MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A Mossel Bay resident began the New Year on what she sees as a "miraculous" note, because one of her most treasured possessions was found after she lost it.
A cubic zirconia ring she wears constantly, which is of little material value but great sentimental value to her was found, despite extreme odds.
Hester Bosman was swimming with family members in the popular Poort at the Point in Mossel Bay on 2 January.
The sea was rough and the activity included constantly grabbing children's hands and leading them to the green rope in the Poort that bathers hold on to.
Later on, enjoying a meal, Hester was waving her hands animatedly and noticed her ring was missing from her finger.
She had lost the ring once before for a month, but it had turned up again. She told the Mossel Bay Advertiser that her prayer was: "Lord, I know I have lost this ring before, but could I have it back again please? I and this old ring have walked such a road together."
She returned with a small party to the Poort to look for the ring, but it was high tide and they could only search on the beach, where they had sat, not in the Poort itself.
Previously Hester had met a man who has a metal detector, whom she refers to as Uncle Napoleon Jordaan.
Because she could not track him down by phone, Hester prayed: "Please Lord, could he be on the beach tomorrow so I could ask him to help me?"
Amazingly, although she had not seen him in a long time, Hester spotted Uncle Napoleon on Santos Beach the next day, 3 January, at about 06:30.
Hester knew she only had a small window period in which to find her ring - low tide that same day.
Otherwise, if she returned to the Poort after that low tide, her ring would surely be washed away by the churning water in the Poort and then forever irretrievable.
Uncle Napoleon with his metal detector and others with two more metal detectors turned up at the Poort at 09:30 that day, 3 January.
People searched and searched and the tide started rising again. Uncle Napoleon pointed out that he could not risk his metal detector getting wet and damaged in the rising tide.
He had to stop his search. He apologised to Hester.
Angie Rodighiero, who had also come to Hester's aid with a metal detector, was also worried about hers getting wet.
But she later told Hester she had uttered a prayer: "Please let me find this woman's ring, because she is so desperate."
Ten minutes after she had expressed concern about her metal detector getting wet, Angie raised her eyes slightly from where she was searching with her metal detector and saw something in the sand between rocks. It was Hester's ring, partially hidden.
"It was a triple miracle," Hester exclaims. "Firstly, she saw it with her naked eyes; it was not found with the metal detector. Secondly, the sun was not even shining on it. Thirdly, it was partially hidden in the sand and hard to see. Only part of it was sticking out."
Hester says: "For three days after finding the ring I was almost overcome with the realisation of the grace of God. I am a mere grain of sand. Everyone saw that it was impossible to find the ring. This was the impossible made possible and it was a good introduction to the year."
She thanks metal detector owners Angie, Allen Jacobs, Uncle Napoleon, Rian and Anel Brandt and Gans Smalberger for coming to her aid and also her friends and WhatsApp group members who assisted. "Never say never," Hester says.
ARTICLE: LINDA SPARG, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER NEWS EDITOR
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