MY MEXICAN ANGELS

By Joyce Anderson Reed

This past Saturday, August 24, 2002, I had my first traffic accident in Mexico.I stopped at a stop sign, and then continued through the intersection.Unfortunately, I failed to see an oncoming car from my left hand side.This car swerved to avoid me, but I still clipped the right rear-end which sent it into a spin where it eventually hit another parked car.There were two young men in the car I hit.Praise God, neither one was hurt, and nor was I.In Mexico, if you are the cause of the accident, and someone is injured, you're immediately jailed.You can imagine my relief when I exited from my vehicle to see the driver of the other vehicle walking towards me.I was also thankful that this young man, although as shaken-up as I was, did not scream or yell at me.He simply asked me what happened and I assured him that it had been my fault, and that I had insurance.By this time, the owner of the parked car came out of the business where she worked, and became involved in the conversation too.A neighbor graciously let me call my husband David.Unknown to me at the time, three Mexican friends and their children were visiting him when I called.Our house was only about three blocks from where I'd crashed, so they all arrived within minutes at the scene.As everyone piled out of the cars, I felt like the cavalry had come to my rescue!About ten minutes after this, another Mexican friend drove by, saw what had happened and stopped to offer his support as well.Our friends assisted us with the other drivers' concerns, and also helped us when the traffic police arrived.We eventually all drove downtown to a local police station to file the proper paperwork.When our insurance agent arrived, everything moved quickly and smoothly.While this gentleman was not Mr. Personality, he was Mr. Efficient and I was extremely grateful for his professionalism.I took a moment to talk to the driver of the car I'd hit, apologizing for my mistake and expressing my gratitude that he was okay.He assured me that he was fine and his car, after all, was only a possession.To me, his attitude was a gift from God.When I got home, all our friends stayed to support and encourage us.I was still feeling overwhelmed.To be honest, I really wanted to break down and have a good cry.But that's kind of hard when you have a house full of guests!Later in the day, another good friend called.She said to me, "Joyce, I've been thinking about you all day.I've been praying for you.Finally I decided to call to see what's going on in your life today."This did make me cry!How I had truly needed her prayers this day.

This whole incident made me realize again how I truly am in the palm of God's hand.And grateful to know that God had nudged someone to cover me in prayer.To know that if I or the other driver had been seconds sooner or seconds later, we might have hit each other where it would have caused serious injury.To know that all these friends didn't "just happen" to be visiting David when I called, but were there in order to come with him when I was in crisis.I was overcome by God's hand upon my life:that God is watching over me, protecting me, guarding me with angels every moment of my day.And the watch care continues.Today, Monday, August 26, I had to go to another police station to pay a fine connected with the accident.A Mexican friend offered to go with me because he knows a lot of the people who work in this office due to his business of importing cars.He knew exactly which line I needed to be in, and which window to go to next.I just followed him around!He also helped us to find a trustworthy mechanic to replace the front bumper on our van, which is all that needed to be fixed as a result of the accident.Again, I am overwhelmed by God's grace and God's goodness.I do have friends here, and through this experience I consider every one of them a personal angel sent by God to sustain and encourage my faith.