Matt and Andy Dwight are no strangers to adventure. As 17- and 15-year-old missionary kids in Taiwan, the boys have been exposed to more than the typical American teenager. Life in a different culture has introduced them to fascinating foods, entertainment and electronic gadgetry, and exotic locations.
Both boys were excited when their parents informed them they’d be spending Christmas vacation 2004 in Thailand. But what started as an exciting family adventure suddenly turned to an epic tragedy. Nothing could have prepared the teens for the events that would unfold.
Not Your Typical Christmas
It all began on Dec. 21. Matt and Andy, with their older brother, Peter, two younger sisters, and mom and dad flew from Taipei, Taiwan, to Bangkok, Thailand, to begin their Thai adventure. They spent a couple days touring the Grand Palace, taking a boat ride on the canals and traveling by train into the country.
On Christmas Eve they had a makeshift dinner in the hotel room, then their dad read the Christmas story from the Bible and they exchanged presents.
Mr. Dwight had arranged for the family to go to a nearby elephant farm on Christmas morning for a ride. “I’m sure my dad splurged so we could ride the elephants,” Andy says. “In spite of their rotten breath, it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”
The family hopped a ferry Christmas afternoon for an hour and a half ride to the tropical island where they would spend the balance of their vacation. The idyllic setting of the Phi Phi Islands is no secret. In addition to being a popular tourist location, the small archipelago was the filming location for Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie The Beach. Before arriving, Matt pictured himself catching some rays with his two brothers.
Paradise Found
After the ferry docked at Phi Phi Don (at 12 square miles the largest island of the group) late Christmas afternoon, the family was shown to its three hillside bungalows overlooking the water about 100 yards from the beach.
“The water was the coolest shade of blue I’ve ever seen, and the beaches were the most unbelievable white,” Andy says.
Both Andy and Matt wished they could have been closer to the crashing sound of the gentle waves. But three months earlier, Mr. Dwight had attempted to book bungalows next to the picturesque surf to no avail. Those rooms were all full for Christmas week.
After settling into their rooms, all seven Dwights headed to the beach for a swim. As the sun slid below the western horizon, Dad, Matt and Andy bodysurfed in the warm blue ocean.
“The water was so awesome, I didn’t want to get out,” Andy says. “But it was starting to get dark and we hadn’t had dinner yet. When Dad promised we could go back first thing in the morning, I reluctantly came in.”
Following a Thai dinner at a restaurant in the main village, the family slowly walked through the beachside shops and discussed what they would do after a good night’s rest. Snorkeling seemed high on everybody’s list. After all, the water was so clear and tranquil.
Paradise Destroyed
A warm morning breeze blew through the open windows in the boys’ bungalow early on Dec. 26. They stirred and began to joke with each other. The younger boys were especially grateful for leisurely time to hang with Peter, who was on break from college. Being in an exotic place was a bonus.
Once everyone was up and dressed, Mr. Dwight led the family down the hill to the beachfront hotel restaurant. The water looked inviting from their table. It was a perfect day: blue skies, sunshine, a gentle breeze. The family agreed that after breakfast they would pick up where they left off the day before and hit the surf.
First, they needed to change into their swimsuits. Matt and Andy led the way back to their hillside bungalows; the rest of the family followed. Back in their rooms changing, the boys heard yelling outside.
“I opened the door and stepped outside,” Matt says. “There appeared to be something burning farther up the hill from where we were staying. I asked my dad what he thought all the commotion was about, and he said it was probably a brushfire or something. I could see some Thai workers running around in a hurry. I also saw a handful of tourists looking a bit anxious.”
Whatever was going on didn’t appear to be serious enough to interrupt the morning agenda, so the family turned down the path to the beach. That’s when they realized something was very wrong.
“The hotel restaurant where we had just eaten breakfast was completely underwater,” Andy says. “It was so unreal. The whole bay in front of the hotel was filled with floating debris including large pieces of furniture. The bungalows on the beach were nowhere to be found. A massive tidal wave had hit while we were changing our clothes.”
