Dear friends and family,

Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ. God has been good to us, and by
his grace we are alive to write to you today. As some may already have heard Lizzy and I were recently
in a bad car accident, yet we are safe and have sustained no serious injuries.

We spent the past weekend with friends in East London, as we do once a month. We usually go in to East
London to get away for a weekend and buy our groceries for the month. East London is just over 2hrs
from the mission. On Monday afternoon Lizzy, myself, and two other passengers, Amanda and Dawn, left
East London to return to Willowvale. We left East London in good spirits, excited to enjoy the rest of our
holiday quietly at home. At about 7:00pm when we were still an hour from home the sun set. In South
Africa livestock roam free and on the main highway, and many times you will be stopped by goats, cows,
sheep, or horses crossing the road. Yet, dusk is always the most dangerous time on the road because the livestock are trying to return to their homes. Just around 7:00pm we came over a hill between 90-100km
(+/- 60 miles). Suddenly a herd of cattle charged across the road. There was little to do. There were
probably 7-10 heads of cattle crossing from the right. In South Africa we drive on the left-hand side of
the road and so I was pinned between seven cows on my right and a ditch on the left. In front of me one
cow ran in front of the combie (mini-bus). I applied the breaks and we hit the cow dead on. The combie
we were driving is fashioned after the 70's style VW hippie vans where the only thing in front of the
driver's bench seat is thin plastic and a windshield. As we hit the cow the front of the combie folded in
until it touched the front seat. Lizzy and I were instantly pinned. The windshield shattered into tiny
fragments and sprayed through the vehicle. I never closed my eyes because I wanted to know exactly
what was happening. Natural reaction would be to close your eyes, but my only concern was for Lizzy.
Because I left my eyes open the shower of glass entered my eyes. It felt like getting a snowball or ice
thrown in your eye. My left eye was cut and several glass shards were lodged under my eyelid. Yet, my
first reaction was to get Lizzy out.

Immediately Lizzy was hysterical and panicked and when I looked at her I could not see her legs, the
dashboard was crushed over her legs. Somehow I managed to get out through the front window and with
one foot on the pavement and one leg through the open window I pried the dashboard off of Lizzy to free
her legs. I was certain that she had lost her legs, but when she climbed out of the combie and walked, I
was overwhelmed with relief. We quickly moved away from the combie as the impact had shorted the
electrical system and we no longer had any working lights. The impact of the combie had sent the cow
flying over fifty-feet ahead of us. Fortunately, we collided near a pub, and the two other girls, Dawn and
Amanda, ran for help. They called the police and ambulance but it took them over 45minutes to reach the site, and when we finally left after an hour the police had not yet reached the scene.

Once we exited the vehicle Lizzy was in a state of shock and we sat on the side of the road hugging
each other glad to be alive. Within minutes people were all around us, most of them uninterested in our
well being. About 30 men came out of the bar with axes and knives and began butchering the cow. I went
to chase them away because the cow was part of the accident scene, yet they were more interested in
meat then my life. Feeling threatened by them I let them take the cow and hack it up. It was an eerie and
morbid feeling. Our combie destroyed, our lives barely spared and the sound of men ripping up the cow.

Lizzy and the girls were frightened and crying. At one point we just sat there and began singing "Great is
Thy Faithfulness", we knew that it was only by God's grace that we were still alive. As we were sitting 30
minutes after the accident I finally stopped to tend to myself. I had kept my left eye shut because there
were shards of glass lodged in there and I could not open my eye. I pulled one piece of glass out of my
eyelid and began feeling incredible pain in my eye. A piece inside was scratching my retina. I was in agony
and the girls began praying for me, just then a piece of glass fell from my eye and onto my lap. It was as
if God just pulled it from my eye. The piece of glass was the thickness of a toothpick and about 1cm long.

Lizzy had left her purse on the floor in the front seat of the combie, so I went to fetch it. When I reached
the front of the combie I noted that the dashboard was touching the seat and I could barely get my arm
squeezed between the seat and the dashboard. It is a miracle that Lizzy did not lose her legs. As we
recall the time of the accident Lizzy and I recognize God's hand over us so strongly. We should both be
dead, one glance at the combie and the front seat is evidence of that. Yet, when we hit the cow we felt
safe in God's hand. We remember feeling protected. When we collided, it felt like we were squished
between mattresses, we were actually comfortable. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that was
God's hand covering us. The two girls behind us felt a hand on their heads holding them down and
protecting them, and that was an angel. Lizzy sat straight up, if she had braced herself and tucked her
head the dashboard would have crushed her. God was so clearly there with us and protecting us.

When the ambulance arrived Amanda and Lizzy went and sat in it waiting to be treated. Amanda opened
her Bible and the two of them read Psalm 91 and it felt as though it was God's own words of comfort to
them.