During 1965-66, six teenage boys miraculously survived on Ata Island for 15 months. They did this through faith, prayer, service and love. This Sermon “The Castaways” was preached by Ps Jon Brand on 8th October 2023.
Sermon Transcript
Good morning everyone. How are we going!
The title of my sermon this morning is “The Castaways”. A castaway can be described as a person who has been shipwrecked and stranded in an isolated place.
In June 1965, six teenage boys aged 15 to 17, living in Tonga, stole a 7.3 m yacht and set sail for adventure. Their plan was to initially sail north-west to the island of Fiji and then possibly keep sailing on and eventually end up in New Zealand. But on their first night of sailing, a severe storm broke their mast and rudder. Instead of sailing north-west to Fiji they slowly drifted south-west for approximately 300 km over the next eight days.
During that time, they didn’t have much food or water, apart from a couple sacks of bananas and coconuts they’d thrown in just before they left. After eight days of drifting, they sighted the island called “Ata”. Now, Ata isn’t one of those nice tropical islands with soft sands and gently sloping beaches. The island of Ata is more like a hulking mass of rocks and cliffs. It’s also extremely isolated and uninhabited.
Seeing the island, they quickly decided to abandon ship and swim ashore. Amazingly, all six teenage boys got through the surf and rocks and made it to the island alive. What’s even more amazing, is that they survived on the island by themselves for 15 months. It wasn’t until September 1966, when an Australian fisherman, named Peter Warner, just happened to sail past the island and rescued the boys.
And we should have a map on the screen showing roughly their journey.
Map – Tonga to Ata
In the map you can see how they tried to sail north-west from Tonga to Fiji, but then ended up drifting 300 km south-west to the island of Ata. In fact, they were very lucky to come across the island of Ata, because if they had drifted any further south, they would have headed out into the open sea for a long way.
Can you pleased show the photo of the six young men who survived on Ata for 15 months.
Photo – six boys
I think this photo was taken not long after they came back. Their names were Stephen, Sione, Luke, David, Kolo and Mano. You can even see one of the guys (Kolo) holding a guitar that he made on the island. The guitar was made out of a coconut shell, and old piece of wood and some wire they salvaged from the boat.
While they were on the island for 15 months, their families held funeral services, presuming that they’d all died at sea. Their story of survival is quite incredible. This morning, I’m going to talk a bit about how these castaways survived on Ata, and also relate that to how God calls us to live and operate in challenging environments.
But firstly, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father – you are a good God and Holy, and we give you all the praise and the glory. Thank you that you help us through our most difficult times. Heavenly Father I pray that we get to learn more about you through your Word this morning. Heavenly Father, I pray that you speak through me this morning to deliver your message. And I pray that you are glorified. In Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.
Introduction
The story of the six teenage boys shipwrecked, and stranded on the island of Ata, is an incredible story of survival. They were totally isolated! They were stuck there by themselves for 15 months. These boys had to work together and figure out ways to survive in a very difficult environment. And they succeeded, they not only survived, they actually thrived.
In the first Century AD, a lot of new believers in Christ, also found themselves isolated and living in a dangerous environment. For many people, deciding to become a follower of Christ would have isolated them from both their families and friends. These new followers of Christ also suffered extreme persecution for their faith.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Peter wrote a letter, titled 1 Peter, around 65 AD, to Christians suffering severe persecution in Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey. He wrote this letter to guide them and encourage them to keep going.
This morning, I’m going to talk about some of the words of advice the Apostle Peter gave to the Christians living in Asia Minor, to encourage them and help them to survive in difficult times. These words of advice are also relevant to us Christians living in today’s world.
This morning, I’m also going to show how the six teenage boys stranded on Ata island, put Christian teachings into action, including the book of 1 Peter, to help them survive for a long time in a very difficult environment.
There is a lot of good advice in the book of 1 Peter on how to survive in a difficult environment. This morning, I’m just going to discuss four main points.
My first point is to (1) Stay focused and pray.
In the Book of 1 Peter, chapter 4, verse 7, the Apostle Peter said to the Christians living in Asia Minor the following:
The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.
1 Peter 4:7
As a believer and follower of Christ, Christ has given us an incredible gift – the gift of salvation. Through Christ we have eternal life with God. Through Christ we have an internal inheritance in heaven that can never fade, perish or spoil.
It’s an incredible gift from God!
Peter calls the believers to stay mindful; that the end of times and Christ’s return is coming. This knowledge should help us to stay focused, and not distracted by the trials and circumstances happening around us. These trials are only temporary compared to our internal inheritance with God.
Even though trials are happening around us, Peter calls us not to panic, but instead keep a sober mind. By keeping a sober mind, we are more likely to make wise decisions. We also need to keep praying. The distractions happening around us should not stop our prayer life. At all times, whether good or bad, we need to pray for God’s help.
With regards to the six Tongan boys, they got off to a bad start, they stole a boat, which was wrong, and then ended up shipwrecked on the island of Ata. But once they landed on Ata, they didn’t panic by the situation they were in. They worked together and kept making thought-out decisions to survive. They stayed focused and disciplined.
