Mud and Motorcycles From Nowhere

Man, I am so glad God watches out for us. Our visiting medical team got stuck in the same mudhole in the same bus three time in three days. The second day was only a small inconvenience but the first one happened in the dark and by the time we got it out I had gotten the landcruiser stuck twice, torn two out of three engine belts, lost a belt tension pully and we all got covered in mud. But I learned a lot about how to unstick a stuck bus in Uganda.

First you gather nearly everyone in the village and have them all shout directions at one time. For this part to work properly it is best to have half of the village confuse the front for the back of the bus and the other half just be confused in general. Also not knowing right from left helps add to the fun. Another apparent requirement to unstick a stuck bus is to throw as many bushes as you can fit, under, in front and behind the drive wheels. It seemingly helps to have more obstacles to battle than just the mud. Then get you must get all parties to agree on the next step. That is: which direction are we pushing the bus? For added fun and more serious mud time, neglect this step. The sad part is that no matter how hard you try you cannot out push the half of the village that is always pushing the wrong direction. I've tried!

Now that you've done the most obvious things get everyone to calm down and pray. And voila! The bus as they say, "Sheee become unstuck!"

Now having perfected the procedure try it again in the daylight in the same hole. Not only will all the rules change but you'll also be able to see just how stuck you are and just how covered in mud you personally have become. Then you know that only God is gonna get you out. This causes a more earnest prayer from the heart. Then God does indeed get you unstuck. Just remember God has a purpose for mudholes. Many times it is to drive us to are muddy knees to seek his help.

The third day while the bus was getting stuck I was fixing the broken engine belts. Having put in the new ones I was going back to the mud (don't even think about telling me about a washed sow returning to the mud) when God showed me His great hand of protection.

As I approached a spot where traffic officers always sit I made sure I was traveling under 80 kph. A van was coming the opposite way. Suddenly a motorcycle hidden behind the van swerved into my lane to overtake the van. All I could do was swerve hard left. I heard a sickening thud but just as I veered left there on the side of the road were two women and a child on a bicycle. I swerved hard right knowing they would be dead in a millisecond. But this time no thud. Somehow God protected them and me. I pulled over and ran to the motorcycle knowing they must be seriously dead. I waved for the traffic policeman to come. But miraculously the driver was fine, the two year old was only scraped on the side of his head, and the mom had some painful road rash on one arm. God had protected us from serious harm.

Then the legal process started but God was in this too. The taxi had stopped and the driver and conductor told the motorcycle rider that he was lying when he told the traffic officer I hit him. The officer was also the Officer in Charge for Traffic of Soroti District. Who saw the whole thing. I was free to go unstick the stuck bus and eventually with God's help we did.

Thank you Jesus! For saving us and protecting us always!