Do not sleep,
pray

Norma is a preacher's wife in an Asian country. She and her little boy are travelling by bus to the association to get materials for the children's Sabbath school. She spends the night in the guest room.

A very special night

At 2 o'clock at night, a voice says: ‘Don't sleep, pray! She is startled. Was it in a dream? She gets up, kneels down and prays. As she is about to go back to bed, she hears again: ’Don't sleep, pray! She thought she had already prayed for everything. So she prayed for forgiveness for all her sins, for the Spirit of God, for a safe journey home, for family, relatives, church members and love for God. As she was about to lie down again, she heard the voice for the third time: ‘Don't sleep, pray! She now realised. It was about something very special. What else should she pray?

She searches the Bible for prayers to pray. She comes across Psalm 91 ‘He who sits under the umbrella of the Most High...‘ She says: ‘Lord, I want to make this psalm my prayer now. She claims the promises of this psalm for herself. Then she thinks: songs are also prayers. She picks up her songbook. It opens automatically with the song: ’Do not pass me by, O Saviour‘, then she does the same with the song: ’He leads me...‘ and then also with the song ’O abide, Lord‘ She also claims these promises in prayer. When she wants to lie down again, she hears the voice again clearly: ’Do not sleep, pray! She now realises that she should not sleep at all that night. Lord, what prayer should I pray? She prays Psalm 91 and the three songs again.

A dramatic bus journey

At 6 o'clock she wakes her boy. Her mind is filled with the psalm and the songs. They set off on their journey. They travel in a large bus. It has three seats on either side of the aisle. The boy sits by the window. Norma is next to him. An older woman sits facing the aisle. The weather is fine. The bus is making good progress. At 10.30 a.m. they reach an area where rebels are up to mischief. As they round a bend, a group of rebels suddenly start shouting in front of them.

Robbery!

A shot is fired. It hits the bus driver in the head. His foot comes off the accelerator. The engine is bubbling. The bus comes to a halt. He is riddled with bullets. The boy hid his head with his mother. The woman next to her was fatally shot and sank onto her lap. Norma feels stitches. But she is alive. Two rebels come onto the bus with long knives. One on one side, the other on the other. They curse and look for certain people. If someone seemed to be alive, they cut off their head. Norma knew what was coming. She belonged to a tribe that these rebels wanted to wipe out. Everyone from this tribe had such a strong accent that they could easily be recognised by it. She knew my language would betray me. The rebels came closer and closer to her place.

Safe in great danger

Strange: In those moments, Psalm 91 and the three songs went through her mind. She was not afraid. She prayed: ‘Lord, help me not to disgrace you when I die. She was completely secure in God. She had no thought of what she might do. The moment the rebel was in front of her, she held her hand out to him in defence and said in English, ’Stop, I am a Seventh-day Adventist missionary'. It was a miracle that she could say that in English. She barely spoke English. When your life is in danger, experience tells you to speak in your mother tongue. But she had spoken English. This had masked the accent of her mother tongue. The rebel did not realise that she belonged to this tribe. It may be noted here that the Seventh-day Adventists in this country are known for not interfering in politics. The government troops and the rebels know that the Seventh-day Adventists will help them if they are injured or have nothing to eat.

The rescue

The rebel was perplexed and confused and said: "See that you get out as quickly as possible. She took her boy, her bag and her Bible/hymnal cover. The dead woman's body fell away. She couldn't help but step out over dead bodies. She prayed silently: Lord, forgive me. There is no other way. By the time she was out of the bus, the rebels outside were already gone. She walked behind the bus, sat down in a distant place and prayed that help would come. Then another overland bus came. But the rebels prepared the same fate for him. She knew now that she could not stay there. She ran away with her boy and huddled under an overhanging rock. It was very quiet there. (She later learnt from the newspaper that 47 people had been killed on her bus and 17 on the second bus)

And again the voice speaks

Then a voice said: You have to get out of here. She suddenly saw a black man running and ran after him to catch up. She spoke to him. He only answered the bare minimum. He was carrying her bag. She carried the boy. Then they met another man. She spoke to him. He then carried the boy. They made faster progress that way. She was splattered with blood. A van came along. They waved. The driver looked at the four of them. They could sit on the loading platform, but only as far as the edge of town. He didn't want to be seen in the city with people like that. They got off. Where would they find help now? The black man was suddenly gone. But there was nowhere for him to hide. Then Norma knew: it was an angel. He was simply gone. They went to the next house and called the hospital. An ambulance came for them.

In hospital

After the formalities, she went straight to the operating theatre. After the treatment, the surgeon said: Who are you? She said: I filled in the papers. He asked again: Who are you and what are you made of? She asked back: What do you mean? The doctor said: I removed nine bullets. According to the position of the bullets, seven of them should have been fatal. They must be made of steel. He showed her a bullet. It was flattened at the front, as if it had hit steel. What are you made of? Who are you? She replied: There was also her Bible/hymnal cover. The cover had been torn by a bullet. The Bible itself was untouched. You could see that the bullet had ricocheted at a 90° angle. Extensive logs were taken. The newspapers gave a big report.

I know who I believe in

Norma says: ‘I now know whose book the Bible is. I thank my God. I live from new things. She preaches sermons, gives Bible lessons and tells people about her experience. She tells them: I live through Christ. She is glad that she was used to obeying God in everything, even at night when the voice repeatedly asked her: ’Don't sleep, pray!’