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PART II
LIFE IN EXILE
CHAPTER 2
Save Me, Oh Lord!
In the early days of my stay in northern Fujian, my main job was the poling of small bamboo rafts. To pole a raft, one had to stand on the raft and row with a slender bamboo pole; and chances were one could easily fall into the water. As there were quite a number of big rocks above the water surface, especially around the bends, the small rafts often bumped into the rocks, and the person standing on the raft would then loose his balance and fall into the water. If one sat on the raft, the pants would most likely be ripped, as the raft was tied in the front but not in the rear. Of the four underpants that I had brought along, three had been ripped. Fortunately, here one could bare the upper body and the feet, as hardly anybody else was present besides the inmates in this remote, desolate semi-virgin forest.
One time, the small raft that I was poling was going very fast down a rapid stretch of water when I noticed a very thick bamboo with both ends resting on the two riverbanks just about a foot above the water surface. Yet it was then too late to do anything. The small raft was about to speed under the bamboo and my chest would definitely be heavily struck by the thick bamboo, leading to death. At this critical moment, I immediately leaned back and fell flat on the raft. Shouting "Lord," I lifted my leg and gave a strong kick. To my surprise, I had kicked away bamboos weighing at least 130 pounds! It turned out to be merely a scare without real danger! Thank God for saving me in a life-threatening situation!
"You called in trouble, and I delivered you" (Ps. 81:7).
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