Before I begin tonight…I have to tell you how magnificent our God is… Over the past 6 years of coming and bringing teams to Africa, I feel I have witnessed His divine miracles over and over again. Today has been no exception…
This morning (Saturday), we had big plans to see all we could see of Rwanda. It was our final day together here in Musanze, after a full week of working closely with the widows. We left our house at 7:00 AM, full of excitement for what the day would bring. We took Linda and Cynthia back to the waterfall to see this magnificent creation – and this time… climbed down to the base of the falls where we stood in the mist and marveled at God’s splendor.
Our plan was to return to Musanze by noon, eat lunch, and go on to Gisenyi which is at the border of The Congo with a stop to purchase some additional sheep. In Gisenyi, we would visit the Agahozo-Shalom Village. This is a school that has been set up for genocide orphans by a foundation Linda is connected to in New York City.
Our plans stayed on track until we were finally on our way to Gisenyi. We had purchased the sheep and were about 10 miles down the road when a young man ran out in front of our van.
What happened next is so hard to explain. Mambo, our driver, swerved and tried to stop. The boy, hit the front bumper, bounced into the windshield twice, smashing it, and then the van RAN OVER HIM. There was instant panic and chaos. There is no such thing as calling 911. All the rules about not moving someone who is injured is non-existent. I was sure he was dead. Several arms picked him up, and placed his limp body in our van and we headed back to the Ruhengeri Hospital. As we sped down the road, we broke out in prayer, praying constantly, calling some of our powerful prayer partners in the US to get the word out that this young man (and Mambo) was in serious need of prayer.
Cynthia, inspired by Don Piper’s story, began to pray for no internal injuries. Sean prayed for God to heal him completely, knowing that faith in our father is what God wants us to believe. He prayed that this boy would be able to walk away, healed. I prayed that he knew Christ and that he could live so that he could be a living testimony to a miracle of God. We also prayed for our friend Mambo who was devastated but handling he emergency so well.
As we drove, I could see that this young man’s body was lifeless. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. We cried to God, asking for his divine intervention. We pulled up to the hospital and Thomas and Mambo carried the young man inside. Silently, we stayed in the van as to not cause additional chaos at the hospital. It was important that the focus be on helping him (and not the white people he arrived with). After about 30 minutes, the police arrived. Mambo had to drive them back to the spot where the accident had taken place. We didn’t fully understand that Mambo would go to prison for 6 months if the young man died – regardless of fault or no fault. It’s just the way it is. Thomas came and told us that they were taking the boy to x-ray and that we should wait at the house.
We left and continued our prayer and calling on more to pray. Text messages started arriving from Thomas in the next hour. The boy was talking. He was drinking juice. The next message came in... he had a broken collarbone. There were no other serious injuries!
Maybe it’s hard to visualize what we witnessed this afternoon. We believe it was nothing short of answered prayers. You don’t just get hit by a car, slam into a windshield twice and get run over and end up with only a broken collarbone. The thought crossed my mind several times that he might die on the way to the hospital. I was afraid there was a chance of a serious concussion. There was clearly divine intervention.
When Thomas and Mambo arrived to the house, the announcement was that there were no internal injuries and that he had only a broken collarbone…and that the boy was on his way home. He was reported to be in good spirits, joking and talking with Thomas and Mambo. We were able to talk to him by phone about an hour later. He said he remembers seeing sean pray for him... I don't understand how - but he knew. The boy wants to come see us tomorrow.
Although we don’t know for sure if we will see this young man again, we are grateful for what we witnessed here today. Mambo is staying with us in the house tonight and he seems at peace. We are all so grateful.
There is so much to say and so much to catch you up on from this week with the widows and all that was accomplished at the bakery. That will be another blog at another time. This is what God called us to share tonight.
Tomorrow morning, Pastor Bwende will be baptizing Sean in the river! All the widows and TVM Rwanda staff will be there in celebration! We are grateful for your continued prayers for us and for our ministry here in Rwanda.
