The morning we were leaving Antigua we all hauled our packs down to the lobby and our wonderful boys loaded the packs on top of the bus. We said good bye to our coaches and hopped on the bus. Everyone was chatting and looking out the windows to get the last glimpse of Antigua. The scenery changed from the touristy city to beautiful mountains and small communities in Guatemala. We prayed as we left we thanked God for a great first debrief and we asked for safe travels and settled in for the ride.
After a little while the excitement level turned into rest. Some slept, some listened to music, some chatted, and some were reading. I was reading on my kindle. I couldn’t sleep because we were driving through the mountains and every time I tried we would turn along another switch back and I would slowly start to slide out of my seat.
The atmosphere in the bus changed. Something was wrong. People were nervous. I looked up and felt the driver slam on the brakes. There was another switchback coming and we were going much too fast. I grabbed the seat in front of me as watched as we kept going off the road into the grass. From my seat, about halfway back in the bus, I could not see much in front of us. More accurately, I couldn’t see anything, no road, no grass, I wasn’t sure how much farther we could go.
From the time I looked up I was praying. I was asking God to protect us. The whole thing was so surreal. From my view point on the bus things were not good, but I never really thought we were going off a cliff. We stopped and my head switched into care taker mode. Comforting people who were upset while the bus backed up and we got back on our way.
There were lots of prayers of thanks and we started singing together. Worshipping God, keeping our eyes on Him to cast out fear and anxiety.
We continued up the mountain slowly but surely with the other traffic. Traffic was moving very slowly and we were going up a very steep hill. The bus stalled. While the driver was trying to get us going again we rolled back a little bit and then would jerk forward, only to stall again. Between the traffic, the steep road, and having a bus filled with 41 people and all of our stuff, the rolling, jerking, and stalling continued for a few minutes. A few people on the bus began panicking. Hands were held, hugs were given, and words of encouragement were spoken over everyone. Some people had to step off the bus to calm down. Eventually the driver had us back on track and we settled back in, all a little more aware.
We prayed again and a few people shared with all of us the motto of 41 strong. We are 41 people traveling the world to proclaim God’s message and love. There are obstacles along the way but we are 41 strong and we are also here to encourage each other and support each other.
We made it to Quiche. All of us safe and sound. Ready for our next ministry. 41 strong.
