Thomas Shelwah and his wife Hauwa were recently in a bad car accident. Please keep them in your prayers. Below is an update sent by them telling of their situation.

Dear beloved in Christ, Thanks for staying in touch and assuring us of your prayer support. Please forgive me if this email doesn’t make sense because Thomas andI had a serious accident last Friday and I’m literally still in a state of shock! We’re both at home now and gradually recuperating. Thomas’ X-Ray result was  very impressive because he neither sustain any fracture in his chestbones nor bled internally. His chest is only sored inside because of the collision he had with the steering wheel. His mouth is still sored in and out but the doctor removed the external bandage yesterday and he has started to slowly speak. I’m so far so good doing very fine (though I’m having headache and body pains) and have no physical injury because Thomas sacrificed his side and took the hit in order to protect my side in the front! Crash Scene Regarding the little green house that our car ran into, as best as we know, there’s not yet any issue of a damaged property because the house that our car ran into only lost some of its paint but didn’t get damaged. According to the neighbors, It is a very solid cement bricks house that was built in the 60s. The accident took place in Roberts-port (Liberia’s only Muslim dominated coastal town). Praise be to the Lord that the occupants of the house were out to the mosque for their Friday’s prayer. The house is located at the bottom of a hill that is about 200ft high. Our car brakes failed while decending this hill and was heading either into the Atlantic Lagoon or a very deep valley. But Thomas decided to head for the stairscase of the nearby green house. I was sitting by his side in the front while the director of the Family Life Ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ and his wife (Amos and Wolah Harris) were sitting in the back seat. The Harris and I sustained minor injuries and we’re experiencing a lot of body pains but Thomas’ case was worse because he was driving and tried protecting my side from taking the collision. So he took the greatest blow and hit his chest and mouth against the Steering wheel. He is still down with the pains of a stitched mouth, chest, & neck. Unfortunately, his mouth stitches were opened and restitched at the Kingdom’s Care Medical Center in Monrovia yesterday because the local physician Assistant did a poor job at the Rural Roberts-Port St Steven Hospital and thus disfigured his entire mouth. This is very embarrassing to mention but I’m very sad to say that there was no functional surgical Light in the Emergency Room. So, right in my presence, the Physician Assistant stitched my husband’s mouth using the light of a borrowed cell-phone but I was too helpless and still in the state of shock to have done anything about it. I knew he wasn’t doing a good job, but Thomas was losing a lot of blood and that was the only medical care he could have received at that time. Crash Scene The car in question is the same car that nearly took my life about a month ago when I was driving and the Ball-Joints and front shock absorbers broke. So I parked it in our garage and vowed not to drive it again. But when this stubborn husband of mine ha ha arrived from the States, he got a local quack mechanic to patch it up and there he was driving it around town again. I don’t even know why I allowed him to persuade me into ridding that car again. He also wanted us to take Matea (our five year old daughter) along but I vehemently objected to the idea and he grudgingly let go!! He has been discharged from the hospital but still doesn’t speak freely because his mouth is still sored and is also complaining of chest pains! Attached are photos of the wrecked vehicle that were brought to us today by the Samaritan’s Purse Tow Truck Driver who helped us did the towing to Monrovia! Please keep us in your prayers! Thank you! Hauwa