Little puffs of dust shot up through the hooves of the water buffalo as he plodded down the hill, pulling our cart. The ever-present cicadas buzzed in the nearby trees, almost lulling my daughter Hadasa and me to sleep. Loading the eight jugs of water from the river had been hard work. Now it was time for some relaxation as we traveled back to the worksite, where we would use the water to mix concrete for the new church building.
Just as I drifted off into a pleasant dream, the cart bounced over a big rock in the road. The jugs jostled back and forth, slopping a liter or so of water down my back. Letting out a surprised whoop, I pulled the water buffalo to a stop. “Here, Hadasa,” I said. “Hold the buffalo’s rope a minute. I am going to cut some banana leaves to wedge into the jugs to keep all the water from spilling out.”
Cutting the leaves took only a couple of minutes’ work. I was just gathering them up to take back to the cart when I heard Hadasa’s little voice cry out, “Papa! The water buffalo is running away!”
Dropping everything, I bolted for the cart. The water buffalo had a head start on me, though, and I could not catch up. I could hear Hadasa crying as the buffalo and cart hurtled toward a cliff. That section of road was so rocky and uneven that the cart bounced high into the air, nearly overturning and pinning Hadasa several times.
“Hold on to the rope!” I yelled to Hadasa. “Hold on!” My strength was utterly exhausted, and I was no closer to catching the water buffalo. Finally, I fell to my knees in the middle of the road and cried out to God. “Please! Save my daughter!”
Jumping to my feet again, I was amazed to see the water buffalo standing still. A man stood by his head, calming him. Running up to Hadasa, I grabbed her, praising God. The cart had come within a few centimeters of the cliff. At the speed it had been running, it should not have been able to turn before the cliff. Additionally, under normal circumstances, a runaway cart would have overturned on such a rough road, pinning my daughter underneath or even killing her. But miraculously, none of that had happened, and God brought someone to catch the runaway buffalo just as I knelt to pray.
Sometimes, God’s children are afraid to follow His command to go to the ends of the earth as missionaries. They are afraid of the dangers of strange and distant places. When God calls you, though, you can trust Him no matter where He leads and no matter what happens.
