Stuck In The Mud

Reading Time: 8 Minutes

My mom was adventurous and would gladly do whatever needed to help spread the gospel message of Jesus Christ. She didn’t think twice about driving for miles through the interior of Paraguay if needed, though there were many dangers. What would she do if the car broke down? And I remember several times when our tires got stuck in the mud on lonely country roads. Dad usually dug us out with the army shovel he kept in the trunk of the car. Sometimes we would have to hope for someone with a team of oxen to come by and pull us out. My mom, Frances Skinner, was fearless because she knew Who was with her! Here is one of my favorite stories from her book, “Adventures in Paraguay.”

Humanitarian Service

Every two months a team of Paraguayan nurses from the Baptist Hospital took their day off from work to accompany us to the village [of Guayaybi] to give immunizations. We would leave Asuncion about 6 o’clock in the morning with the little station wagon packed to the hilt with medicines, sterile instruments, clean linens, clothes and an ice box full of a four day supply of imperishable food. We would arrive at noon, unpack, eat lunch and immediately begin immunizations. When we finished around 6 o’clock in the afternoon we would have tea, and then the nurses would catch the bus right in front of the clinic back to Asuncion, usually arriving home between 10 o’clock and midnight. We stayed on until Sunday.

Slippery, Muddy Roads

One immunization weekend we had a visitor, Ruth, from Germany. We had met while we were all on vacation in Argentina. We had continued our friendship by correspondence for over four years when she delighted us with a visit to Paraguay. We proceeded as usual up until the time for the nurses to take the bus back home, but there was a problem, a big problem! It had rained, a down pouring tropical rain, and the road had closed to all traffic including buses. The nurses had to be back to work the next morning.

Since Bill was engaged in humanitarian service, the highway authorities had issued him a permanent pass to travel the road at any time. But he was still very busy with patients, so Ruth and I volunteered to drive the nurses over the 20 miles of dirt (muddy) road where they could catch another bus traveling on the hardtop. We sashayed back-and-forth, slipping and sliding, almost staying permanently in the deep ruts here and there. We finally made it to the highway just as the bus was passing. I chased it down, saw nurses get on, and we began our return trip back to the clinic.

More Rain – More Mud

First, I had to go into this small, dimly lit checkpoint beside the road to show the permission so the soldiers would remove the barricade to let us pass. I almost slid down in the mud because the rain was coming down hard again. Just beyond the barricade was a bridge and beyond that was a steep hill on a curve. It was touch and go all the way to the top. Several times we almost slid off the edge where we could have ended up in the river down below.

The headlights seemed very inadequate as I tried to find the best ruts to follow in the dark. Then it happened! As I shifted gears to make it through a rain-formed lake, we slid into a hole the size of the car. All four wheels were buried in the mud and water. There was no way we could get out alone. There was no moon, no stars and of course, no street lights. It was as dark as pitch.

Hope Delayed

In a moment we saw a dim light moving through the trees on the side of the road, and soon a man with a flashlight appeared. It was raining, so I roll down the window just a bit and the man said in Spanish, “You have a problem, lady?”

“I sure do,” I replied. “Do you have a team of oxen?”

“Si Señora.”

“How much will you charge to get me out of this mess?” I asked.

We agreed on a price, he left, and about 10 minutes later came back with two huge oxen. He fastened them to the front of the car but couldn’t get the oxen to move, except the wrong way, backwards, bumping into the car. Then he took them around to the back of the car and hooked them up, but they stubbornly refused to budge. He tried and tried but nothing worked. After about 30 minutes he admitted that the oxen weren’t his. A friend had left them overnight at his house. He had never driven oxen in his life. I believed him. ”Sorry,” he said, and left unrewarded.

Ruth and I were alone again in the still darkness. She was frantic. It was all I could do to keep her in the car. She wanted to get out and push, or jack it up (which was impossible to do)— anything, as long as she was doing something.

”Ruth,” I said, “All you would do is get yourself wet and muddy from head to toe and mess up the car inside when you get back in. Just sit still and see how God will get us out of this.”

Lean on the Word

I told her how Moses and the Israelites arrived at the Red Sea with the Egyptians chasing them. He said to the grumbling Israelites, “Be still and see the salvation of the Lord.” The Lord opened up a dry path through the waters, they walked through, but the Egyptians who tried to follow them were drowned. I have been in similar situations many times and it is always an exciting adventure to see how God will solve each one.

Naturally, I had prayed before we left the clinic realizing what a perilous journey we were to take, and I knew the small group of believers who would gather for Bible study would be praying for our safe return. Ruth had gone through World War II in Germany as a child. She had suffered a lot as her family fled east Germany toward the end of the war. Even as a small child she had learn to take care of herself. She did not depend on anyone, not even God, to do that.

Rescued Out of the Mud

After about 20 minutes, which seemed like hours, two small headlights appeared in the distance through the misty rain. As they came closer we realized it was a very small jeep-like vehicle. There was hope! At least they could notify the road authorities of our predicament and maybe they could send a tractor to our rescue.

The jeep pulled up beside us. There were two blonde, handsome young men in it. In perfect English, with barely an accent, the driver said, “You look like you could use some help, but what are you ladies doing out on a night like this?” I explained, and then I asked if they could help us.

“Of course, no problem,” he said. In less than five minutes, as one of them backed the jeep around and the other one sloshed around in the mud fastening a chain to the front of my car and then to the jeep, with a thud and a pull we were up on solid ground.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked with trepidation, because I was at their mercy and they could set any price.

“Nothing,” the driver said. “We might need the services of your clinic someday.”

“Anytime,” I exclaimed. “Just anytime!”

Angels?

We thanked them profusely, and the two of them drove away. So did we. I was thinking, “Could they have been angels?” I believe Ruth must have been thinking that too, because she was very quiet all of the way back to the clinic. Whether or not they were angels, God provided a way out of an impossible situation for us. It was a real testimony to Ruth of how God wants to help us in all of our troubles if we just ask Him and believe that He will.

The Bible study was concluding as we drove into the driveway. The group had seen our headlights and was thanking God for bringing us back safely. We drove in the carport and turned off the motor.

The Miracle

The next morning, Bill went out and tried to crank up the car, but the motor was dead. He walked to the mechanic’s shop and asked him if he would come and see what was wrong. He practically took the motor apart, and found that mud had filled up the pan ??? underneath. There was a part to the car he needed that he couldn’t get in Guayaybi, or any of the little towns close by.

Someone would have to come from Asuncion to bring it. Bill got on the phone to Victor, the pastor of our church in Capiata, who said he would purchase it and bring it out by motorcycle. He would have no problem riding on the muddy road. That is what he did. For two days and most of the nights, Mario worked on the car. What a joyful sound the engine made when he turned it on and it started!

For we live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV

To read more missionary stories about Dr. Bill & Fran Skinner on this blog site, navigate to the Home Page, look for “Categories” and click “FRANCES SKINNER.”