April 5th I received a call from one of my students telling me that there was an accident. Three of my students along with a local South African friend were driving in a car from Port Elizabeth to Jeffreys Bay for the day. They only made it as far as Greenbushes. The tire on the car blew out and the car flipped over twice. My immediate reaction was to get in the car and start driving. The Jeffreys Bay leaders, two of my best friends, and I were in Port Alfred for the weekend. Frantically we packed are things and jumped in the van. Words could not even come out of our mouths. I phoned the office back in the states, so that they were aware. Death was never even a thought in my mind. During the two-hour drive phones were ringing like crazy with updates and questions. For a short period we lost service in our phones. The first call I received after being out for a few minutes, was from one of my co-leaders. Sarah Buller died in the hospital that afternoon, within two hours of the accident. I felt frozen, thinking that she was joking. Could this really be happening? Did she really just die?
The next few hours and days were a blur. I began to hate the ring of my phone anticipating more bad news. At home we had nine very broken students and three very lost leaders. How can a family truly recover from something like this? This is a loss like no other.
Sarah was supposed to turn nineteen Wednesday April 8, three days after the accident. She was only eighteen years old and she came to Africa to serve the Lord. On her birthday we had a memorial to remember who Sarah was, and she blessed our lives and the lives of others. One of the students shared about what Sarah meant to him. Of the many things he shared he remembered how as a team we just read the book “Don’t Waste Your Life”. He atated that Sarah didn’t waste hers. How many of us will die, and others around us will know without a doubt that we didn’t waste our lives?
Dwight and Peggy Buller have been the two people that have given me the strength in this situation to continue to trust and praise the Lord. Sarah’s parents are like no one I have ever met. Their hearts are larger than any of ours. So large that just a few years ago they adopted four children from Guatemala, while they already had five of their own. After the death of their oldest daughter they were checking to make sure that Sarah’s team and family in Port Elizabeth were doing okay. In this time I am learning to praise Him in the storm, because Dwight and Peggy can do it. I am so thankful to have had the privilege of meeting the Bullers only a few weeks earlier when they came to visit Sarah.
I’m so sorry to hear of your lost!! From what you have written she seem like she was phenomenal! I will keep you all in my prayers!! Stay blessed!
My thoughts and prayers are with you!
Chelsea – I am sorry to read about the loss of your friend for you and for your team. I’m glad you all could celebrate her life with the memorial…my thoughts and prayers go out to you all. Take care.
i have been avoiding everybodies blogs about this.
this was beautiful, and i appreciate you for having the strength to write this. Chels you were and are an amazing leader. i could only hope to ever be lucky enough to be on another missions experience with you. you taught me so much, and you listened to all that i had to say, which can be alot sometimes. i miss you alot, i just wish we could all be back together again. i feel as if a even bigger hole is in me now after leaving africa and my family there. but the Bullers can fill most of that gap, theres alot of them 😉 haha. i love you Chels. i will never forget you and im always praying for you.
Your son ;),
Kevin King