Thank God for His Divine Protection!

This is the spot where we rolled our car into the embankment. Yes, in case you had not heard, last week on Saturday, as we were coming up to Bamenda, in the North West of Cameroon for a educational program for Hannah, we had an accident. What happened was this: it had been raining for the past 24 hours as we passed the half-way point on our 6 our trip. Driving along the two-lane road that is National Highway 5 at around 50 miles per hour, we topped a long hill. As we crested the hill, there was a car right on the other side of the hill, braking sharply. As some of you may know, our 17 year old vehicle has been having some problems lately. One of those problems has been the brakes, a result of a minor collision a few months ago when someone decided to do a u-turn from the right hand lane of a 4 lane road. Anyways, we had planned to have the car thoroughly worked on in Bamenda, as the mechanics and parts there are better and cheaper, before selling the car. This was to be our last long trip. Well, when we saw the car in front, I also pressed on the brakes- only to have them lock up. The car started fishtailing rapidly, spun 180 degrees, and then rolled over into the other side of the road, and slammed into the embankment. I remember thinking as we rolled over- "This is it, this is the end." Fear for my life and especially for my family washed over me as we went into the roll. The next moment, the car was stopped. I looked around- everyone was alive- no one seriously hurt, though Hannah was crying. I shouted to Brittney and the kids to get out of the car, in case it was on fire, then climbed out and pulled out Jonathan. A passer-by pulled out Hannah, and then Brittney, who had been dazed by the impact, climbed out--- we were all okay!

This is where the car took the impact. The windows in the back were shattered, the roof crumpled and many more dents and damage. As is usual in the case of accidents here in Cameroon, some bystanders also stole some of our possessions in the chaos.However, we have nothing but gratitude to God, when you consider a number of things:

1: We all walked away alive- no broken bones or serious injuries even- just a few small bumps and scrapes. Here is a sign, at the location of crash. They put these up along the highway where there has been a fatal accident. We could have been another of those signs. Not a half-mile down the road from where we crashed, the sides of the road fall away sharply down into the jungle. If we had crashed there, we would have kept rolling and rolling. 2: Our kids did not have carseats, but they were both buckled up. Both of them remained in their seats. Jonathan even managed to hold onto his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and after the crash was dusting off the mud and debris to try and finish it off. The window on the side where Hannah sat, besides impacting with the embankment, did not shatter like the ones in the back- if it had it would have surely sprayed glass on her and she would have been hurt. You can see, it stayed intact. 3: Despite some who tried to take advantage of our bad situation, like the mechanic who came or the person who drove us back to town, most of the people on the scene were helpful and sympathetic. A passing truck stopped and helped us roll the car back upright, and left without asking for anything for his time or efforts. The situation reminded us both of the need for the gospel, and also gave us hope that there is something in people's hearts which can be touched. 4: The place where we hit- the back, besides the windows, is not the most valuable part of the car. The engine is still mostly good. This means that we may either be able to fix it up enough to sell for something or sell the engine and other parts.

Our car is totaled, but we are alright, and immensely grateful to God. Traveling on the roads here is probably the most dangerous thing we routinely do, especially with public transport, bad drivers, and unreliable vehicles, but God must have a purpose yet for us, because we are all still here. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement, and please, keep it up- we need it. Happy to be alive- The Hostetters