When Samuel Vengrinovich, 44, went missing deep in the Himalayas on June 6, the odds were against his survival. He’d left behind his phone when he left the campsite, and an injury separated him from the others in his group. He quickly ran out of food and drinking water, and he was lost. To make matters worse, he had a broken wrist, a fractured arm, a fractured ankle, and a broken nose.
It would take a miracle to save him.
Vengrinovich’s parents, Vlad and Tina, were pillars of the Jewish community in California’s Bay Area, where their daughter Natasha still lives. Their close friends and the Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Fremont, Rabbi Moshe and Chaya Fuss, marshalled their community to provide spiritual protection through prayer and mitzvot in his merit, and to provide physical aid by contributing to the campaign launched to cover the costs of rescue teams dispatched to find the missing hiker.
Over the course of nine days, thousands of fellow Jews got together to create a miracle.
More than 900 people contributed more than $66,000 to the campaign, which funded the work of local and Israeli rescue teams. And on Sunday, June 16, Vengrinovich was found alive near a village he had walked towards for nine excruciating days.
“It’s still a lot to process, and I won’t be able to rest until he is in my arms, but it’s a feeling of thanks to G‑d that we found him, that we know where he is,” his sister, Natasha Vengrinovich, told Chabad.org. “Sam described how to survive, giving himself positive self-talk. Every few steps, he would tell himself, ‘You’re doing great, you’re going to make it.’”
For the Fusses, what stood out was the powerful faith and trust in G‑d that has been evident among Samuel’s family and friends.
“So many friends—not particularly observant people—all saying, ‘Thank you G‑d, G‑d loves us, what a miracle,” said Chaya Fuss. “It was so clear that G‑d saved him; that the power of the prayers of thousands accompanied him. It’s incredible that he survived—logically, he shouldn’t have.”
Vengrinovich is currently at a Nepalese hospital, where he is being rehydrated and treated for infection, sunburns and malnutrition. He faces a long road to recovery.
“It has been wonderful to see so many people who care so deeply about my brother,” said Natasha. “But we still need help: He now has medical bills, there will be surgeries he will need to undergo, the flight back home—it’s not over until he’s in my arms.
“I don’t know how he survived, but it was a miracle.”
To contribute towards the expenses of Sam’s recovery, click here.
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