Furlough adventure

Someone gave us a van to help us finish up furlough. It's a blessing, and I'd love to have pictures of it, except it is in Oregon; more on that later. We were trying to figure out the best way to get the van to California, and Ryan decided to tow our blue van with the new one, after consulting with a hauling company as to the best way to do this. We had a meeting in Oregon on Sunday, another meeting on Wednesday, and then a long drive on Thursday down to Northern Cali where my parents are. We prayed before we went that Lord would protect us, and show us if anything is not safe.

Things started happening on Sunday. We drove out of Vancouver, Washington early in the morning, took it slow towing the van, and drove for two hours on the freeway, going 55-60 miles per hour. Right before the exit we needed to take, the back wheels started to slide around. Ryan stopped and checked the tow bar, thinking that if anything was wrong, that would be it. But it was fine, so he got back in and we drove slowly to the off ramp. Right after we took the off ramp we felt a huge bump, then SCRAAPE. Ryan pulled over. Our left rear wheel was lying on the road next to our van, and long white mark on the asphalt showed where it had come off.

Ryan called the pastor, and he came out with a mechanic from the church. No serious damage was done; only loose lug nuts. However, when the mechanic took a look under the tires, he saw that the brakes were all bad! Here we are, planning to tow another van up and down mountain ranges with bad brakes!

Coincidentally, the mechanic happened to have a van exactly like ours that he happened to be using for spare parts. He replaced the brakes for us, and we got back on our way. I'm so thankful for the way God protected us.

On Thursday, Ryan was more than skeptical about our towing arrangement, and he was not happy with the way it was moving at all. We made it down to Medford, Oregon, and stopped there. Our van is waiting in a church parking lot. Ryan is going to get it next week.

Neither of these vans are going to be able to be imported to Mexico City. When we go, we will have to buy a vehicle there, because of new laws that have been made. We are praying about this, and we don't know how God is going to supply this need, but we do know He will provide. How can we doubt when He's taken such good care of us every step of the way?