Tread Marks

Orientation week has been full, and I’m looking forward to school starting in less than a week! It seems like the new teacher arrivals are adjusting well, and it has been special to get to know them more and help show them around Panama City.

Last night, I took my new housemate, Izzy, out to buy some needed school supplies. We quickly drove into the Do It Center (// Home Depot) parking lot, and I got out of the car like I usually do. But when I stepped backward to go to lock the car door, the car in the parking space next to me started backing up!

I didn’t realize what was happening until I felt the heavy pressure of the other car’s right front tire crushing my foot. I started screaming and trying to dislodge my foot from underneath the tire. But it was stuck! I screamed louder, just wanting my foot to be free and the pain to stop. What was happening??

The car rolled backwards off of my foot and the driver realized what she had done. I collapsed in my car, as she and Izzy rushed over to see if I was alright.

The shock of what had just happened was still strong in my mind, but I was able to think clearly enough to try to move my toes and try walking. Thankfully, my foot wasn’t broken; I just had a red, throbbing pain coursing through the corner of the foot the tire ran over.

My new housemate, in complete calm and sound mind, wrote down the driver’s phone number. The driver was sweet and apologetic and agreed to pay for any medical expenses that might be needed. What a blessing!

After the driver was reassured that I would be fine, Izzy and I sat in the car a few minutes. We breathed in relief that it was over, and we cried and we laughed because the situation was so odd.

Because, really, who gets run over by a car? In a parking lot, no less?

Since it was my left foot, the pain was decreasing, and nothing felt broken, I decided to drive home. First thing: check in with my neighbors who are sports coaches and have 5 kids and have taken countless trips to the E.R. They looked at my foot, gave me some ice, and reassured me that it wasn’t broken. They told me to go to the ER the next day if it wasn’t healing or there was extreme bruising.

The craziest part of this story though is the accident could have been a whole lot worse, and I am convinced that prayer saved me. You see, at the exact time that the parking lot incident happened, a small group of ladies in the church were meeting to pray for their adopted missionary in Panama. (Me!) I have been so honored and blessed beyond belief by their prayers, and God answers those faithful servants of His. Today my foot looks hardly bruised, and I can walk without a problem!

I am evermore mindful of the power of prayer and how essential a strong prayer team is to being an effective minister of God’s love and message here in Panama.

Continue to pray for:

-safety

-transition of new teachers

-transition of 5^th graders to Middle School

-all that’s involved in the start of school

Thanks and many blessings!