Many abundant blessings,
Diana
This morning (Saturday), we had big plans to see all we could see of Rwanda. It was our final day together here in Musanze, after a full week of working closely with the widows. We left our house at 7:00 AM, full of excitement for what the day would bring. We took Linda and Cynthia back to the waterfall to see this magnificent creation – and this time… climbed down to the base of the falls where we stood in the mist and marveled at God’s splendor.
Our plan was to return to Musanze by noon, eat lunch, and go on to Gisenyi which is at the border of The Congo with a stop to purchase some additional sheep. In Gisenyi, we would visit the Agahozo-Shalom Village. This is a school that has been set up for genocide orphans by a foundation Linda is connected to in New York City.
Our plans stayed on track until we were finally on our way to Gisenyi. We had purchased the sheep and were about 10 miles down the road when a young man ran out in front of our van.
What happened next is so hard to explain. Mambo, our driver, swerved and tried to stop. The boy, hit the front bumper, bounced into the windshield twice, smashing it, and then the van RAN OVER HIM. There was instant panic and chaos. There is no such thing as calling 911. All the rules about not moving someone who is injured is non-existent. I was sure he was dead. Several arms picked him up, and placed his limp body in our van and we headed back to the Ruhengeri Hospital. As we sped down the road, we broke out in prayer, praying constantly, calling some of our powerful prayer partners in the US to get the word out that this young man (and Mambo) was in serious need of prayer.
Cynthia, inspired by Don Piper’s story, began to pray for no internal injuries. Sean prayed for God to heal him completely, knowing that faith in our father is what God wants us to believe. He prayed that this boy would be able to walk away, healed. I prayed that he knew Christ and that he could live so that he could be a living testimony to a miracle of God. We also prayed for our friend Mambo who was devastated but handling he emergency so well.
As we drove, I could see that this young man’s body was lifeless. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. We cried to God, asking for his divine intervention. We pulled up to the hospital and Thomas and Mambo carried the young man inside. Silently, we stayed in the van as to not cause additional chaos at the hospital. It was important that the focus be on helping him (and not the white people he arrived with). After about 30 minutes, the police arrived. Mambo had to drive them back to the spot where the accident had taken place. We didn’t fully understand that Mambo would go to prison for 6 months if the young man died – regardless of fault or no fault. It’s just the way it is. Thomas came and told us that they were taking the boy to x-ray and that we should wait at the house.
We left and continued our prayer and calling on more to pray. Text messages started arriving from Thomas in the next hour. The boy was talking. He was drinking juice. The next message came in... he had a broken collarbone. There were no other serious injuries!
Maybe it’s hard to visualize what we witnessed this afternoon. We believe it was nothing short of answered prayers. You don’t just get hit by a car, slam into a windshield twice and get run over and end up with only a broken collarbone. The thought crossed my mind several times that he might die on the way to the hospital. I was afraid there was a chance of a serious concussion. There was clearly divine intervention.
When Thomas and Mambo arrived to the house, the announcement was that there were no internal injuries and that he had only a broken collarbone…and that the boy was on his way home. He was reported to be in good spirits, joking and talking with Thomas and Mambo. We were able to talk to him by phone about an hour later. He said he remembers seeing sean pray for him... I don't understand how - but he knew. The boy wants to come see us tomorrow.
Although we don’t know for sure if we will see this young man again, we are grateful for what we witnessed here today. Mambo is staying with us in the house tonight and he seems at peace. We are all so grateful.
There is so much to say and so much to catch you up on from this week with the widows and all that was accomplished at the bakery. That will be another blog at another time. This is what God called us to share tonight.
Tomorrow morning, Pastor Bwende will be baptizing Sean in the river! All the widows and TVM Rwanda staff will be there in celebration! We are grateful for your continued prayers for us and for our ministry here in Rwanda.
Many abundant blessings,
Diana
