June 8, 2005

Seven masked men, crouched on the top of a hill and hidden from view by the long grass, were bent on revenge.

Their fingertips were poised on the triggers of their automatic weapons as they waited patiently for their enemy to come into view.

Soon they heard the drone of a motor and their hearts hardened to the task they were given to. Their eyes were wild with the desire for blood.

A black motor-bike came into view with two people riding it -- a man and a woman. The man driving was wearing a red cap pulled down over his forehead. Sunglasses disguised his face.

The ambushers could just make out a vague glimpse of the woman passenger. Their hearts didn't feel the slightest compassion for the woman they were about to kill along with the man who was their target.

"It's him," someone whispered. "Get ready to shoot when I say."

Eyes were fixed unblinkingly on their targets. Fingertips began to feel the triggers, ready to rain bullets on their victims. Revenge was just seconds away. And then…

"Don't shoot!" came the order. "I don't think that man is the one we're after. I recognize that woman. Don't shoot!"

The man driving the motor-bike, heading to a village far from his own, was a Bible teacher. The woman was his wife. They drove by the ambush totally unaware of what was taking place. They later heard the story from a relative who was personally told of the almost catastrophe by one of the ambushers.

What saved the Bible teacher and his wife that day?

Their lives appeared to be just seconds away from death, but in reality they were being held in God's hand and were totally safe.

The wife said God spoke to her that morning and told her to go with her husband. She doesn't always go with him on his teaching trips. Normally she too would be wearing a hat, but on this occasion she felt constrained not to. Wearing a hat would have prevented her from being recognized.

Praise God for the protection He gives His Bible teachers as they travel from village to village.

Last Sunday the tribal church launched a program to encourage every person to have a part in helping support their teachers so they can put more days into teaching God's Word in other villages. They desire the Gospel to be proclaimed throughout the tribe and into surrounding tribes.