Story of the Spaffords!

Horatio Spafford was a 43 year old lawyer. He lived in a north side suburb of Chicago with his wife, Anna and his five children.

In 1871 his only son died.

A few months later, the Great Chicago fire of 1871 consume Spafford's real estate investment. He lost his entire life savings.

Two years later, Spafford and his family decided to take a vacation to Europe. However, Spafford was delayed by last minute business. He sent his wife and four daughters on the S.S. Ville Du Havre as scheduled, promising to follow in a few days.

On November 22, 1873 the ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, and it sank in twelve minutes, 226 people were killed.

When the survivors of the shipwreck landed in Europe, Anna Spafford cabled her husband, "saved alone. What shall I do?"

Spafford immediately left Chicago to bring his wife home.

In the midst of his sorrow, while sailing near the place of his daughters' death, he wrote the words to the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul."

In spite of their tragedy, in 1881 the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem to meet the needs of the people. Through their service the Spaffords were able to share Christ with the local Muslims and Jewish communities….

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God’s Handwriting!

"He writes in characters too grand 
For our short sight to understand; 
We catch but broken strokes, and try 
To fathom all the mystery 
Of withered hopes, of death, of life, 
The endless war, the useless strife,—
But there, with larger, clearer sight, 
We shall see this—His way was right."

-John Oxenham (1903)