Initially they gathered coconuts and caught fish, but they had no matches to make a fire, so they ate the fish raw. Stephen new the old ways of how to make a fire, by rubbing wood together. He tried each day for a number weeks without success.
Eventually they got a fire going and once they started that fire they never let it burn out! They never left it unattended, and kept reusing the coals to start new fires. They kept that original fire going for more than a year. These boys were diligent!
They also kept making decisions. They decided to hunt and eat nesting seabirds and their eggs on the cliff faces of the island. They explored the whole island, and found a an old disbanded settlement from about 100 years earlier. Tragically over 100 years earlier, the people who lived their had been raided by slave traders, and the remaining people had abandoned the island. In the old settlement they found an old pot, knives and cooking utensils that they could use. They also found some vegetables growing wild near the old settlement (including Taro, which is a type of root vegetable). They found some banana plants that they could harvest. They made a vegetable garden and planted bean vines and bananas.
Amazingly there were still some wild chickens living on the island. It took them a while to catch them but eventually they were able to catch 200 of these chickens, fence them and then eat their eggs, and occasionally eat the chickens when food levels got low. They fed the chickens on coconuts and other scraps.
They harvested rainwater and also gained water from certain types of trees that have a lot of water in their trunks. Sione remembered a way to obtain water from these trees, which his dad had taught him. The way to do it was by digging deep into the trunk and then making a hollow at the base of the tree. Over time, water would drip out of the sapwood and into the hollow, giving a good source of water.
The boys took turns on look-out, watching for passing ships. They built a house. They weaved coconut fronds to make walls, and rooms within the house. They made a fireplace in the middle of the house. They also made beds and used banana leaves for the mattress.
To keep fit they held tennis matches and did boxing. They even made a make-shift gym, including a bench press with a bar-bell and weights. Sione, one of the boys, said “We knew that if we became lazy, nature would beat us”.
If you can, you should try and exercise and stay fit. By staying fit it helps you physically and mentally and will also help you to get through difficult times
To survive these guys kept making decisions. They didn’t panic, they didn’t become overwhelmed by the situation, and most importantly these guys prayed.
When they were drifting at sea for 8 days, with no rudder, no sails, and very little food and water, Sione said that “We prayed, knowing only God could save us”. When all six boys made it to shore of Atar alive, they came together to say a prayer, holding each other crying. Each day they were on the island, began and ended with singing and prayer.
During their stay they made a makeshift guitar (which you saw in the photo), which helped keep their spirits up. They also composed five different songs during their stay.
In the difficult circumstances they were in, these guys kept their eyes on God. They praised God, they sought Him for help and guidance, and He brought them through.
If you want to get through difficult circumstances, then seek God, don’t panic, keep making decisions, stay disciplined, stay fit, stay focused and pray to God for help.
My second point this morning on how to survive in difficult times is to
(2) Look after one another
In the book of 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 8, Peter said:
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
1 Peter 4:8
Love towards one another is so important. We need to forgive one another again and again. Love helps to keep unity within the church, the body of believers. The reference that love covers over a multitude of sins, doesn’t mean that sin is okay, and of course only Christ can forgive sins.
The reference that love covers over a multitude of sins, more refers to that true love is able to overlook minor faults and failures in other believers. We need to practice that. We need to overlook minor faults and failures and forgive one another. By doing that it helps us to stay together and work together in unity.
When we are unity it pleases God, and God can work through us to do great things.
This unity and love was displayed by the six castaways. Early on when the boys arrived on the island, they made a pact to live on the island just as they had been raised by their families in Tonga. Sione said that “We all came from close and poor families where, whatever you get, you share”. That’s what the boys did, they shared whatever food they could gather, including birds eggs, fish, coconuts, bananas and wild taro.
The boys also looked after each other when they were not well. When one of the boys Steven was climbing a cliff top to search for sea birds and their eggs, he slipped and fell. They found him on a narrow ledge, with a broken leg.
The other boys climbed down to the ledge and helped Stephen back up to the top.
They set his leg using sticks and leaves. Sione said to Stephen, “Don’t worry, we’ll do your work, while you lie there like King Tupou himself (who was the King of Tonga).
The boys had a good sense of humour. A good sense of humour is really important, especially when you’re going through tough times. It can lighten the moment and lift the spirits! God has a good sense of humour. Don’t lose your sense of humour!
Incredibly, three months after Stephen’s broken leg had been set with sticks and leaves, it was healed. He had a big scar, but he could walk.
The boys also showed love by keeping the peace within the group. When arguments broke out, they managed them. If anyone had any grievances or issues, they raised them at night around the fire. Sione said that “If anybody had something they didn’t like, they talked about it and we’d say ‘Sorry’ and then pray and everything’s okay”. If anyone got really mad, they’d walk away for a few hours and look at the ocean and clear their mind, and then move on.
To survive in a difficult environment, the boys worked together, they shared what they had, they helped one another, they actively worked to resolve their differences and maintain harmony.
