The Drive Home

(This post is technically the final part of "Road Trip".)

There are no pictures from our drive home. Both Joey and I were anticipating that the trip would not go smoothly. So, we were praying, talking, and being mutually vigilant during our drive home. Earlier in the afternoon we had received word from friends back in Nyankunde that there had been an accident involving a truck from the hospital.

Here is a picture from Saturday. We had followed this truck for several miles on our way into town. However, on its way back to Nyankunde it was hit by a motorcyclist head on. The cyclist died. His passenger was very badly hurt and was being operated on at the hospital.

Justice here is often swift and not always very just. The local community near the accident site had stripped the truck of its cargo and burned the vehicle. Thankfully, the driver had made it to safety and had not been injured by the mob. Since the truck belonged to the hospital, some of the mob had come to the hospital and tried to make trouble there. The call we received let us know that a group of people had also set up a road block on the main road charging money “for the funeral expenses”.

After a conversation with our MAF security person it seemed like the risk of harm was minimal as the people blocking the road just wanted a small amount. We prayed about it and decided to go ahead and drive back. By the time we passed the spot all was calm and the group with the road block had dispersed. We were very thankful to be back home at the end of the day.

Stuff like this breaks our hearts. The unnecessary loss of life. The injustice of theft and destruction. The senseless damage done to the hospital and local community where the stolen supplies would have blessed so many people. Two things come to mind…

First of all, thankyou for praying for our safety. We need that covering more often than we even realize. Please keep praying!

Secondly, we asked you to pray for heart change here in Congo. Keep praying! Nothing else can change people's reactions so completely as hearts fully devoted to Christ.