When the World Cup set the whole planet on fire, there is another match going on. It is the game about life and death, a game that against the nature and the time. And the game has also gripped the attentions of the whole world.  

In Thailand, there is a junior football team, organized by 12 boys aged from 11 to 16 years old. In June 23rd, a day that nothing seemed to go wrong, they decided to relax a little bit after training.

It was just intended to be an after-training outing in Tham Luang Cave, a place the boys had explored many times before, however, an unexpected rain storm turned it into a nightmare, an almost no-returning journey.

All of sudden, the muddy waters blocked all the exits. And when the boys found that there was no way out, it was already too late.

Thanks to a picture one boy published on his social account, their last location was soon identified. However, the sophistication of the cave left Thailand government powerless and they had to ask for help.

A rescue team was soon organized with the experts from all over the world, including 10 soldiers from the legendary SEALs. Academic but physically well trained, the cave experts from the British, after the whole 9 days’ searching, when everyone started to lose hope, finally found these 12 boys, starved but still alive.

However, the rescue team still couldn’t bring them back home.

Begin with the labyrinth of narrow paths, requiring profound climbing skills to get through. Moving on there are muddy pools of about 10, 20 feet deep, which only let the great divers pass. It’s just impossible for these kids to get out the same way the research team came in.

Switch to other solutions, like draining off the water but it’s not an option in raining season when rains might come anytime. Tunneling a hole from the top might work, but it will take 4 months.

Still, it’s a miracle that the boys survived. Let’s pray for them, hope that they could come back to their families soon. And while I was writing this blog, I came across another disturbing news. About 40 Chinese were killed in the resent boat accident in Thailand, which also caused by heavy rains. May God bless us all.