Escorted by an Angel

Praising God for his kindness.

Evelyn D. Scout is Registered Nurse, She has been married 23 years to a church administrator. She is the mother of two university students and enjoys swimming, knitting, crocheting, the outdoors, and traveling. She writes from South Africa.

My husband and I were serving as missionaries in Botswana. Our 18-month-old baby traveled with us as we traversed the corrugated and badly potholed roads. We were constantly on the go visiting our church members. The trips to church members living in the Kalahari Desert were especially long and arduous. The roads were in such poor condition we soon realized we needed a new vehicle to help us get around After some research we decided the 4 x 4 Landover was the vehicle we needed.

South Africa was the only place we could buy a 4 x 4, so off we went by train.

After purchasing our new vehicle, we began the long trip back home. The Landover is a pretty big vehicle and traveling across bridges with no sides proved lobe quite a feat. With the utmost caution, we edged up to each bridge, gauged its width and edged our way across, praying for God's guidance all the way.

We had been traveling for the better part of the day. Our baby daughter was comfoftable in her carrycot. However, the tomatoes had jumped out of the sealed cartoons because of the bumpy ride on the badly corrugated roads.

The sun had set and it was pitch dark. We were still about 30-40 kilometers from the mission when our vehicle began sputtering and eventually came to a halt. My husband, Chris, got out to see what the problem was. Nothing was wrong mechanically; we had simply run out of petrol.

It was dark, home was a long way away and it was quite cold. We could see for miles down the road and we saw no approaching lights. Something had to be done. After discussing the situation, we decided I would go for help while Chris stayed with the vehicle and baby Colleen. We prayed and asked God to help us.

When we opened our eyes, we saw a car approaching. We were quite amazed. When it reached us, the vehicle stopped and the driver asked if we needed help. We told him of our dilemma and he offered to drive us to our mission located in Francistown.

Colleen and I left with the man while Chris stayed with the Landover. The man was very friendly and we passed the time chatting about matters of mutual interest. He wanted to know what had brought us to Africa and he seemed interested in knowing how we were adapting. It pro­vided me with an opportunity to tell of our church and the work we were engaged in. After about an hour we reached our destination.

Once we arrived at the mission, I thanked him and suggested he drop me off at the gate because the mission house was quite a distance from the mission entrance. He insisted on driving me all the way to the President's home.

The President's wife had heard a vehicle approaching so I did not have to wait long before she answered the door. As I turned to show her who had brought me, there was no sign of a vehicle, no lights leaving the mission com­pound, nothing!

I was, and still am, convinced an angel had given me a ride that night. Petrol was taken to Chris, he drove our new Landover home, and that night we thanked God for His love and care for us. We thanked Him especially for His angel who escorted me home.

Evelyn D. Scout is Registered Nurse, She has been married 23 years to a church administrator. She is the mother of two university students and enjoys swimming, knitting, crocheting, the outdoors, and traveling. She writes from South Africa.