The Day Providence Paid A Visit

Well, it's been a week since I've had an opportunity to be here and visit with you all. I'm not sure who that is, since there aren't any comments lately- so if you're lurking, come out of lurkdom and say hello! Really The Steppe isn't such a scary place, now, is it?? In order to post a comment you do need to register. It doesn't mean much, just that they are trying to make sure that legitimate PEOPLE are posting, not computers. So, take a few minutes and register, so you can say hi...

So, onto Life on the Steppe... It is snowing today- it wasn't a total surprise. Weather Underground has been predicting this for a few days, but it is a little surprising that it is sticking and that it has been snowing much of the day. Yes, we ARE very excited to get to Dubai in a few weeks! I must say, I won't be sorry to miss the last couple of weeks of winter! We hear it is supposed to be in the 80's while we are there.

Weather like this always takes me back to one dark and fateful night. Can I tell you about the time we almost died? About 4 years ago, we were travelling back from a city south of us, where it tends to be warmer much of the time. In fact, right now they are turning their gardens over for planing! We started our (normally 8 hour) journey at around 1:00 in the afternoon in mild October weather. Our trip was cooking along pretty nicely until about 3 hours from our destination. Then the car started to act really funny. When The Water Guy got out to check on the engine, he noticed that the temperature had falled dreadfully! Like several decades of degrees! The engine was NOT taking the fall in temps. well, and without going into the details of why, let's just say that we limped along for another hour until we reached a familiar village to stop in for repast.

By this time is was about 9:00 when we got on our way again. The car started, but barely. Again, on our way, we noticed our lights dimming, and the temperature gauge falling steadily. Ladies, you know that look when your hubby is worried. Lines that shouldn't be there suddenly appear, like those along the San Andreas that speak of danger. Eventually, around 10:00 of driving veeeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly, it died. Yes, it just died. Let me tell you a little bit about the Central Asian Steppe... It is desolate. Can you imagine desolate, really, really desolate? Think northern Nevada, or maybe central Texas, but about 1/10 of the traffic.

At this point the temperature had fallen to a bone-chilling -20C. We had coats, but that just wasn't cutting the chill as my brave and unfailing Water Guy tried to fix the problem. To no avail. We were now at the mercy of Providence. We scanned the horizon for lights that we could possibly make a trek to, but the distances can be deceiving on a cold winter's night, so we decided that rather than risk getting there and no one being home, we'd wait for a Good Samaritan instead. After a good half hour-maybe 45 minutes, a car did stop. A few passed but did not stop before that. Curiously, this car was a pilot car for a rocket (now, if you're astute, you'll figure out where we are) being transported somewhere else. The group of men, smelling distinctly of the "spirit du jour", offered to take us to the next village up the road. THANK YOU, LORD! All 7 of us piled into the very small car along with the 3 other men and made the trek, backtracking about an hour.

We only had one acquaintance in this village that we'd met once a long time ago. The Water Guy had visited the house on another occasion many months before, and silenly prayed he'd be "lead" to it again, in the dark, by memory. It was 12:00 AM now. By only a miracle, he did remember where this particular safe Haven was and after many profuse thanks and invitations to each others' homes for tea in the future, they left to meet up with the rocket.

I can only think of one region in the world where one can knock on someone's door at midnight and be ushered in as a king. We were immediately given hot tea, bread and jam, and our hostesses made a gigantic family bed of cotton-stuffed blankets and fluffy chicken feather pillows. We were warm, safe, comfortable, and alive. We look back fondly now to that time when we were reminded once again of God's complete and utter mercy on us, and reflect often on how much in life is so trivial compared to living a life of gratefulness and mercy given to others. Yes, it is risky opening your door to strangers, but God calls us out to take many risks in His Name, doesn't He?

From a snowy Steppe,

Your SteppeSister