Stowaway!

March 20th, 2021| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Themba Cabeka, 30, was tired of his life in South Africa—the poverty, depression, crime. And so was his buddy Carlito Vale. So they took an unusual step. As stowaways in a 747’s wheel well!

How they got into the secure area where planes are parked no one has figured out. But they did. And into the British Airways jumbo’s undercarriage they went. And stayed. For the entirety of the 11-hour flight from Johannesburg to London’s Heathrow. All 5,600 miles of it. At –60°C (–76°F).

Only recently has Mr. Cabeka spoken out about his horrifying experience:

We had to force ourselves to be squeezed inside. I could hear the engine running. The last thing I remember just after the plane took off was Carlito saying to me: ‘Yeah, we’ve made it.’ When the plane was flying, I could see the ground, I could see the cars, I could see small people. I knew how dangerous it was, but I didn’t care whether I lived or died. I had to leave Africa to survive.”

The pair had tied themselves to the plane with an electric cable wrapped around their arms, but shortly after the flight reached cruising altitude, both passed out for lack of oxygen.

It was the first time Cabeka or his pal Vale had ever been on an airplane!

The next thing Cabeka knew was waking up in a hospital from a coma, six months after he was discovered on one of the runways at Heathrow.

A police officer showed him Vale’s passport and asked if Themba knew him, adding:

He never made it. He fell on top of a building.”

Just minutes before landing, Vale had fallen from the British Airways plane. His body was found in the air-conditioning unit of an office block in Richmond, six miles from Heathrow, from 5,000 feet.

But our man Cabeka survived. Doctors think the freezing temperatures kept him in a state of suspended animation. With a lowered core body temperature, his critical organs were placed into a sort of “standby mode” where they needed less oxygen.

Themba still struggles with the guilt that, while he survived, his friend did not.

I missed his funeral because I was in a coma. I was sad I couldn’t say goodbye. So I went to put flowers on his grave. I miss his presence. I used to call him ‘my brother from another mother.’ He’s the only guy who knew me, more than anybody, where I come from.”

Five years after that harrowing experience, Cabeka has now received Asylum, changed his name, and settled in Liverpool.

I suppose that is one way to escape one’s circumstances.

Of all the nasty circumstances in life, sin is the worst. For it can have its effects even in the afterlife.

How can one escape? How can one be saved?

Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16

By placing one’s trust in Jesus Christ as one’s only God and Savior from sin, one escapes the dreadful consequences of sin—eternal separation from God, and enjoys the blissful consequences of forgiveness—eternal presence with God.

It is free. It’s a gift.

For by grace you have been saved through faith …;
it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8

No need to stowaway!

For here we do not have a lasting city,
but we are seeking the city which is to come.
Hebrews 13:14

And we’re getting there, through Jesus Christ, soon and very soon!

SOURCE:
Daily Mail