Two thirds of the way through the session, Jesse came in and signaled that they wanted Steve back out. They needed him in the driver’s seat. The decision had been made to simply attempt to drag the bus out of the hole. This was a last ditch effort, because dragging the bus out could have caused serious damage.

The tow truck had been brought to the front and chained to tow hooks that are attached to the front of the bus.  They told everybody to get back because if the chains broke they could be very dangerous. He tried to pull but he couldn’t get it to move although the steel plate that was now under his tire shot out toward the bus, but didn’t hit it. The tow truck didn’t have enough traction to pull Uriah out.

Then they hooked up the wheel loader to the front of the tow truck and started pulling. The driver of the wheel loader told Mary that it was a bit scary because the front of his loader was lifting up as he pulled and his wheels were slipping. He said he felt it all relied on him so he just stepped on the throttle. It was a hard pull, but the bus finally came free. It had to be pulled about ½ of the block before it was on solid pavement.

After the bus was free, the right front wheel bearing needed to be cleaned because of the dirt that had gotten into it when the asphalt popped the oil fill cap off. Reg had disappeared and came back with the materials needed and did that job. They had figured out a place for us to park for the night so we followed a pick up truck to the lumberyard. We were so grateful for those who invested their time and resources to help us. We offered to compensate the primary men that helped and they graciously declined. We feel their kind hearts represented the sentiments of the city.

Meanwhile, people milled around inside, browsing the book tables. When people were done, the girls packed up, and then several men helped to carry the boxes out to a pick up truck, which was going to be our shuttle to the bus.

Although we would not have chosen to go through what we did Wednesday evening, we are grateful for the work the Lord did in our hearts, and yes, we are thankful that Uriah was still drivable. God is good, all the time, in situations that turn out well and in situations that don’t. Thank you for faithfully praying for us!

“And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).