They Meant to Kill Me!

By Paul V. Lehmann

A tragedy on a snow day and lives changed forever. Through the years that the Lord has protected me, I have often thought, that could have been me who took my friend's little brother down the hill, when a car hit them and he was killed, but it wasn't. However, many years later, I experienced what it was like to think you have killed someone. We often don't think about how God protects us. He has a plan for each of our lives, long before we are aware of that plan. He won't allow anything to happen to us, until he fulfills that plan. No matter how many times Satan tries to take us out, or discourage us, one way or another, we are invincible until our time is up and he takes us to be with him.

It would be seven years before a near death experience. That's what this book is about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796053869

Paul V. Lehmann

About the Author The author was born in Akron, Ohio, on November 18, 1940, the third in a family of four. Paul’s oldest brother was nine and a half years older than him, and his sister, seven years older. The author has a brother younger by seven years and four months, but who passed away at the age of sixty-four. Paul grew up with his maternal grandparents living with them, or his family living with his grandparents—in those days, it didn’t seem to make much difference. Since the Depression and then the beginning of World War II, it seemed everyone survived however they could. Paul is a Missionary to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Copyright © 2019 by Paul V. Lehmann.

Library of Congress Control Number:        2019912202

ISBN:                    Hardcover                              978-1-7960-5388-3

                              Softcover                               978-1-7960-5387-6

                              eBook                                      978-1-7960-5386-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

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Rev. date: 10/16/2019

Xlibris

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I dedicate this book

to my wife Jeannene and to my children, Susan, Eric, and Karen who for years encouraged me to put down on paper the near death experiences I have had in my life.

Also everyone mentioned in this book contributed to me becoming the man I am today, even if they didn’t know it.

I am thankful for my late mother who prayed for me and stood behind me through my young days of formation and preparation, and continued to pray for me after I went to Africa as a missionary.

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Flip

Chapter 2 Stuck in Second Gear

Chapter 3 No, It Wasn’t Luck!

Chapter 4 A Chameleon

Chapter 5 The Call

Chapter 6 That’s More Like It

Chapter 7 Crazy in Love!

Chapter 8 Out of Control

Chapter 9 Marriage and Continuing College

Chapter 10 Language School in France

Chapter 11 Arriving in the Congo

Chapter 12 Ron’s in Trouble

Chapter 13 Hit and Run

Chapter 14 They Meant to Kill Him

Preface

In the book of Nehemiah, we see how Nehemiah was called by God to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. He found favor with King Artaxerxes and not only was he released to go to Jerusalem, but the king sent building materials with him, along with army officers and cavalry, to assure his safe arrival. The building of the wall was difficult because they faced ridicule and outright opposition as the work progressed. In chapter 4, eventually his enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."

Anyone doing the Lord’s work knows what it is like to face opposition. Sometimes it is very subtle, and sometimes it is very blatant. The enemy of our souls, Satan, will do everything he can to keep us from doing God’s will. Usually he works through other people, but sometimes he uses circumstances and sometimes the weather to attack us. We often forget that it is Satan that is the prince of the air and has power to work through the elements. God, of course, has to allow him to do this, but sometimes we see all of his forces at work against us, including his demons, to keep us from fulfilling God’s call on our life. On the other hand, God has his forces of angels that look after us, and protect us, so that we are able to fulfill the calling he has placed on our life.

This is a book about the key events that were very distinct brushes with death, which I faced throughout many years of my life, from the age of fifteen in 1957, to 1990, the year before we left the Republic of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). All of us have times in our lives when we have close calls from injury, or even death. There is a difference between having an incident where afterward you might say, Whew, that was close! and/or actually being involved with something where it is evident that there was divine intervention. Some might say after an event where one’s life was spared, That was a miracle. Others might say, You were lucky. Chapter 3 will deal with this matter of luck, which I believe is a misnomer. There is really no such thing as luck; only divine providence, as nothing in this world happens unless God is involved. I believe only in divine providence. God may not cause everything to happen, but he may allow it to happen because he desires a certain outcome to increase our faith, test us, or to bless us. God has his hand on each one of us, and we are invincible until it is time for our life on this earth to be over. The timing of this is up to him.

The Bible says that the very hairs on our head are numbered. If he knows that, he surely has control over the details of our lives. We are to keep serving him as long as we have breath. I trust that you will be convinced that God has a plan for your life, and it is up to us to follow it and persevere in the execution of it, no matter what our enemy, Satan, throws at us.

Introduction

I was born in Akron, Ohio, on November 18, 1940, the third in a family of four. My oldest brother is nine and a half years older than me. My sister is seven years older than me, and I have a younger brother that is seven years and four months younger than me. He passed away at the age of sixty-four on September 30, 2012.

My maternal grandparents lived with us, or maybe we lived with them. In those days it didn’t seem to make much difference. Since the Depression, and then the