I spent two nights in Pilanesberg Game Reserve this week, with my brother, my nephew, and all our kids. We traveled in three separate cars, but did everything together.
Monday was absolutely spectacular. Everything we dreamed of. We saw elephants, lions, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, hippos, and more.
The next day it rained and the rocky dirt roads started to turn to mud. Jokingly, I turned to my family and asked: "You know, these roads are really rough. What would happen if we got a flat tire out here?"
Twenty minutes later, we found out.
My nephew spotted it first from his car. "You have a flat tire." My brother double-checked. He was right.
We were in the middle of the African bush. We had no phone service, no internet, no WhatsApp, and no Google Maps. And because of the rain, we hadn't passed another car in ages.
The first rule they drill into you when you enter the reserve is: stay in your vehicle no matter what! You’re surrounded by wild animals, predators who move quickly and quietly. You’re in their home, on their turf, where they live and hunt, and as soon as you’re out of the vehicle, you’re easy prey.
But now, we had no choice. We now had to get out of the car.
The kids started getting nervous. "What if lions come?" I tried to reassure them but I was worried too. I just had the good sense not to say it out loud this time, having already learned my lesson about making predictions!
I got out and started hunting for the spare. I knew there had to be a jack and a tire somewhere. But I searched the entire car and came up empty-handed.
My brother and nephew set off in their cars to look for help. We moved my four younger children into their vehicles, two in each, and then we did the only thing left to do: wait and pray.
About ten minutes later, a Jeep appeared on the horizon. Inside was an Afrikaans couple who introduced themselves as Mecayla and Divan and pulled over to see if we needed help.
We explained what had happened, and without hesitation, Divan climbed underneath the vehicle, into the mud and pouring rain, to show me that the spare lives underneath the car on this particular model. For the next hour, two complete strangers worked to change the tire of a family they had never met, in the middle of a game reserve, while our children kept watch out the windows for lions, rhinos, and buffalo.
Then another couple stopped and introduced themselves. It turned out they were Jewish and my mother had taught the woman in school years earlier. Then a third couple pulled over. And then a man named Anthony.
All these strangers willing to put themselves in danger to help other strangers. I was blown away!
When I asked, Anthony told me it had been a very long time since he last put on tefillin. Before I could say another word, my son hopped out of the car, walked over, climbed into Anthony's car, and right there, in the middle of Pilanesberg Game Reserve, surrounded by lions and rain, my son helped another Jew put on tefillin for the first time in years.
You might think I was irritable or frustrated, stuck on the side of a muddy road for an hour and a half. But actually, I couldn't stop smiling.
Usually, when something goes wrong, we ask, "Why is this happening to me?" But the better question is, "What is this happening for?"
Why did we get a flat tire? Why twenty minutes after I said the words out loud? Why in the one spot with no phone service? Why did Mecayla and Divan drive by exactly ten minutes later? Why a Jewish couple who happened to know my mother? Why Anthony? Why did it even occur to me to ask him about tefillin?
We spend so much of our lives certain we've been stranded. Things don’t go to plan. A deal falls through, plans collapse, things go wrong. We feel like we've been abandoned in the middle of nowhere.
But really, we're exactly where we're supposed to be. It’s not always as obvious as my encounter, when it’s clear I got a flat tire because Anthony needed to put on tefillin, and Hashem needed a flat tire to arrange the meeting. But everything that happens in our lives is Divinely orchestrated and ordained. There’s always a purpose. We’re never stranded or abandoned. It might not be where we want to be, but it’s exactly where we’re meant to be.
We changed the tire and made it back to the gate. The next morning, I saw we actually had three(!) flat tires, not just one. The others were slowly leaking air, so they didn’t flatten completely, allowing us to drive out of the park. One was enough to get us to stop and meet Anthony. The others held up enough to get us home safely!
Everything worked out, thank G-d. I gave Mecayla and Divan my Instagram because I never want to lose touch with the two strangers who became angels in the rain.
We thought a flat tire had ruined our afternoon, but it turns out the flat tire was the afternoon! How blessed we are!
P.S. My family has now officially banned me from wondering out loud about anything on our trips. Apparently, I'm a little too good at it.