We couldn’t even count the seconds between the time the buck landed on the road and when our van hit him. We saw him jump out of the ravine on the side of the road, but there was no time to respond.

It was only a four-pointer, about a year and a half old, but the damage the Bagabus sustained was enough to put us out of commission for…well…this happened two Sundays ago and we haven’t even heard an estimate yet.

Here’s how it played out:

We were driving to a Wisconsin event in the early hours, still dark, when the buck leaped out of the ravine onto the road immediately in front of us. Being a musical family, our simultaneous “AAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” was in near-perfect harmony.

We hit him hard. The buck rolled into the ditch, got up, and the persistent fella walked back into the road where a car from the opposite direction hit him again. He then walked off the road and died.

We pulled over and ran out to inspect the damage and make sure the other driver was okay. She was. She handed Marissa our Chevy emblem from the roadside and she left. Is that even legal?

We meanwhile, made a few phone calls.

911: This is 911. What is your emergency?

Marissa: We hit a deer with our van.

911: Is anyone hurt?

Marissa: Uhh…the deer.

We waited for the police and our daughter Hannah who was not with us, thankfully. She brought us my mother’s car, since some of us needed to get to Two Rivers for two worship services and a really stellar breakfast. The rest of us awaited the police officer.

Meanwhile, a friendly Wisconsinite in a pickup truck showed up.

Pickup truck guy: Hit a deer?

Me: Yup.

Pickup truck guy: Gonna keep it?

I love rural Wisconsinites! Nothing makes ’em happier than a freezer full of venison and a Packer win. I can say that–I’m a Wisconsinite. You throw in a couple pounds of cheese curds, a warm fire, and a good friend on a Sunday afternoon after hearing a great sermon and all is right with the world. That is some solid truth there…dontcha know!

Some of us had to skedaddle in the borrowed car to make it to church on time (barely) to sing. The rest awaited the police officer.

He arrived, checked us out, leaned on the van aaaaannnnnddddd it crumbled beneath his hand.

One of us who shall remain anonymous: You broke our van.

Officer: (Stunned silence, holding a light cover in his hand)

Anonymous one: I’ll just take that. What about our van parts all over the road?

Officer: There’s nothing big. The other cars will take care of that.

Anonymous one: What about the deer?

Officer: Want him?

Anonymous one: Do I?

Officer: Not after what he’s been through.

Anonymous one: I don’t want him.

It’s time to count some blessings:

One! Nobody was hurt.

Two! We had just switched our car insurance to a company that gave us a smaller deductible and better coverage. We’re grateful for that, but the insurance company probably isn’t. Ahem.

Three! Our insurance temporarily covers part of our rental…and we do have a rental. Sure, only five people can fit in it, but with a guitar under their feet, some of us can still make it to events.

Four! This happened close enough to Hannah and my mom that she was able to get us her Grandma’s car.

Five! We don’t really need to tow the trailer for a little while, since we had been planning to commute to most of our Christmas events. Had this happened somewhere else, we would have been in serious trouble, unable to tow our trailer to events.

Six! We didn’t hit the eight-pointer we had seen earlier that morning…or the five other deer we had seen in the ten minutes before our accident.

We’re waiting on the Lord for His providence and would appreciate your prayers. We still have some hefty repair bills and rental fees to deal with. We’re approaching the two-week mark and still haven’t received an estimate on the damages, and our partially covered rental period is almost half over. We have numerous Christmas events that we cannot all attend because of our limited transportation, and in some instances, we’re not quite sure what to do about it. Hannah is also looking for a reliable, affordable, used car to buy, since she will not be traveling with us in 2020–now would be a good time for that to fall into place. All of these things are on our minds and in our prayers, so if you could join us in prayer, we sure would appreciate it!

Also, please join us in thanksgiving that over eight years of touring, we have had only this one accident, and we were all uninjured. When you consider all that we have seen on the road over the past eight years…well…what a gracious God!

Okay, summary time:

• We hit a deer.
• The Bagabus is out of commission.
• Hannah is looking for a car.
• We need prayer.
• God is good…no matter what! And that’s a promise.

If you wish to donate to the music mission, you can see more information right here. Also, if you are doing any Amazon shopping, please shop through this link and we will receive a portion of the sale at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much! And again, praise God!