Newest Journeys

We have had a rough week. If you haven't heard already, our truck was totaled in an accident (thankfully, we were not in vehicle) and April has begun experiencing early contractions. These are Brett's journal entries from Facebook.

Written Thursday, October 18, 2007
"Prayers Needed In Togo"

Long story short, our brand new truck is destroyed. I'm not really in the mood to recount the whole sordid tale, but I will say that a mechanic came to work on our truck, and we totally trusted the guy because he works for our team at the MK school and as a mechanic. He fixed a small leak our car was having and then took it for a spin to make sure everything was OK (please note, mechanics coming to your house to work on your car or take it to a garage is not the norm in the States but is common here). Turns out this man of normally strong moral character had a lapse in judgment, went for a joyride, drove fast and out of control and drove our truck off of a bridge. He is alive, but barely. God spared him for some reason, for as you can see by the picture, there is no rational reason why he should have survived.
This comes at a difficult time for us with April just 6 weeks away from her due date and us only two weeks from journeying to Accra to wait for the baby. We are trying to keep our heads up and not let our Adversary use this against us, but it is hard. However, we have felt God's presence through all of this mess and we're putting our faith in Him to sustain us and help us find the solution for the problem of getting a new truck.

Please pray. Pray for the man who was driving our car. His name is Abalo and he is a good man and a disciple of Jesus Christ. Pray for us that we would have peace. Pray for a solution and that God would provide for our family.

Written Friday, October 19, 2007
"Truck and Driver Update"

The man who was driving, Abalo, is going to make it, praise God. After 12 hours in a coma, he finally woke up, begged for some water and they hooked him up to an IV of pain meds. He was incoherent all day yesterday, but today I was able to talk to him. He is still in ALOT of pain, but God has spared his life. I hope he does something great with it...

We talked to an eyewitness who said that while the truck was airborne, probably about 20 feet in the air and 30 feet from the road off the side of the bridge, he actually opened the door and jumped out. Just amazing. Had he been wearing his seatbelt like he should have he would almost definitely be dead.

The truck is another story. We did not have comprehensive accident coverage because it costs about $10,000 per year, so we are going to have to salvage what we can and find the money for a new truck, around $40,000. The thought of fundraising again makes us sick to our stomachs, but it also gives us a chance to step aside and allow God to work, because there is NO WAY that we can do it on our own. We just don't have the resources available to us. We know that God will provide, so stay tuned for a crazy and encouraging story about how He does it...

The timing is just killing us right now. April is 34 weeks pregnant, and Caden came at 38 weeks. We are leaving for Accra, Ghana in 2 weeks to deliver the baby, and the stress of just living here plus April being very pregnant plus having an amazing but crazy two year old plus having our brand new truck obliterated plus trying to fight against Satan hardening our hearts toward Abalo (the driver) is pretty tough right now. We covet your prayers and words of encouragement.

So many people responded to my last note. Thank you, sincerely and gratefully, thank you. I hadn't shed a tear over this whole thing yet until this morning when I got up and my inbox was flooded with emails from Facebook saying "so and so has commented on your note" and other encouraging emails from people. I'm more convinced almost everyday that the ability to love and to be loved, to give and receive LOVE, is one of our Creator's greatest gifts...


Written Saturday, October 20, 2007
"Like We Needed the Drama"

Last night, April started having some pretty strong contractions. They were about 8 minutes apart and longer than 30 seconds. I'm no nurse, but even I know that this sort of thing is not good. Fortunately, our friend Edith IS a nurse, and she said pretty firmly that this is not good. We were scheduled to leave for Accra on November 5th to await the baby, but we're going to have to leave two weeks early, probably this coming Wednesday.

If you've been following the previous notes about our truck situation, then you are well aware that we don't need this right now, at all. We just have to accept that it is happening and deal with it. We've got an amazing support team in our teammates, fellow missionaries, our sponsoring church, our family, and of course our friends.

We would really appreciate your continued prayers. All of this is so much to take in all at one time, and we're struggling to deal with it all. Please pray for my beautiful, radiant wife and our unborn child. Pray for me that I will be strong in the Lord for them. Pray that we can, when this is all past, praise God and bring further glory to His name...