The summer day began just as planned for Nathan Junker and Albert Hermiston. Junker, a 30-year-old youth pastor of Faith Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, had taken a group of young people for a day of sunshine, swimming, and fellowship at nearby Pokegama Lake. Hermiston, 63, a youth group volunteer, was helping to supervise the event.

It started out as a beautiful day, but that afternoon the weather turned treacherous. The wind began gusting up to 50 miles per hour, and the waves soon swelled to several feet.

Many of the youth started to have trouble swimming through the choppy waters to safety. Junker and Hermiston saw that one young man in particular was in trouble, and the two immediately swam out to help him. They brought a life jacket to the boy, who was then able to make it to shore. The two men, however, disappeared under the water’s surface. Hermiston was found a short while later, but it was too late for him to be resuscitated. Junker’s body was found the following day.

Family and friends mourned the two heroes, with many of them sharing how the men lived out their faith in Christ even to the last minutes of their lives. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, NIV).

Samaritan’s Purse later received a letter from Junker’s wife, Samantha. She talked about her husband’s heart for the needy around the world, and their family tradition of choosing items from the ministry’s Christmas catalog with their children.

Samantha and her four children continued the tradition of choosing gifts from the catalog. This time, they did it in memory of a husband and father who lived his life in service to others.

“I remember how excited Nathan got about it every time,” she wrote. “He was an amazing father and husband. We miss him dearly, yet we are proud of how he lived and how he died.”

We are grateful to God for faithful believers like Nathan Junker and Albert Hermiston, who put God first. To give in honor/memory of someone you love, click here.

Samaritan's Purse , United States , Evangelism , In Memory