Last month, a team from the Lord’s Food Bank in Juarez was invited to Jalisco, Mexico, to evangelize and give a mission to some parishes there. We rented two vans to transport the families who volunteered to go.
The trip was a great success, and the people from Jalisco welcomed the team with delight and wonderful hospitality. All the missionaries were so happy and filled with consolation as they began their long 20-hour road trip back.
However, as one of the vans was nearing Juarez, they hit a bad patch of road, and the van veered off the highway down the embankment and flipped on its side. It was 4 am and very dark, with no streetlights in the area. But as the van rolled, one of the men said, “There was a bright light all around us as if it was daylight.” Another passenger said, “It felt like the van was flipping in slow motion, very tranquilly. There was no jarring or harsh impact.” One of the dads said he saw 2 men dressed in white on each side of the van.
When the police and ambulance came, they were surprised to find that only one of the passengers, Dario, was injured, apart from some who had minor bruises. Dario was so swollen on one side and in so much pain that the EMTs were sure he had broken some bones and would need surgery. They rushed him to the hospital. By this time, our community had gotten word of the accident and started praying.
Dario was in the emergency room waiting to be examined, and as he waited, he told us later, “All the swelling started to subside, and the pain was going away.” They took him to do x-rays and told him, “Nothing is broken.” After doing more exams, they said, “There’s nothing wrong with you. You can go home.” The swelling and pain were completely gone by then. By 9 a.m., he was released and on his way home.
“It was God. Only God could save us like that,” the team all agreed. Amen!