Mike and his amazing disappearing wheel act

At the end of our first day of working with missionaries' children on day 0ne of the Spiritual Life Conference, we were rewarded with a trip out of Niamey to the "plateau". This area is just above some cliffs on the north bank of the Niger River. This is a beautiful spot, and well worth the drive. Well, at least for some of us.

While some of our team members and I were riding along the narrow two-lane highway, all of a sudden the Land Cruiser driven by our host, just ahead of us, began veering badly to the right, raising sparks and a huge cloud of dust. Our driver pulled to the opposite edge of the road as we observed the right rear wheel of the crippled vehicle racing by itself across the road into the bush to our left.

The youth in the Land Cruiser were, understandably, visibly shaken, as was the driver. For some unknown reason, the wheel studs had all been completely sheered off. As we surveyed the damage and someone retrieved the errant wheel, we noticed that the brake drum was missing. While many of our group searched for the drum back where the Cruiser lost the wheel, it was eventually found behind a shrub, adjacent to where the vehicle came to its final resting place.

We were all relieved that the Cruiser did not veer into the ditch and possibly roll. We saw the horrible streak scored into pavement where the inside of the wheel had scraped along.

Thank you for praying for us and our safety. Your prayers obviously make a difference.