An 18-year-old Indonesian teenager, Aldi Novel Adilang, spent 49 days stranded at sea with nothing but faith, prayer, and a Bible to keep him going.
Aldi worked as a lamp keeper on a floating fishing trap called a rompong, stationed about 80 miles off the coast of Indonesia. His job was simple but lonely—light the lamps every evening to draw fish, and once a week a supply boat would bring him food, water, and fuel.
But in July, disaster struck. A fierce storm ripped his wooden raft from its moorings and pushed him into the open Pacific. With no motor or paddle, Aldi was carried farther and farther from shore. Days turned into weeks. He drifted thousands of miles, eventually nearing Guam.
His supplies ran out quickly. To stay alive, Aldi caught fish, burned parts of his hut to cook them, and strained seawater through his clothes in an attempt to make it drinkable. Alone for weeks, he admitted that fear and hopelessness nearly broke him. More than ten ships passed by—none noticed him.
At his lowest point, he thought of giving up, of throwing himself into the ocean. But he remembered his parents’ advice: pray when you are in trouble. Holding onto that, he opened his Bible and prayed daily. That routine gave him just enough strength to hold on.
Finally, on August 31, hope appeared on the horizon. A Panamanian vessel, the Arpeggio, came into view. Aldi waved frantically, signaling with a cloth and trying his radio. This time, someone noticed. The captain turned the ship around. After circling several times, the crew tossed out a rope. Waves tossed Aldi’s fragile raft as he dove into the sea and swam for it. A sailor grabbed his hand and pulled him aboard.
He was taken to Japan under the care of Indonesian consulate staff before flying home to Manado in early September. Mirza Nurhidayat, Indonesia’s consul general in Osaka, said Aldi was healthy and in good spirits.
“Aldi’s story is extraordinary,” Nurhidayat said. “We’re grateful to the captain and crew who helped save his life.”
It’s a story not just of survival, but of resilience—of how faith, prayer, and a will to keep going can sustain a person through the unthinkable.