I was on my way to Laos to renew my visa. We exited Thailand and crossed the Friendship Bridge into Laos without any problem. However, when my bus stopped at the Lao immigration checkpoint, I discovered I hadn’t been given a document I needed to fill out. By the time I had gotten the document, filled it out and turned it in, my fellow passengers were nowhere in sight. They must have stopped somewhere up ahead to wait for me, I thought. Tuk-tuk drivers eagerly offered their assistance, but I replied confidently, “I came on the bus from Khon Kaen,” and continued walking up the road.
Suddenly, a man stopped me. “Bus from Khon Kaen already gone!” he said. I froze, scanning the road ahead. I desperately hoped he was wrong. The bus couldn’t just leave without me! My luggage was on that bus! My brain launched into panic mode.
“Two hundred Baht,” said the man. “I take you there! Hurry!” and he broke into a run. Not knowing what else to do, I hurried after him. I barely kept up as he bolted down the street, around a corner and through a parking lot. Finally, we reached his pickup truck. We jumped in, and he took off down the street, weaving in and out of traffic, even swerving onto the sidewalk once in a desperate attempt to catch my runaway bus. I gripped my seat. Would we make it? Excitement overrode my anxiety as my driver took me on the ride of my life.
Finally, after about 10 minutes of wild pursuit, my driver turned to me with a grin and pointed ahead. “Khon Kaen,” he announced triumphantly. Sure enough, there a few cars ahead of us, was my bus. We pulled up beside it, and my driver motioned to the bus driver, “I have one of your passengers!” But we were now too close to our destination to bother pulling over, so we just followed the bus to the station.
The bus driver seemed embarrassed to have left a passenger behind. He asked to see my ticket to make sure I was telling the truth. I was just happy to be reunited with my luggage! (The next time I took that bus to Khon Kaen, I had the same driver. He must have remembered me, because he was extra careful at the immigration checkpoints. Every time the bus stopped, he would walk up and down the aisle counting the passengers. He didn’t want to leave anyone behind again!)
I am so thankful to God for taking care of me. So many things could have gone wrong, but God protected me from danger and reunited me with my luggage. He is so good! I know now, even more than before, that I don’t have to be afraid in any situation. My God is faithful and able to deliver me out of any trouble. Thank You, Lord!
