One summer I was hired with other teenagers to be apart of what was called “Hallelujah Roadshow.” It was with the Salvation Army where we went to various towns from Wyoming to Colorado preaching the good news through puppet shows, skits and songs.

Exhausting work, but so fulfilling!

We rode in an old 1930s bus painted in blue and red with “Hallelujah Roadshow” written in yellow lettering on the side. Inside was two benches on each side, a bed in the back, and, of course, all our gear.

Toward the end of the summer, we were headed to our last city. Most everyone was either sleeping or reading. I sat near our leader while she was driving on Interstate 25.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something spark underneath the dash. I stared at it for a bit and soon wondered if I had imagined it.

Not a minute passed before white smoke billowed out from underneath the dash. Our leader pulled over immediately, and we all poured out of the bus, stood in the ditch, and waited for the bus to catch fire and hopefully not explode.

I dropped to my knees and prayed, “God. All I ask is you send a tow truck.”

I looked up just as a tow truck pulled over.

Never before had I been so thrilled to see a prayer answered, and so quickly!

Even better, the smoke dissipated quickly, so we didn’t worry about losing it into a ball of flame.

The driver took us to the nearest town where he dropped it off at a garage and we stayed overnight in the nearest motel.

The next morning, we went back to the garage to find out what caused the smoke.

Apparently, some naked wires underneath the dash had fused and smoked when we hit a bump.

But that’s not all!

The mechanic was a Christian, and he said, “God was certainly with you yesterday. Had you gone even a couple of more miles, you’d all be dead.”

Turns out, there was an issue with one of the front wheels, and if we had made the slightest turn on the interstate, the wheel would have fallen off. With the bus so top-heavy, it would have rolled over and would likely have killed us all.

Some might call it all coincidence, but the timing for everything was just too perfect. I think God had caused the wires to fuse to make us pull over, and he provided the tow truck so we wouldn’t be stranded. After all, this was in the late 80s, so no cell phones.