Back From Belize Again!

Every 90 days we take an "adventure" to Belize to get our visas renewed. Each trip is different from the last and they are always interesting.
One of the most memorable trips we have taken, was the time before last. A friend of ours, Camille Wallace, had to renew her visa also, and came along for the adventure.
Most of the trip was uneventful until after we headed home.
Just after crossing the Guatemala border, our tire went flat. Thankfully, we had a spare. Chris changed it and we were back on the road again. Then, a little farther into the country, Chris announced, “I can’t accelerate! I think the throttle cable is broke!” He was stomping on the gas pedal but we were only coasting. We coasted to a stop and pulled to the side of the road. While Chris and Jonathan rummaged around beneath the bus, the rest of the kids picked wild flowers. The throttle cable was indeed broke. Chris then announced that he was certain there would not be one available for this bus in this country. He asked us all to look around for some wire. Jonathan found a string in the back of the bus that had been used for Matthew's piñata. Chris took apart the fuel door opener lever and ran the string through the hole where the fuel door opener cable goes. To accelerate, he pulled the string; to slow down or stop, he let it go slack. This may not seem like such a hard thing until you try driving this way with no power steering, around the mountain curves, constantly up shifting and downshifting. Needless to say, this only heightened our trips’ excitement. Especially when he needed to change gears. For this, he would steer with his knee and switch the string to his left hand so he could change gears with his right. I remember at one point, Chris driving with his knees while switching gears and accelerating while talking on his cell phone! While Chris was still on the phone, a police truck swung into the lane behind us. This, of course, caused great excitement and anxiety, but just as Chris got off the phone, the police truck pulled off the road into a police station.
We crossed the Honduras border safely and were looking forward to getting home before too long, when at around 8:00, just as we left San Pedro Sula, we hit a large pothole. Or, perhaps to be more precise, a small crater. Instantly, both right-side tires blew out. Chris said it must have been The LORD driving because when one tire blows; much less, two on the same side, the vehicle usually pulls hard to that side. And we were driving next to a very deep ditch! Chris, as you recall, was driving with only one hand on the wheel and the other holding the string!!!! Having already used our only spare tire, we were stranded. Chris called our good friend and Christian brother, Johnny Orr, who was staying at the mission guesthouse.
While we waited to be rescued, the children entertained themselves with some glow sticks the girls brought along and by singing. (For those of you who do not know what a glow stick is, it is a small source of immense entertainment and large amounts of green, glowing mess that don’t wash out of clothing very easily. :) ) Johnny did arrive at around eleven with borrowed tires from Jeremiah's van. And we followed him home. Amanda and Camille rode with Johnny to keep him awake and Char and Jonathan tried their best to keep Chris awake. We arrived home very late and very tired, but very safe. Thank you, LORD!

<<<<<<<<<< This is the first flat tire.

Only Chris could manage to eat a mango and drive like this!

One of the tires we blew out on the way home.

(The other tire)

Hannah wearing glow stick glasses

"M" for Matthew