Driver Survives Attack On Jungle Road

By Dr. Iris Paul, Reaching Hand Society

Our partner, Reaching Hand Society, provides medical clinics, literacy training, water resourcemanagement, prison rehabilitation, and health education to remote jungle areas of Orissa. Below is a story from Dr. Iris Paul, co-founder of Reaching Hand Society.

One day I had to go to another town and return back through a jungle path. My driver, his wife and their two children were traveling with me that day. We were about 40km northeast of our town, when suddenly we saw a group of political rioters with big sticks in their hands blocking the way on the narrow jungle road. Our jeep’s driver, familiar with jungle roads, took the jeep through a one-foot pathway to try and catch another route home.

We managed to reach the other route to find that those who blocked the previous path were there
with many more. We were pulled out of the jeep, and they were about to thrash our driver for not
stopping. I went and covered my driver, and said “… he is our staff and so hit me first, then only you
can hit him.” They pulled me off and pushed the driver in the driver's seat and many got inside the
jeep and drove away.

I made the driver's wife and the two children sit in front of a hut, and I started to trace the jeep’s tire marks and walk – crying, praying and asking any who passed me if they'd seen a red jeep go by. No one helped, and I kept walking until evening. Finally, I saw the jeep and started to yell and call out for our driver. The jeep was fully smashed on one side. I thought maybe he has been abducted or killed, and then I saw the driver crawl from under the jeep! I hugged the driver and was so excited that he was alive. He said when the group was smashing the jeep, he knew that if he ran they would catch and kill him, so he slowly crawled under the jeep. The rioteres didn’t look for him under the jeep, as too much glass was strewn around the vehicle.

We prayed and thanked the Lord for saving his life and then tried to start the jeep. It started and the four wheels turned! We said Hallelujah, and drove the jeep to a nearby mission center. We could not stop thanking God for 
His goodness. The next day we returned home, and everyone saw the broken vehicle. Those who heard the story were awestruck that we were all alive. I am sure God preserved our life so as to do something special for Him. As we travel, we look to God not only for safety, but also to do something exciting for Him so that everyone in this area will know Jesus. Please stand with us in prayer as we keep marching.

If you would like to donate to the work of Reaching Hand Society, click "Donate Now" and select “Reaching Hand Society” from the drop-down menu.
Thank you.