VAN - PART #2
Well, in my previous post, I gave your our first van’s testimony. She was lovely and served us well and we are so very thankful for the almost four years she held out for us. When she finally bit the dust, we were once again in “prayer mode” while simultaneously in “what’s our next step to quickly finding trustworthy transportation” mode.
In the meantime, I figured I could try and make our first van work for just s bit longer. The AC had completely gone out and it was going to cost us double what the van was worth to fix, so I figured I would find a portable AC unit to put in the van until we found a new one. As you would have it, there aren’t very many portable AC units for cars (patent opportunity right there guys, just throwin it out there). I found a cooler (like for drinks) that also blew enough air to cool off the van for short stints - it was huge, was bright green, and just looked ridiculous, but hey, the van was cool and it bought us a bit of time. (At least that’s what I told myself). Really though, in THEORY it was a fabulous idea.....
The reason this AC thing is such a huge deal is because we live in FRESNO, also known as “fresghanistan”, where 110 degrees in the summer is just what you do. The weather was already starting to shift so our window for finding a van that we could actually put our children in (that wasn’t a furnace on wheels) was closing.
We weren’t finding anything that fit what we needed here in Fresno, so my parents had the awesome idea to look down south in San Diego. Within a couple days they found a van. It was all that we were looking for and then some. My parents picked it up, joe drove down south and brought it back less than a week later, and just like that, we were once again provided for!
I am beyond amazed and thankful for the kindness and thoughtfulness of family and friends who spread the word of what we were looking for, who kept an eye out, and who prayed.
God is in the business of using people, you guys. And the fact that Jesus is in the practical stuff ALL the time is not lost on me.....
For instance, the sweet friends and neighbors that kept a lookout for any available vehicles, or my dad who searched Craigslist and my brother who helped with checking up on the background stuff - and my mom who inspected every part of the van cause I wasn’t able to see it.
Our “new” 2007 Honda Odyssey is not just a mode of transportation, but a symbol of what happens when Jesus uses people, and when people let Jesus work through them in the most practical ways.