Fire in Devauli, the VW Van that Crossed Rivers, Many Visitors, and a Miraculous Trip Back to Kathmandu

After two eventful months in the village, we returned from the village for the summer monsoon season in Kathmandu. Kissan and his family came and stayed with us until they heard that there had been a fire in our village and 23 houses were burned. They were, of course, concerned and soon left to check it out. Only Kissan returned. His house was spared, but many others were in need. Grandson Joshua drew his version of the houses on fire here. He put in a fire truck, not realizing that fire trucks did not exist there.

The rest of the summer was good and full of God's provision. Some USAID families were leaving and gave us their food and we were grateful for extra food provisions. From my journal:

Bobgans [friends in the US] packed a suitcase for us that came with Dick Hugoniot, so now Jon and Jenny have some new toys and are having great fun with their Doctor and Nurse kits.

We also were able to sell our little three wheeled rickshaw vehicle and purchase a used VW from some UMN missionaries from Butwol who were leaving. We were thrilled that we would have a vehicle to take us to and from the village. Little did we know what adventures soon awaited us in our "new" van.

During this summer I began to have severe migraine headaches. Nothing seemed to help. It also meant Bill went to the village without us while I stayed with the kids for a short time. When we finally all made it back to the village as a family, I forgot to bring my journal but wrote this summary in my journal on our return after two months:

It's been quite a time. We had a wild trip to the village. Rivers were flooded. We had a truck tow us across the Rapti river in our new-to-us van. Bill knew it was risky so had the kids and me ride in the truck that was towing the van and him. Halfway through, the rope pulling it broke from the strong current. We started to pray.

Bill saw the rope break and he began to be carried by the current. Because the van was heavier in the back and it was rear wheel drive, the current pushed the front more than the rear so the front was pointing down-stream at about 45 degrees. Bill put the van in reverse and started driving. With the river pushing the van down-stream and the engine pulling it up-stream, he managed to drive back across to the bank where we started. As Bill said later, "Halfway to India and I didn't even have my passport."

We found another truck driver who had a chain and he pulled us all the way across. Whew. But that's not all. A bit later there was another, somewhat smaller river to cross. Bill tried driving across it and got stuck in soft sand. There we sat, wondering how we were going to make it. Then a bus full of people came by. The driver stopped and asked if he could help. He did, pulling us out and across. The passengers enjoyed the show. But now the van wouldn't start. So Bill looked around inside the van and finally found a dry piece of cloth. He took the distributor cap off, carefully dried everything, and put it back together.

Then the starter motor wouldn't work. Fortunately, by this time a small crowd had formed and they gave us a push. Bill popped the clutch, the engine started, and we finished our trip to the village at last, only 12 hours after leaving Kathmandu. I meanwhile passed out the fried chicken I had prepared for our supper.

This event was later drawn by Gracella Cunkle, an artist friend. The story was later published in the magazine Christian Conquest, as a children's story as one of a series called "The Adventures of Jon and Jenny." This story was called, "Miracle at the River."

The return trip up the Raj Path to Kathmandu was better than the one down. We did  however have two flat tires and only one spare. Bill managed to patch the last one with a bike tire kit and miraculously it held! Oh, but that's not all. Here's from Bill:

After fixing the second flat, Bill was feeling pretty tired and didn't tighten the wheel's lug nuts adequately. Shortly after arriving in Kathmandu he was driving up a hill when all of a sudden the van stopped moving. He checked: the engine was on; the transmission was in gear. Nothing. He got out to look around. Something seemed a bit strange. Then he saw that the lug nuts had come out and the wheel had come off the axle. But instead of falling into the street, it came to rest in the wheel well. A moment later, a small boy came running up with a lug nut. Bill offered a rupee each for all he could find (a princely sum at 10 rupees to the dollar in a country where a day's wage for a laborer was 50 cents) and altogether there were three: enough to put the tire back on and drive safely. Yes, God is good.