Van adventures

Yesterday a missionary friend offered to watch our children so that David and I could have some time just the two of us. It was so thoughtful and kind of her! So soon after she arrived we left. We were giving a friend a ride home before going on our date. Soon after dropping off that friend, the van started making some terrible noises! We slowed down and eventually pulled off the road, in an unfamiliar part of town, not knowing what to do. We called another missionary who was heading north to Gulu to ask what to do. It happened to be a day where two families were heading up to Gulu and another was going to Kenya, so we didn't have any mechanically inclined teammates in town. Our teammate called a Ugandan friend who grew up at GSF and asked him to come help us. 

One of the reasons we were excited about our date was to have time to talk. It is hard to find time to have private, uninterrupted conversations with four young children. So as we were waiting for our friend to come help, we had about 30-45minutes to just sit and talk. It was a real blessing! 

When our friend arrived, he showed us how we can see the engine. In these vans, the engine is actually under the front seats. So the passenger seat can be lifted up to work on the vehicle. I had no idea! As he lifted the seat David saw that a belt had broken and was flapping around making all of that racket! We were so glad! David had feared that there was something wrong with the engine itself, but a belt is an easy fix. Another grace. So the guys removed the broken belt. Here is a photo of where the engine is in our van. 

We discovered that the van could still run without that particular belt, at least for a little while. So our friend took us to a trusted mechanic. He was busy, but he made time to fix it right away. It was going to take a little while so our friend took me to Central Market on the back of his motorcycle. That way I could do the shopping while David waited with the van. I was able to get the fruits and vegetables I needed at the market, and then walk to a supermarket to get a few items I needed from there. This little side trip really served two purposes. I was able to get this errand done, but maybe more significantly, I was able to go to the market by myself and gained quite a bit of confidence in navigating my way around town. 

Around the time I was finishing up at the supermarket David called and the van was done! The mechanic told David that the cost for the repair was 30,000shillings which is only about $12! I don't think there is any repair in the states that could be done that inexpensively. 

As we got our things together and reflected on the day it was obvious that God so graciously ordered our day. Here are some of the things for which we thanked God:

- this occurred on a Saturday, so it did not affect our school schedule, but the shop was still open.

- our van broke down while we were in town very close to the mechanic rather than in some village far outside of town, which is where most of our daily commute is. 

- the belt broke at the beginning of our "date" which meant we were able to get everything fixed during dailight hours and still get back to the babysitter on time. 

- our children were with a babysitter so they did not have to sit around waiting for hours and we did not have to juggle caring for their needs while trying to figure out what to do about the van. 

- now we know a good mechanic; we have his number in our phone, and have even been to his shop. 

- our van was fixed in a very timely manner and it is now back to running fine.

We have thought many times how blessed we are to have such a great vehicle! But yesterday we were struck by God's loving care for us as our van broke down. We were reminded as we said that this was not how we would have planned the day, that God has a bigger better plan. And if that was his plan for our Saturday, we can trust that is what is best. So I am thanking God for ordering the details of our lives to care for us in the midst of a broken down vehicle. Here are some of our kids on the back of our van after church.