Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Survey diary 1

One of the fun parts of this survey was the driving. There was a decent amount of 4x4 driving needed, as the roads were pretty muddy. However, at one point, it almost got a little too ‘fun’.

As we approached a corner, I steered slightly to the right in order to keep the wheels on the driest part of the road. What I didn’t realise was that the dry shrubbery on the edge of the road wasn’t very solid. In fact, it was hiding a 15-18ft drop down to a stream below. The car started sliding off the road, the driver’s side tilting over the edge of the drop. Thankfully the two wheels on the passenger’s side caught on the edge and they stopped us rolling down the drop off.

Also, thankfully, there was no-one sitting in the back, as there had been for most of our other trips between villages.

Local people rushed to help us, and after a few hours we got the car back on the road. Men, women and children all worked together, in good humour, whether pulling on the ropes, giving advice or just watching.

We were really thankful that this one guy knew what he was doing. He immediately took control of the situation and guided us all through it. It turns out he’s worked with Wycliffe before. He wouldn’t accept any payment for his time. Thank you Father for protecting us and providing perfect help when we needed it.

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