Recently, a team from South Africa was traveling to Namibia for some renovation work on a translator’s office. While on their way, the team had to swerve off the road to avoid a truck that had crossed the centerline. A split second meant the difference between life and death for our brothers. A little farther and there was a rock wall which would have been a head-on collision, and a little earlier would have meant going over a cliff. We are happy report that all is well. We appreciate the daily prayers that we receive from our brothers and sisters around the world. The Lord Jesus truly hears them. 

Here is the missionary department's report.

Brother Keith Herne, our VGR South Africa representative, was traveling from the VGR office in Cape Town to Windhoek, Namibia in his 2013 Ford Ranger.

Once there, he and his crew were to pick up building supplies and go to our Oshikwanyama translator’s house to add a suitable office and supply solar power, so the translators can operate their computers for eight hours per day. In the back of the truck were the solar batteries, solar panels, and a solar controller to be installed in the translator's home.

They departed from Cape Town at 4:30 AM after picking up Brother Keith’s brother, Derrick - who is a carpenter, Brother Eddie Livesy - who is an electrician and worked on the design of the electrical system, as well as Brother Laurence Herne - the studio engineer at the Cape Town recording studio. After refueling they headed north towards the border of Namibia. About 440 kilometers (270 miles) past Cape Town, they started up an incline, which has sharp bends.

After passing the first few bends, a big truck came from the opposite downhill direction, which caused Brother Keith to move closer to the edge of the road to avoid hitting it. In doing so the Ford Ranger moved into the gravel and slid against the guardrail, and then flipped on its roof and went sailing for a couple of meters before coming to a stop next to a rock cliff.

Brother Keith related: “All four of us were hanging upside down. I managed to kick out the window and we all crawled out.” The airbags did not activate, but they were not needed! There were no injuries to any of the four brothers.

Brother Keith added these words in his testimony: “If this happened a few meters sooner, we would have been over the edge and into a ravine. A few meters later and we would have smashed into the rocks. It was nothing but the Hand of God that protected us. Through this ordeal I realize more and more that our Heavenly Father holds the reins of our lives in His Hands. Praise the Lord.”