Matt and Andy drew back in horror as they tried to comprehend the monstrous tsunami that had washed ashore. They hadn’t heard or felt anything from their bungalow on the hillside, but they couldn’t deny the aftermath of the tragedy before them. “It was unbelievable,” Matt says remembering his reaction.
The Face of Death
The scene before them looked like it could have been from a disaster movie. As the Dwights stared in disbelief trying to make sense of the tragedy, a crowd of people approached them. A British tourist carried the lifeless body of his wife who had been pulled out to sea as the 30-foot tsunami retreated from the shoreline. The man pleaded for someone to do CPR. His teenage son sobbed in tears at his side.
“My dad and mom began to give the drowned woman CPR,” Matt says. “My brother Peter helped out, too. But it was no use. After all three of them had worked on her for an hour, the attempts to resuscitate her failed. It was so sad.”
“As I looked at the woman’s puffy face, I realized how terrible this disaster was,” Matt says. “A kid about the same age as me no longer had a mother.”
What no one knew at the time was that this woman’s death was one of countless fatalities. About 1,400 people on the island had lost their lives. And those seriously injured could not get medical help; the only medical clinic on the island had been wiped out by the killer wave. The extent of the devastation sank in as Matt and Andy and family walked the beach later in the day.
“My dad was most concerned about how we were going to get off the island,” Matt says. “We figured there was the possibility that another tsunami might hit, and we wanted to get back to the mainland. There were rumors of evacuation plans, but we had no idea if the helicopters that began to appear overhead were being sent for us.”
While they waited without any official word, locals around the damaged shops and hotels cooked rice and sausages over open fires for the Dwights and other tourists dealing with both shock and hunger. When no help came that night, the family returned to their bungalows in hopes that a new day would offer a way to safety.
A Way of Escape
At dawn the calm air and chirping birds belied the war-zone like scene. As the Dwights hiked along the debris-strewn beach to reach the pier where the ferry had deposited them a day and a half before, they were grateful they had opted for backpacks instead of suitcases. What had taken 15 minutes on the first day of vacation now took nearly an hour.
“It was a scene I’ll never forget,” Matt says. “The white powdery sand on which I’d pictured myself sunbathing was now like a landfill of garbage covered in rubble and broken glass. I only saw three or four corpses on the beach. Most of the others had already been moved by rescue workers. Still the smell of death was in the air.”
In order to reach their destination, the family had to climb over displaced walls, collapsed roofs and fallen trees. By the time they reached the pier, they couldn’t believe their eyes. What looked like a thousand people were crowded on the concrete pier waiting for a ferry.
“My dad was nervous,” Andy says. “He was worried the pier might collapse; he told us to hang back.”
Every 30 minutes a small ferry arrived at the crowded pier with enough space to take about 50 people. At that rate, it would be hours before the people on the dock would be rescued. Mr. Dwight prayed for wisdom then gave his family permission to join the mass of humanity on the pier. Fortunately, within a half-hour a huge ferry arrived to take a few hundred people. Because the Dwights were on the pier, they were included in the load of evacuees.
The family was taken to an evacuation center in Phuket, on mainland Thailand, where they were given food, water and the use of a phone.
“We were in for a real shock when we called our relatives in the United States,” Matt says. “Some people who knew where we were vacationing were afraid we’d died. That was a weird feeling.”
Home At Last
The Dwights were able to fly back to Taiwan within a couple days. Matt and Andy were only too happy to be back home safely.
“I’ve never had any nightmares about what happened on Phi Phi,” Andy says. “But I try not to think too much about what almost happened. All the same, my faith has grown knowing God kept me from drowning.”
“Had we gotten room reservations on the beach like we’d wanted, we would have been wiped out,” Matt says. “In fact, had we stayed at breakfast 15 minutes longer, we would have been swept out to sea. God kept my family safe throughout the whole incident. I can’t help but think that the Lord has a plan for our family and me because He allowed us to live.” 
