Here's what happened . . . our friends the K's have had endless trouble with their twin (to ours) Kia van. They'd purchased it used with a lot of mileage, and that stinker has been steadily falling apart on them for years. They reached "crisis" point with their vehicle this week--when the thousands of dollars in repairs they've poured into it (most recently it wouldn't start) were about to transform themselves into more monies via new transmission. They have been bravely driving a vehicle that doesn't latch shut in the back (without a screwdriver), only has one headlight, does not drive more than 40 mph, does not have a working driver's side window, and will not go into reverse (they've been pushing it to move it in and out of their garage/parking spaces). I know there's more, that's just what I can think of off the top of my head.
As a family in full time ministry, this just isn't cool! Brain power needs to be focused on finishing the gigantic goal of translating the entire Bible and recording it for the first time ever by the end of next year. You can't translate and change the world for an entire subset of people if you have no means of driving to work to do the work. They've borrowed vehicles, they've bummed rides (to take their kids to the doctor's office and to other activities around town), they've been trusting God to provide for them and pinching their pennies in hopes of a new (used) vehicle.
While I was on facebook yesterday, I saw that my friend "Grandma Kim" (you saw her baptism pics earlier on the blog, I believe) listed her vehicle for sale. The price was pretty reasonable--$4,500. I messaged her daughter and said, "How low will she be able to go on this? We have friends who desperately need a reliable vehicle. We know you all have taken good care of this car. No pressure, but what do you think?"
The car is a 2007 Dodge Nitro, it has 117,000 miles (just like old Bessie) and does not have a working air conditioner (just like old Bessie :) They are the original owners, first it was a commuter car and then it became a grandma car (she only likes to drive in town, so it hasn't seen many highway miles in a couple of years). She could lower the price by $1,000--but needed the rest to cover fees on the new (also used) car her son-in-law found for her.
Not low enough for our friends, the K's. Drat! I spent a lot of time texting and messaging Kim and her daughter, and ended up getting the online listing to Buck. Buck comes home and says . . . "Rear wheel drive. Hmmm. That would be nice in the winter. It's heavier than my car, too. Maybe we buy the Dodge and sell our van to the K's." What?! This had not occurred to me :) WE were not car shopping, we were simply trying to help find a safe vehicle for our friends with a solid mechanical and care background.
But the more Buck talked about it, the more sense it made. And here's another crazy thing, we actually had the money in the bank to cover it! (Granted it was going towards getting the two church-parking lot crashes fixed on the new van, but that can wait :) So, I messaged Mrs. K and said, "Tell M not to buy anything . . . we may have something worked out." She said, "He just left to look at a van that hauls roofing supplies; I'll try to call him."
In the meantime, I made Grandma Kim an offer by messenger, and she readily accepted. Buck and I then found out the Nitro was parked at a local business and we could run over and make sure it was in good condition, at least from the outside. Buck was impressed with the tires, the lack of rust, and the overall appearance. I was impressed with the cuteness :)
When we returned home, Grandma Kim messaged me again, "Do you want to drive it at church tomorrow? To make sure you can reach the pedals?" She's so sweet (and also a little bit short :) We assured her that would not be a problem at all!
So, we message the K's . . . "Do you want your new vehicle delivered tonight?"
Would you believe that, despite Mrs. K's protests, her mom took out a loan and wired money from Europe which arrived shortly before we did? God's timing is amazing!
We were a little sad to leave Bessie behind, honestly. On the drive home, Buck and I recounted our trips to the east coast, the west coast, the south, the mountains, the desert, even the shores of Texas not long ago. We drove four car-seated babies around in that van; I nursed sitting in one of those car seats more than once (I can't imagine why?) Our girls have learned how to drive in it. We really thought it was our long-term friend for their future use. But . . . Buck said that he felt like eventually it would be the K's all along, and this was when the timing finally seemed right.
The next day, we had Nanny the Nitro to take Bessie's place. I'm calling it Nanny because that is what Grandma Kim's grandkids call her :) I was a little worried when we drove past where it had been parked the night before, and it was missing! Kim said she was worried too and had texted her son-in-law. He said he didn't want it messed with or damaged since we were buying it, so he'd come late last night and taken it back to his house. By the way, this son-in-law is one of the boys' baseball coaches :)
So the two of them followed me back to our house and we figured out the paperwork to sign over the title (it's nice when vehicles are paid off, so all that stuff is handy at home already :) Buck, who had to work today, showed me how to do all the title transfer stuff the night before with the K's. Yay, knowledge!
Grandma Kim's son-in-law seemed to be having similar bits of sadness, as this had been their family car for nearly as long as Bessie had been ours. "We would save it for our son to drive, but he's still a ways away from that." (I think he's like 11).
With papers signed and keys in my hand, they headed home and our kids headed out to explore. We checked out the electric sunroof, the electric seats, the radio-changing buttons behind the steering wheel, and then I drove the Nitro into the garage so we could clean the inside (it was really cold out, so the kids didn't want to detail Nanny in the driveway). Brennen and I took the trunk, Graysen did the dash and the windows, the girls vacuumed and cleaned upholstery and liners . . . in an hour we had the Nitro looking pretty spiffy. But you never know for sure until you take it out into the daylight.
SO I had all the kids clear the driveway (there were at least seven on bikes and foot at this point, we tend to draw a crowd :), I settled in behind the steering wheel, and turned the key . . . CLICK. I tried again . . . CLICK. No way . . . CLICK. It wouldn't start. The lights would flash on for a second and then go out. Oh the timing!
I texted the family we'd bought the Nitro from and said, "We were cleaning out the car in the garage, and now it won't start; how old is the battery?" They were mortified! "I'm bringing you back your check right now! We didn't know anything was wrong with it! I'm sooooo sorry! We never would have sold it to you . . ." I said, "I'm not upset, just curious how old the battery is, because if it is old, Buck can bring home a new one and swap it out."
So I texted Buck, and his response was, "What." Ha! Remember, we'd never actually driven this car, only peeked in the windows under a parking lot light the evening before. I sent him a picture from under the hood, and it turned out the battery was five years old (and from Walmart). Buck bought a replacement, then swapped out the batteries when he got home.
It fired it up right away, so he and I took it for a test drive. The selling family was so relieved, and they're going to bring a check to cover the cost of the new battery tomorrow. I told them it really couldn't have happened in a more perfect scenario--if a car battery is going to die unexpectedly, I'd rather it be in my warm garage than anywhere else on the planet :)
So that is the surprising and unexpected tale of our transition from Bessie to Nanny, and how God orchestrated the whole thing so all three families benefitted from the exchange of vehicles. And really, investing $2,000 to solve a whole slew of problems is worth it to us. We'll just keep trusting that this was God's plan, and if anything wonky happens in the future, that He will help us take care of it, like He always does. Mostly, I'm just happy the K's are roadworthy again and that those babies can cruise in safety (and familiarity, because it really is EXACTLY the same van they had before make, model, year, and trim :) Buck is just happy because our Dodge to Kia ratio is once again higher than our Kia to Dodge ratio; it's just win win no matter how you look at it! Lol :)
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