Don’t Drink and Herd

Some time has passed since this event occurred, but it’s too great of a story to not write about on here.

One Thursday in early August, Melissa and I needed to get to the camp to have our classes, but the van was in the shop. So, we, along with Mary, Simon, and our friend Andrew secured boda bodas for the trip out. Each of us were on our own bike. We got to the outskirts of Gulu town and I was just riding along, enjoying the sites. Usually I keep an eye on the road ahead so I know to hold on for any big bumps, etc. However, this day I was distracted by looking at the shops and all the people along this stretch of road. In an instant, I looked back at the road and realized that we were about to collide with a cow. This was not just any cow, this was a HUGE long-horn steer. My boda driver kept his head and (only by the grace of God) swerved and kept the bike upright. However, as we swerved away from the steer, it also swung its head forcefully in our direction. The boda driver and bike escaped but my neck and shoulder collided with the steer’s horn and head. We swerved further over into the ditch, dodging people and bicycles, and came to a stop. There were a couple dozen people milling around at that point, and it felt like all of them froze to see what would happen next. Andrew was on the bike behind mine and he called out to see if I was okay. Without knowing for sure, I replied that I was. My left side was rather numb and of course I was stunned. I imagined that my left collarbone was broken and that blood was gushing from my neck, but thankfully neither was true. When I realized that, I told Andrew and the boda driver that yes, I really was okay…and we started off again. As we drove off I was laughing with relief (and partly to keep from crying) and I think the people on the street thought I was crazy. Mary, Melissa and Simon were far enough ahead or behind that none of them knew what had happened until we arrived at the camp. When we arrived, Andrew and the boda drivers informed us that the reason the steer was in the middle of the road, and swinging his head angrily, was because the man who was herding it was drunk. Thankfully Andrew had his first aid kit with him, so he let me borrow an ice pack, some disinfectant and a bandaid for the small cut on my shoulder. Other than that, I just had soreness and a nice bruise on my shoulder and neck.

If I had been paying attention to the road ahead and seen the cow coming, I probably would have panicked and caused things to go badly. As it was I hardly had time to realize what was happening until after I’d already collided with the cow. If I had made contact with the tip of the steer’s horn instead of the side of it, things would have been a lot worse. The boda driver also could have easily lost control of the bike. I am very thankful for God’s protection.