The right way to turn left

Today, I experienced another first. I was involved in an automobile accident. Don’t get upset though, we’re all okay. However, let me give a bit of background before I tell you what happened.

Our ministry leaders, Danny and AnnMarie Isenring have been here for about 10 days of their 2 week visit. We’ve had a great time with them and been very encouraged and uplifted. AnnMarie was treating the females of the family to a “girls afternoon” and we were all excited. I had made an appointment with the—as far as I know only—hairdresser who does white peoples’ hair and we were on our way there. When I drive here in Lomé, I like to find ways to get places making only right turns so I don’t have to cross the crazy traffic. I know most of my routes and had mine all planned out. However, I accidentally turned down the wrong road at one point and decided to turn left onto the next street to correct my mistake and get back on track. I put on my blinker, stopped, waited for the oncoming motorcycle then began to turn. As I began, a car came from nowhere on my left and I hit them on their passenger side, door. It wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been because I saw him just in time and he was going very fast. It was, nonetheless, an accident. (By the way, our car wasn’t damaged at all. It hit the iron grill cover thingy on the front doing damage to the other car without hurting ours. Poetic justice as we have a bit of a “junker” and theirs was a very new-looking BMW SUV.) I became an instant nervous wreck, Meme, our house-helper who was with us, got angry with the other driver and AnnMarie did the only sensible thing and began to pray!

Fortunately, a soldier had apparently seen the whole thing and came up to us both. I think had he not come, I would’ve kept driving as I didn’t want to face the other driver even though it was entirely his fault. I had given my papers to the soldier and was getting out of the car when the driver and all the other men traveling with him—there were at least 3 of them—came up and started yelling at me and everyone who didn’t believe he was innocent. Now, you must remember, the girls were also in the car. They saw all this and were getting increasingly scared. The soldier, who was by this time joined by a few others was telling the men to be nice and calm down. Then we all “went to our corners” and waited for the Commandant to arrive. When he came, they all had to test my turn signal, which worked beautifully, and then the other driver tried to argue with him for a while. Eventually, the commandant turned to me and asked, “What do you say?” I finally replied, in my elementary French, that it was forbidden to pass on the left of someone who was turning in that direction, and that I had indicated and was even stopped, waiting to turn. We were then sent to some office but never got there as we were called back. The soldiers had left and the other men wanted to try and bully me to get some money. As our car wasn’t harmed (even if it had been we wouldn’t have ever gotten any money out of these guys) and I wasn’t about to pay him for the damage he caused, I told him it was his problem and we all got in the car and drove off. Besides, we were late for our hair appointment!

God took care of us the whole way. It was a miracle that we were safe and that the soldiers were there to help us. When they realized the girls were in the car and that they were scared, they made sure the other men were kept away from it and made to keep their voices down.
It was also a miracle that Meme and AnnMarie were there. When I had to go to this other office, Meme went with me and AnnMarie stayed with the girls. She comforted them and prayed with them and for me the whole time. Mobile phones are wonderful gadgets, but only when they are with you. I had, for the first time, forgotten mine and couldn’t even call Roger!!! (Where are men when you need them?!)