A senior pastor watched two of his friends drown in front of him over the weekend, according to reports. There was nothing he could do.
A group from Rio de Vida Ministries of Bradenton, Florida, was canoeing in Lake Manatee when a wave capsized the canoe of three men.
“I heard them screaming,” Senior Pastor Jose “Jesse” Perez said. “They were swimming. I turned around and tried to go toward them. We weren’t able to reach them. As we were going toward them, we saw Ivan actually submerge. We were about 100 feet from him and we got closer and Julian submerged also. We were not able to get to them. But we got Juan Gomez. He is with us.”
Both evangelist Julian Palma and church member Ivan Torres drowned to death.
“They were both amazing men of God,” Rev. Luis Brignoni said of the victims. “Julian was one of those pastors who practiced what he preached. He had so much love in his heart.”
Brignoni is the pastor of Hispanic Church at The Family Church at Christian Retreat, which set up a GoFundMe account for the victims’ families.
“Helping the families of the tragic drownings at Lake Manatee in Bradenton, Florida. The families involved did not have insurance so we as a community have chosen to rally around them and support their needs. Please partner with us in this endeavor,” reads a post.
We’re praying for all the families involved in this tragedy.
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