They did exactly what the Apostle Peter advised, “To love each other deeply”.
My third point this morning on how to survive in a difficult environment is to
(3) Use whatever abilities you have to get the work done
In the book of 1 Peter, chapter 4, verses 10-11, Peter said:
(10 )Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10-11
(11) If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
As believers, God has given each of us gifts and abilities. These gifts are not to be used for selfish gain but instead for God’s glory and for the good of others. The gifts are not meant to end with us, rather we are to be channels through which the blessings can flow to others.
Peter’s instructions were that if anyone speaks or teaches they should be sure that the words they speak are the words that God would want them to say.
That’s good advice to choose your words wisely. Peter says anyone who peforms any kind of service should do it with the humble recognition that it is God who empowers them. All the glory needs to go to God.
As I’ve discussed earlier, the six Castaways got to work early on, and shared work duties, including gathering food, gardening, tending the fire, keeping watch for ships, making rope from bark, building and maintaining their house. Within the group, the two oldest boys took on the responsibility of leadership. Stephen was elected as the practical or operational leader of the group. Sione was elected as the Spiritual leader of the group. He helped resolve issues between the boys and also provided spiritual advice. After being rescued Sione also went on to become a Pastor. Sione later said that “I always say that God kept me alive, so I’ll work for Him for the rest of my life”.
The way the boys worked together in unity, with God at the centre, is the same as how a church operates. The church is the body of Christ or a group of believers who follow Christ. Within church, the Word is taught, there is prayer, praise and worship, there is fellowship (friendship), and there is also service.
In that difficult environment the boys did all those things, they praised God, they prayed, they loved one another and they all actively served. They used their gifts.
They were also in Unity, and because of that God was able to do amazing things through them. Because they worked together in Unity, they just didn’t just survive on the island they actually thrived!
Value the Church and what it has to offer. Value being amongst a group of fellow believers (your brothers and sisters in Christ). Value the word being taught. Value the prayer. Value the praise and worship. And value the great fellowship we have in Church. Use the gifts God has given you and value the church. Together we are much stronger. Amen!
My fourth and last point this morning on how to survive in a difficult environment is to
(4) Have faith that God will bring you through
In 1 Peter, chapter 5, verses 10-11, Peter said:
(10) And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. (11) To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 5:10-11
No matter what trials we are going through, we serve and belong to a God of grace. He loves us and has called us into His eternal glory. While we may be going through trials, we can take comfort that the trials are relatively short compared to spending eternity with God. Our God is a good God, and a faithful God, and no matter what happens in life, he will look after us and prepare a place for us in Eternal glory. This knowledge of God’s goodness and faithfulness helps us to be strong, firm and steadfast in the most difficult of circumstances.
I think the Tongan teenage boys had great faith in God. I think they believed that no matter what happened God was with them and for them. I believe that through their faith, God helped them to be brave, to be strong, firm and steadfast. They kept working, they never gave up.
And eventually, on 11 September 1966, they were rescued by Peter Warner and his crew. A couple of days later, Peter Warner returned the young men to Tonga, and all their families greeted them on the beach. Hundreds of people turned out. Sione’s mum waded out into the water to embrace her son. There was much crying and joy and celebrations went on for six days.
For rescuing the teenagers, Peter Warner was thanked by the King of Tonga, and was given special permission to catch crayfish in Tongan waters. Within a couple of years, Peter was catching crayfish in Tonga and he employed the six young Tongan men as crew on his boats.
We should have the last photo of Peter Warner and the six young men.
Photo – Peter Warner and six Tongan men
In the photo you can see Peter Warner in the Middle, and from left to right are Stephen, Kolo, Luke, David, Sione and Mano. This photo was taken in 1968, two years after their rescue.
Conclusion
In Conclusion the story of survival of the Castaways was incredible. When the Doctors assessed the six young men after being isolated on Ata for 15 months, they were all found to be healthy.
I think that one reason why these young men performed so well in such difficult conditions was because they Stayed focused and Prayed. They sought God, they didn’t panic, they kept making decisions, they stay disciplined, they stayed fit and they prayed.
I think a second reason why these young men performed so well was because they
Looked after one another. They shared what they had, they leaned on one another, they actively worked to resolve their differences and maintain harmony. They showed love towards one another.
I think that a third reason why these young men performed so well was because they used their abilities to get the work done. They used their gifts and abilities, they worked together in Unity with God at the center. They operated like a church.
I think that a fourth reason why these young men performed so well was because they had faith that God would bring them through. I think they believed that no matter what happened God was with them and for them. Through their faith, God helped them to be brave, to be strong, firm and steadfast.
You might be going through challenging times, at the moment. You might feel like you’ve been shipwrecked financially, physically or emotionally. You might feel a bit isolated and stranded from your family and friends.
If you’re going through difficult times, I recommend that you read the words of advice from the book of 1 Peter, and also be encouraged by how those six Tongan teenagers survived the impossible.
Stay focused and pray, look after one another, use your abilities and have faith that God will bring you through.
Amen