Stranded in the Desert

When we left Haiti to travel back across the border and north to our home town, we had a nine hour trip ahead of us. Four hours later, we were in the southern part of the Dominican Republic, a desolate, arid area characterized by scrub brush and cactus, when suddenly our front wheel began to wobble. We stopped to discover that a front wheel bearing had gone out. We were stranded in the desert. We called to the Students International ministry base to notify Lowell of our plight. Soon after, Lowell called us back to inform us that a mechanic from Jarabacoa would be on the way to make the needed repair. However, Jarabacoa was five hours away, and to make matters worse, somehow a new bearing had to be located - not an easy task in the D.R. considering that our van is a Dodge. (Abel sings us a song accompanied by the beat of a plastic bucket.)

While we waited, we climbed a nearby hill and encountered, Abel, a nineteen-year-old boy who was guarding a cell phone tower. Abel came down to the van to see if he could help. He ended up hanging out with us. We learned that Abel's dream is to be a song writer. We asked him if he would sing us one of his songs, which he did accompanied by the beating of an up-side-down bucket.

(Abel demonstrates how he will protect us with his pistol-grip shotgun.)

By now it was five thirty in the evening - six hours since our van had broken down. A passerby stopped to see if he could help us. He was a staff member of a ministry forty-five minutes away. He cautioned us against being in the area during the night. "You may be robbed", he said. Abel said he would stay with us and protect us until our mechanic arrived. He went and got his pistol grip shotgun.

Finally, at 9:oo pm the mechanic arrived. Thirty minutes later we were on the road and finally reached home and 2:30 am. Ten hours stranded in the desert - What an adventure!!