University of Mobile ministry team aids injured truck driver

They expected to be used in music and drama, but God had other plans.
   
On a recent Sunday morning, members of Witness, a student-led ministry team from the University of Mobile, packed their 15-passenger van for a concert at North Highlands Baptist Church in Hueytown. Before leaving, the group asked God to “use us however He wanted to,” according to group member Betsy Wilkins, a sophomore English/language arts major from Helena.
   
About 11:30 p.m., during their return trip, that prayer was answered when the group witnessed a horrific accident on I-65 between Fort Deposit and Greenville.
   
“I had only gone a few miles when a semi-truck in front of me started to pass another tractor trailer,” relates Billy Parchman, a sophomore religion major from Gautier, Miss., who was driving the van.
   
“As the semi was going around the other truck, he (the semi) hit the back end of the truck. At that point the semi driver lost control and began to slide down the interstate sideways. The cab detached from the trailer and caught fire, blocking the interstate. The other truck ran off the road into the ditch. I slammed on the brakes.”
   
Sliding over pavement soaked in rain and diesel fuel, the van came to a complete stop less than 75 yards from the burning truck.
   
Wilkins and team member Josh Bryan crossed the median and ran down the opposite side of the interstate to avoid the fire.
   
The semi’s driver, Todd Dodson from North Carolina, was in immense pain after being thrown 30 feet from his truck.
   
“I could smell the diesel and the smoke from the fire,” said Falyn Vinson, a senior general
studies major from Daphne. “As I saw him [Dodson] lying there, not knowing how badly he was hurt and how much time he may have had, the first thought that went through my mind was, ‘How fast can we tell him about Christ?’”
   
Meanwhile, back at the van, the other members of Witness prayed for the two truck drivers. “Just knowing that three of my closest friends were on the other side of the flaming truck was so scary,” said John Firstbrook, a senior business major from Pelham.
   
“I didn’t know how close they were to the fire or if they were OK.” Bryan used his cell phone to let his fellow members know that they were safe.
   
“We started talking with Todd just to keep him occupied until the ambulance could get there,” Wilkins said. “We prayed with him for his wife and kids to have peace when they found out.”
   
Other members of Witness began picking up debris from the road and taking advantage of the opportunity to witness to others at the crash site. By the end of the night they were covered “in diesel from head to toe,” according to Firstbrook.
   
Eventually the road was cleared and at 4 a.m. the group continued the drive back to Mobile. They arrived at 6 a.m., with classes beginning at 8.
  
On the following Thursday night, three of the group members received calls from North Carolina. Addie Dodson, Todd’s wife, had contacted the police department to find phone numbers for the Witness members who took care of her husband.
   
“When I heard the message on my cell phone from Addie Dodson, I just smiled,” Wilkins said. “I called her back immediately. She told me how glad she was that we were there for Todd and that he
didn’t have to go through all of this by himself. Todd said we were his angels,” Vinson said.
   
Wilkins added, “As Witness, we think we go out and minister this certain way, but, thankfully, God uses us in a lot of ways.”
   
The Witness ministry team tavels throughout the state of Alabama and parts of Mississippi and Florida. They share the love of Christ through drama and song. Freshmen through seniors are eligible to audition each fall for the group, which usually has 15 members.