Dear Family and Friends,
You may be confused if you have never lived in Africa, but believe it or not, our Police/Traffic case was postponed today because the Police did not have fuel for the vehicle which was to take the court to the sight of the accident! The Police Prosecutor stated that they had a vehicle ready, but they did not have fuel. The sight of the accident is less than 25 miles from the court, but the police did not have enough fuel to go there and return. It had been raining through the night last night, and it seemed to us that today would have been a good day to be at the sight, but for lack of fuel....or whatever other reason.... we did not go.

The police have promised to be prepared with a vehicle and fuel for the next date which has been set for the 6th of December. Thank-you for your patience in praying with us concerning the case. We trust that God Almighty is in control, and He will finish this case in His time. We praise His name for all of the prayer support and encouragement He has sent our way throughout this ordeal.

29 September 2006

Dear Family and Friends:

We were in court by 8:30 this morning, and stayed there for 3 hours. Both our attorney (for the insurance cases) and the attorney for the prosecution, and several wittnesses, were in court and everyone was ready to hear the case. Both lawyers had decided to make this hearing a test case for all the other insurance cases. We were glad because the hearing was to be in court one, and the judge in this court seems to be the most no-nonsense and reasonable judge we have encountered in all of these cases. However, for some reason, he refused to hear the case. He told both lawyers to dismiss their wittnesses, and to meet with him in his chambers. In chambers he told the lawyers that he had personal reasons for not hearing the case. Our lawyer asked us if we knew the judge personally, or had anything to do with him. We only know him from court, and have never spoken to him nor met him out side of the court. So we do not have any idea why he does not want to hear the case. He assigned the case to court three, and the hearing date is now set for Wednesday, November 8, 2006. Thank you for praying with us. We are trusting that all of this is in His control, and we know that He already knows the outcome and nothing is hidden from Him. Thank you for keeping us and all of these cases in your prayers. We are so grateful for your prayers and your concern.

Our next scheduled hearing is for the Accident/Police case on Wednesday, the 25th of October. Court is to be held at the sight of the accident. Please keep this day in your prayers. We are praying that nothing will prevent us from going to the sight of the accident. Nevertheless, not our will but His be done. Thank you for your encouragement and for your faithful prayers.

September 5, 2006

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for your prayers. We were in court this morning, and the police case against Ron continued. The court heard a few witnesses confirming the death of the two people who died in the accident. Then the policeman who came to the accident, and who is the official investigating officer, was called to give testimony. He gave some true testimony and some false testimony.

He gave false testimony concerning the road conditions. He said that it was dry. It was not dry. Although it was not raining at the time of the accident, the road was muddy, and had wet mud silt on it. He said that he did not take time to call a police photographer to the accident to take pictures, because the road was blocked from both directions and traffic was backing up. He said that there was no way for cars to pass the accident site from either direction. This is not true. Cars were passing the accident with two wheels on the pavement and two on the shoulder. They were taking turns from either direction. He also testified that the road shoulder was not passable, and that it had an "artificial forest" and a "wall". This is not true. It seemed as if he was trying to support his testimony that cars could not pass the accident. We are not sure what he meant by an artificial forest, but there are no trees on the side of the road. There are no walls either. He also said he was the only policeman present at the accident, but this is also not true, as the police chief from Meru came to the accident, and it was him who gave Ron permission to leave the scene of the accident to go for medical treatment. That police chief has not been called to testify, and is not on the list for the prosecution. The police officer in charge of the accident said he did not get any official statements from bystanders because they refuse to give testimony. He also said that the owner of the farm there near the accident refuses to allow his employees to testify in court. Of course this would be illegal in itself.

Our lawyer cross examined him, and it seemed to us, that the police officer looked as if he did a very careless job in handling this matter. It could even appear that he was intentionally lying. Our lawyer requested that the court go to the actual scene of the accident. The judge agreed. So we will be going to the actual scene of the accident at the next court date, which is scheduled for October 25.

Please continue to pray for Timothy, whose wife died in the accident. We saw him for the first time in court today. He has two sons. Pray that God will give them peace and faith, and that they will turn to God for their strength. They are members of a Baptist Church in Nanyuki. We trust that the church has been supporting them through all of this. Please pray for them.

As we walked out of the court, we were met by a man and a lady who were trying to serve us some further summons. We were not clear as to what they were saying. Our lawyer came and talked with them. They were serving another summons for another civil/insurance case against Ron, being brought by the wife of the driver who also died in the accident. Our lawyer for the Police Case signed the documents and will forward them to the lawyer for the insurance/civil cases. We will need to appear in court for this case when we are notified by the insurance lawyer. It is supposed to be within 15 days. We will let you know.

Thank you for praying for us. It is physically draining and emotionally exhausting to be in court, to hear lies, and to have to keep waiting between court dates. God has given us strength and grace, and we believe it is because of your faithful prayers. Thank you.

Our next court date is on the 29th of September. This is part of the civil/insurance cases being brought against us for damages. This case is supposed to be a test case for all of the cases arising from this accident. Please pray for us and for those involved in the decisions about fault.

Once again, thank-you, for your faithful prayers and your encouraging e-mails. We are so thankful that we know the One who knows the end of all of this. We are learning even more about trusting and leaning. God bless and keep you all.

In His Great Love,
Ron and Christine