Friday, September 24, 2010

The Saga Continues

It's been a long and trying two weeks since our incident, and the bus is still in the shop. My husband says they will work on it when they get all the parts together, which should take a few more weeks. Unfortunately, they are unable to speed up their processes. I understand it is a very reputable company, and one that does excellent work, but they work at their own speed and on their own timetable.

I guess maybe they don't realize that it is someone's home they have parked out in their lot, all taped up and just sitting there. Or, if they do, it simply doesn't really matter. I can tell you, it couldn't be soon enough for me.

We've been staying in various places while the bus is in the parking lot. First, we spent a week at a motel, then a church kindly allowed us to use their "prophet's chamber," an accomodation for preachers passing through. Michigan is not like the south, where there are prophet's chambers in abundance; it seems to me to be somewhat like California, with few, if any, places to stay in existence, let alone available.

So, this week, we've accepted an invitation to be back with our daughter and her family. They live in a school building, which is also the church, as well as Matthew's parents' residence. My husband and I have a room on one end, across the hall from Kathy and Matthew, while the kids are in a large room on the far side of the building. I'm not real wild about them being so far away, but they don't seem to mind. Of course, my husband is enjoying our little space, too.

Whether or not the bus is done, we will leave here on Tuesday, and go to a meeting in lower Michigan. Then, we need to be in Maryland not long after that meeting, so it will be a a long drive.

So, as you pray for us, pray that the bus will be done sooner than later, and that the Lord will help us during this difficult period of homelessness. Also, pray that the Lord will give us wisdom on how to pick up the bus when it's done (especially if we're on the east coast), and that the insurance company will not drop us like they say they will.

In case you're wondering, I can say from experience that the aftermath is worse than the incident itself.

A verse for today: "He knoweth the way that I take, and when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." AMEN! Lord, be it unto Thine handmaid according to Thy Will.

Friday, September 10, 2010

More photos...



Sharon was sitting right in front, holding this laptop. This gives you a bit of an idea of how much glass she was showered by! It has to be a miracle that she did not get one cut!

Here's a look from the inside out. The right windshield got caught against that mirror in the middle, and didn't collapse until we were stopped and everyone was out of the way. The right windshield was stopped by the curtain rod (that thin line going across the top of the window).


The outside - sign and all!



This is the part that took the brunt of the hit - the passenger side middle. Simply amazing that no one was seriously hurt.
I told a friend today that it's hard to get a Christian down. When something happens, they just pop back up and say, "It could've been a lot worse!" "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39)
AMEN!
By the way, the shop says it will take 3 weeks to fix it. Pray for proper accomodations and guidance as to what to do about our scheduled meetings during this time. Thank you!


Thursday, September 9, 2010

Bus "Accident"


While driving on a two-lane stretch of lonely road in northeastern Michigan on Tuesday, we had our first "accident." My husband is an excellent driver, and both of us have been driving without any accident whatsoever for the past twenty0six years. So it's no surprise to me that the "accident" we have is one that actually has to have something come and hit US.

My husband was driving, of course, and "all us kids" were doing our normal thing on a school-day: school! Some were already done, of course, namely Sharon and Lydia, who were both sitting right up front. Sharon was actually right beside the driver on the computer, and Lydia was right behind him, reading a book. Jason was done with his schoolwork as well, and was by Sharon, in the "passenger seat," or the window seat, as we call it - the seat with the best view. (It's also the seat that everyone fights over:) )

Only my husband and Lydia saw the tree. Later, Kev said, "I saw a tree leaning out, but then I realized it was actually falling! It was within a split second that I realized there was no way I could avoid the tree."

"Look OUT!" he yelled.

I looked up just in time to see - and hear - something really, really big slam into the windshield. Suddenlyit turned into a shattered gray puzzle, and we couldn't see a thing out of it. Glass pieces flew everywhere, and kids began to scream. For just a brief second, I saw the passenger windshield bow in and a tree branch - leaves and all - came through, paused right in front of Sharon (who had convered her head with her arms), and then slid back out and disappeared along the right side of the bus.

"It's OK, it's OK," my husband hollered. I knew what he meant, and I was releived to know that, though we were still going about 40 mph, he was able to control the bus and bring it to a stop. My job was to try to assess the extent of injuries.

Sharon, who was right in front of the windshield, had been showered with glass, but apparently was otherwise unharmed, because she was right with me, trying to comfort the young ones who were crying, screaming, and trying to run. (Running through glass in bare feet is NOT a good idea, in case you were wondering...)


I carried Jason back toward the back of the bus, trying to avoid glass, but it was impossible, as there was glass EVERYWHERE. Finally I took him into the shower room, and checked him over, looking for the origin of his drops of blood. I gave him a paper towel and went out to check everyone else.


Johanna was oozing blood from a dozen places, but thankfully had no glass lodged in her anywhere. My husband, praise the Lord, only had a few scratches, and Lydia only had a few also. Sharon miraculously escaped with no cuts whatsoever, and only one time got glass in her finger, and that was while she was getting glass out of Johanna's hair!


Not surprisingly, we've been finding glass pieces in strange places for the past few days. Even this morning, I found a small piece of glass in my mouth! The toothbrush? The toothpaste? Who knows?


We did end up taking Jason to the ER, where a doctor pulled a piece of glass out of his toe which was over half an inch long. I didn't think his toe was that big, but the doctor said it went all the way through his toe. He's doing a lot better now, thank the Lord.


Later I will tell about the current condition of the bus and our schedule. For now, we are staying in a motel in Gaylord awaiting insurance to do whatever it is they need to do.


Thank you all so much for praying for us! I know this could have been LOTS worse, and God knew exactly what He was doing.


More later!