced with having to relive the traumatic experience over again.”

The fundraising campaign, which had an original goal of $25,000, has now raised more than $33,000.

“Khyler was a hero protecting his sister but please continue to keep her in your prayers as she witnessed this,” the description for the page says.

Rescue swimmer awarded Distinguished Flying Cross for swimming through hell to rescue 59 others

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HOUSTON, TX – AUGUST 28: A Coast Guard helicopter hoists a wheel chair on board after lifting a person to safety from the area that was inundated with flooding from Hurricane Harvey on August 28, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Harvey, which made landfall north of Corpus Christi late Friday evening, is expected to dump upwards to 40 inches of rain in Texas over the next couple of days. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

He swam at night through 80 knot winds, ripped through a roof without the aid of a chainsaw and was repeatedly hoisted more than 100 feet into the air while battling turbulence and dangerous power lines around him as he aided in the rescue of 59 others in Houston, Texas, as Hurricane Harvey battered the area in August 2017.

For his heroic feats during Harvey, Petty Officer 3rd Class Tyler Gantt, a Coast Guard aviation survival technician, or rescue swimmer, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross — the U.S. military’s oldest aviation award for heroism in flight — during a ceremony in December at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama.

His exploits in the rescue of 59 were detailed in award citation the Coast Guard posted in a news release. Two others, Coast Guard Cmdr. Scott Sanborn and Lt. John Briggs also were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their heroism in response to Hurricane Harvey, a news release detailed.

Operating aboard a MH-65D Coast Guard helciopter, Gantt was deployed to Houston for rescue operations following flooding as a result of Hurricane Harvey.

Gantt was launched “into an unfamiliar operating area at night with winds gusting over 80 knots, visibility below 50 feet and torrential rain to respond to a critically-ill pregnant woman trapped by rising waters in her attic,” the award citation reads.

While dealing with “severe turbulence,” Gannt was hoisted multiple times “through a small opening between active power lines to search for and triage the ill woman,” the citation detailed.

In another rescue, “Gantt dove from the roof into the swift-moving water to grab an infant who was swept away from his father,” according to the citation.

Gantt “then located additional survivors signaling from a home being quickly engulfed by the flood waters. Without the use of a chainsaw, he tore through the roof to extract and hoist the seven people to safety before water overtook the home,” the award citation reads.

Sanborn was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for flying in dangerous weather and thunderstorms with nearly 50 knot winds. His efforts led to the rescue of 24 people, according to his award citation.

Briggs was the aircraft commander about an MH-65 during Harvey relief effort, his heroism in Houston led to the rescue of 120 people, per the award citation.

The Air Medal was also presented to Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class James Yockey, for his heroism while serving as a mechanic aboard an MH-65. Yockey helped navigate the helicopter and rescue swimmer through multiple rescues in a number of dangerous situations. His efforts helped rescue 27 people during Harvey relief efforts, according to an award citation.

Harvey battered Texas and Louisiana in Aug. 2017, causing billions in damages. The medals were presented in December by Rear Adm. John Nadeau, the commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District.

Chinese pastor preached to more than 1.000 people before being executed

Rev. Han Chung-Ryeol, a pastor who ministered on the China-North Korea border, was found guilty for doing charitable work based on his Christian faith.

Death penalty was the verdict given to this man whose only crime was to feed and shelter thousands of North Koreans over the years.

Since 2003, the pastor was on the most wanted list in Pyongyang for sharing the gospel.  He shared his Christian faith with more than 1,000 North Koreans before he was assassinated in 2016.

He preached everyone around him with his great personality and passion for God´s work.  He helped every person he could with clothing, food, and words of hope before sending them back to North Korea for them to help and preach the gospel to their families as well.

After planting a church near the North Korea border, he continue helping people, homeless, soldiers, prostitutes and people in hunger, and many others.

A North Korean´s testimony

Sang-chul, a witness who received pastor Han´s help, shared his story in a short documentary from The Voice of the Martyrs.

The North Korean said he didn’t have work or food in his village so he snuck across the mountain border into China, picking mushrooms along the way in hopes of selling them in a market. He ran into Han, who offered to sell them and give him the money. Sang-chul knew something was different when the pastor didn’t cheat him out of any money, but he wondered why a Chinese citizen would help him, knowing the danger.

“Pastor Han gave his life, but he gave hope to me and to many other North Koreans,” Sang-chul said. “And despite the ever-present danger, many of us will continue to share the message that God is real.”

The North Korean Christian concludes: “We hope that our sacrifice, when the day comes, will be worthwhile, just like it was for Pastor Han.

Photo of a state trooper praying with man who lost his brother is going viral

MADISONVILLE, Texas (12/19/2019) — It’s a photo that is touching hearts, and is reminding us of the reason for the season.

Lanell McGee James posted on her Facebook page a photo of a state trooper praying with her brother. Her post begins, ” With so much going on nowadays with police killing people and people killing the police as well as racial tensions, I felt compelled to share this picture.”

James says she and her husband were driving to Dallas when they were pulled over. The trooper, identified only as Trooper Bates, asked where they were headed, she said Dallas due to a death in the family.

What happened next is what appears to have prompted James to share the photo with the world.

Here is part of what she posted:

He asked was it immediate and I said yes my husbands brother. He said oh I’m sorry to hear that, do you know where he is? My husband answered “yes at the morgue” and the office responded “no he is now in his heavenly home”. At this point my husband and I are both moved to tears because his brothers death was very unexpected. The officer asked for my ID and returned to his vehicle. He came back with a warning and asked if he could pray with us. He removed his hat asked to hold our hands and he prayed with us. I have NEVER had this happen before but it was everything that we needed in that moment. Thank you so much Trooper Bates for praying with us!